Topaz: a spectrum in stone

If you have followed this blog for a while, you probably know that museums are one of my passions. I regularly travel to museums in the United States with my family. Well, a new exhibition has just opened a few weeks ago at the Perot Museum of Science and Nature in downtown Dallas, Texas, called Topaz: A spectrum in stone. The reason I write about this today is twice: first, it’s really cool, and the perot has a superb gem & mineral hall; And two, I was a writer in this exhibition. (I even gave the exhibition its name.)

This is not the first exhibition on which I worked for the Perot (and I hope it will not be the last), but it is the first on which I write on this blog. Actually, Topaz: a spectrum in stone replaced a mineralogy exhibition on which I had already worked a few years ago. As its name suggests, it is Topaz.

I only knew a few details on these stones before starting, but learning new things explains why working for a museum is such a wonderful experience. For example, I now know that red topazes-oranges are the rarest of the rare world. Why do you ask? It is because of the presence of chrome during the formation of stone.

In this sense, topazes are naturally colorless. If they have a color, this may be due to the presence of radiation or heat. In fact, you can artificially make a topaz by exposing it to other radiation and heat. Conversely, sunlight and UV radiation in general can actually rotate color.

Topazes displayed in this exhibition are some of the best known specimens in the world. Here some stars of the show:

The imperial flame

Do you remember all of this on the chrome above? Well, this topaz is one of the best examples of a red-orange color. He was extracted in Brazil and cut to have a stylized flame pattern along his surface. The Imperial Flame Topaz is one of the best examples of this rarest topaz in the world.

Jaguar’s eye

Another from Brazil, this topaz is largely clear, but has a yellow-green shade. It has a cutting -shaped cut, but here is the botter: this topaz exceeds 9,600 carats! (Yes, Vegeta, more than 9,000 years.) It is so gigantic that at first glance, it looks like a fantasy journal, but this stone is the real matter. Keep in mind that this jewel is so tall After He was cut. Imagine how much he had to get out of the ground.

Texas BlueBonnet

Another funny fact: Texas is the only state to have its own official gems – The Lone Star Cut, which forms a five -point star in the middle of the jewel. In addition, Blue Topaz is the precious stone of Texas State. So, if there was a topaz that embodies both the pale blue color of Texas Topaz (found exclusively in the county of Mason), and the solitary star cup is this topaz of 234 carats.

It’s just to name just a few. The exhibition also includes several two -color Topazes of the Volyn deposit in Ukraine, some other imperial topazs which are more in amber yellow and several large unplugged topazs which are superb in their colors and / or their size. One of them even seems to be a piece of ice on the side of an iceberg. Believe me when I say the photos do not do them justice. Like, at all.

I went to some natural history museums of my time, but the gem & mineral hall of the Perot remains my favorite, and not only because I worked on exhibitions there. The specimens they have there, like the famous eyes of Africa, the largest stibnite crystal intact never found, and a purple geode the size of a person, all come together to really show us the breathtaking beauty that our planet has to offer.

In closing, if you are in downtown Dallas, I very recommends making a visit to Perot. There are so many things to see and explore, so do a day. Dinosaur fossils with spatial exploration, and many points between the two, the Perot Museum of Science and Nature is an experience quite different from any other.

Thank you for reading!