QuestionQUESTION: Hi, I really hope you can help me. I wear a blue topaz ring that belonged to my grandmother. I forgot to take it off today when I went to the tanning bed because it's ALWAYS on my finger and when I came out I noticed that the stone turned a dark gray color. It's been a few hours and the color hasn't changed. Please tell me I didn't ruin this ring. It's so precious to me...
ANSWER: Thank you for the question Lauren. No, you did not ruin the ring nor the memories that it holds. But the stone may need to be replaced. It is not such an expensive proposition as blue topaz is economically priced. Normally, this stone is stable but there have been cases reported where the stone's color changed after exposure to light and I would guess that yours is one of these cases.
Please remember that your grandmother's legacy is what is important, and even if you replace the stone with a new one that legacy lives on as you remember her importance in your life. It will always be your grandmother's ring to you.
Take care,
David Fortier, GG
Staff Gemologist
tiptopgem.com
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: GREAT NEWS! the color came back! Any idea how this happened? Thank you so much for the advise and sincerity, I really appreciate all your help. I value the ring even more now.. :)
Lauren
AnswerThat's wonderful news Lauren! I'm very happy for you. Radiation does funny things to some stones. When color is modified by radiation this is often due to something we call a "color center". Basically the atoms are modified by the radiation and this affects how the stone absorbs light. Apparently in your case, when the stone was away from the radiation source (the tanning bulbs) for a period of time the atoms returned to their normal state.
Color centers are not totally understood, but we do know that blue diamonds are the result of the same mechanism.
Thanks for sharing the good news!
Dave
