At the Base of the Mountain
>> Wednesday, November 18, 2009
A sandy, one-lane road leads from the national highway to the base of the mountain where faceted topaz is sold. A military-style checkpoint monitors a drop gate over this road a kilometer short of the mountain, but checking through there is quick, a simple formality, and nothing in the pleasant interchange reveals the purpose of the facility!
Cars can easily make the five-kilometer drive in, if the weather is dry, and motorbikes have very little problem except for the parts of the road where the white sand is at its thickest, back wheels can slough and spin, but if you are using a local driver, no worries. They are experts.A dozen women have set up shop at the base of the mountain, there is plenty of parking and shade. Their display cases are glass and metal, but their 'stores' are bamboo, slim-cut timber with sugar palm foilage on the roofs. What you would see anywhere in rural Cambodia.
All of the stones are very clear, with limited inclusions, many are colorless, some with a hint of yellow (see the stones at the head of this blog). As you would expect with 'raw', untreated (but faceted), natural Topaz -- the stones are brilliant (in the past they have been mistaken for diamonds, see for example, the Portugese 'Braganza Diamond').
One should be aware of that the displays present topaz and quartz both of which come from the site. The smoky topaz and the smoky quartz may be difficult to differentiate, except that topaz 'feels' heavier (compare stones with similar volumes, the carat weights should differ), its specific gravity is 33% greater than that of quartz (approximately 3.5 versus 2.6). To me, topaz also has a kind soapy feel, quartz a glassy look and feel (but that is very unscientific).
If you are unsure of your own differentiations, you need not worry, I believe that these dealers are honest, They know the price they will all pay if word of mouth indicates that they are cheating customers. They are fully aware that the hardness of Topaz is greater than that of quartz, for them differentiation is easy, as they sub-contract the cutting. If the lady says that it is Topaz, you can take it to the bank.
One should be aware of that the displays present topaz and quartz both of which come from the site. The smoky topaz and the smoky quartz may be difficult to differentiate, except that topaz 'feels' heavier (compare stones with similar volumes, the carat weights should differ), its specific gravity is 33% greater than that of quartz (approximately 3.5 versus 2.6). To me, topaz also has a kind soapy feel, quartz a glassy look and feel (but that is very unscientific).
If you are unsure of your own differentiations, you need not worry, I believe that these dealers are honest, They know the price they will all pay if word of mouth indicates that they are cheating customers. They are fully aware that the hardness of Topaz is greater than that of quartz, for them differentiation is easy, as they sub-contract the cutting. If the lady says that it is Topaz, you can take it to the bank.
There is a very wide range of cut stone sizes, with some very large ones available. But it in this case size is not necessarily better, hard to know what to do with a 50-carat cut topaz! And with prices between $5 and $10 per carat, total costs can mount quickly. And if you are used to cut citrine or amethyst, a five-carat topaz will seem somewhat small -- again its density is greater than quartz.
The lady in the picture above was the first one to show me what they all call blue topaz. The color of all the stones that I saw was blue-green, a sea-green, as the Khmer has it (poa duk samot - seawater color). The saturation of the color varies from stone to stone, but the most deeply colored are still very light.
When I was told that the stone was a natural blue topaz, my initial reaction was disbelief, disbelief out of my own ignorance. On returning to Phnom Penh I turned to the trusted Handbook of Gem Identification (Liddicoat, GIA), and yes, there are naturally occuring Topaz gemstones that are blue, but their commercial value is low since much more saturated colors are easily available from heat-treated and irradiated natural stones.
Back at the bottom of the mountain, another lady sitting with the seller I was speaking to, bashfully whispered 'aquamarine', which I did not know what to make of, since I knew little about the stone.
I aimed to learn more. Aquamarine would be interesting. If Topaz is more valuable than Quartz, though both are very common, good faceted Aquamarine is significantly more valuable than Topaz.
The lady in the picture above was the first one to show me what they all call blue topaz. The color of all the stones that I saw was blue-green, a sea-green, as the Khmer has it (poa duk samot - seawater color). The saturation of the color varies from stone to stone, but the most deeply colored are still very light.
When I was told that the stone was a natural blue topaz, my initial reaction was disbelief, disbelief out of my own ignorance. On returning to Phnom Penh I turned to the trusted Handbook of Gem Identification (Liddicoat, GIA), and yes, there are naturally occuring Topaz gemstones that are blue, but their commercial value is low since much more saturated colors are easily available from heat-treated and irradiated natural stones.
Back at the bottom of the mountain, another lady sitting with the seller I was speaking to, bashfully whispered 'aquamarine', which I did not know what to make of, since I knew little about the stone.
I aimed to learn more. Aquamarine would be interesting. If Topaz is more valuable than Quartz, though both are very common, good faceted Aquamarine is significantly more valuable than Topaz.
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