that's nuts! good info, thank you for posting.

I was just in the beloved city of Berkeley where they have "Nuclear Free Zones"... just wondering if there is any blue topaz in the huge homes around there

Probably.. Right now both Stuller and Rio Grande are not selling Blue Topaz.. There was some testing done a few weeks ago by the NRC stating that only one of the 15 samples they tested had a higher than background radiation level..

Wow, this is just freaky!

I was just reading this in Modern Jewler. Interesting to see what happens thru all this. We haven't pulled it off our shelves.
I also read that (I think it was Kay jewlers) weren't pulling theirs, as right now its still in the investigative stage regarding dealers certs...

I think anyone that doesn't do their own testing, or pull the product, is opening themselves to potential trouble down the road.. I don't think that there is any real risk at all, but I can see the legal nightmare that could evolve from this..

This is why so many people are pulling the blue topaz from the shelves..

It seems that the darker shades (ie Swiss and London, my very favorite shade) of blue topaz are the more affected types due to the way it is irradiated. But, topaz is not the only irradiated stone that could be affected - ie kunzite, tourmalines, diamonds. There is an interesting thread at the International School of Gemology Student Forums Board:

http://www.yourgemologist.com/ISGForumsB...ac44ba90&t=2513

I have 2 London Blue Topaz stones. One over 20 years old and the other more recent, so I'll put that away until next spring since I don't know its true age. But, otherwise, I'm more leery of the nuclear power reactor in my county that a little stone I wear every now and then.

OMG! Thanks for posting this!

Is Blue Topaz the only stone treated in this manner?

Reminds me of the scare in the 70's, when they found old, radioactive medical gold in some jewelry.

crap.

DH went and bought me a blue topaz pendant for my birthday. i've worn it 3 times. i didn't have the heart to tell him of the blue topaz issue.

i'm gonna die, aren't i?

What about the other colors of topaz like pink, are they radiated to??