The Imperial Flame Visits Texas – “Topaz: A Spectrum in Stone,” at the Perot Museum.
Gary Roskin –
Roskin Gem News Report –
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, located in Dallas Texas, is celebrating Topaz, the Texas State Gem. And there is no better way to do that than to have on display several rough crystals of Texas topaz, along with several cut and polished topaz exhibiting the Lone Star Cut (Texas being “the Lone Star State”). “Topaz: A Spectrum in Stone,” opened Wednesday, October 16, 2024, and runs through October 14, 2025, in the Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals Hall.
The highlight of the exhibit, is the “Imperial Flame”, a magnificent Brazilian gem, displaying hues of red, orange and yellow. The Imperial Flame weighs in at 332 carats, a piece loaned by Germany-based Kreis Jewelry that gem artist Alexander Kreis describes as the “gem of the century.” Of exceptional quality, the Imperial Flame represents the largest carved Imperial Topaz in the world.
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, located in Dallas Texas, is celebrating Topaz, the Texas State Gem.
And there is no better way to do that than to have on display several rough crystals of Texas topaz, along with several cut and polished topaz exhibiting the Lone Star Cut (Texas being “the Lone Star State”).
The highlight of the exhibit, is the “Imperial Flame.” This is a magnificent Brazilian gem, displaying hues of red, orange and yellow.
The Imperial Flame weighs in at an impressive 332 carats, and is on loan to the Perot by Germany-based Kreis Jewelry. Gem artist Alexander Kreis describes the Imperial Flame as the “gem of the century.” Of exceptional quality, the Imperial Flame represents the largest carved Imperial Topaz in the world.
On Exhibit
“Visitors will be captivated by the stunning range of colors, shapes, and sizes of this rare mineral, including the state gem with its distinctive ‘Lone Star Cut’, the only gemstone cut specific to any U.S. state.”
The one-of-a-kind collection displays the spectacular scope of crystal structures and colored stones within the topaz family, including:
● The Imperial Flame topaz: The magnificent 332-carat carving from Ouro Preto, Brazil, carefully carved over four weeks by Alexander Kreis, recognized as the largest and finest stone of its caliber in the world.
● A stupendous 9,630-carat marquise-cut gem from Brazil.
● The largest known “Lone Star Cut” in Texas topaz: a 234-carat gem featuring a five-point star carved into the pavilion of the stone, reflecting the state symbol through the crown.
● A 15-pound blue topaz from Brazil.
● Etched topaz showing intricate surface patterns due to the topaz being partially dissolved in hydrothermal fluids. The exhibit celebrates the global discoveries of topaz from Texas, across America and worldwide including Pakistan, Argentina, Namibia, Brazil, Russia and many other countries.
All of these gems on exhibit were generously loaned by 14 partners, including Diane and Keith Brownlee, the Carabas Collection, Mark Oran Carter, Aleksander Chournousenko, Diane Eames, Judith and Jamed Gibbs, Harvard University, Lyda Hill, Kreis Jewellery, The Larson Collection, Rob Lavinsky, Somewhere in the Rainbow, Gail and James Spann, and the University of Texas.
For more on Texas Topaz, refer to GIA’s Gems & Gemology, here.
“Topaz: A Spectrum in Stone” also includes New England minerals from Harvard University, and one from the University of Texas that tops 900 carats!
There’s also a selection of topaz crystals from Volyn, a renowned region in Ukraine, famous for its large caverns of massive topaz.
