A couple weeks ago, I participated in the Bored and Brilliant project from public radio station WNYC, which challenged participants to log the time they spend per day on their smartphones and then see how much that time drops, and their creativity goes up, when they are issued a series of phone-less challenges.

Edward Boehm

Brazil produces more topaz than any other country in the world. Most of the production is colorless, which is irradiated and heated into various shades of blue. Precious and imperial topaz offer a rare and warmer alternative to the cool blue shades we are accustomed to seeing in jewelry stores. “Precious” topaz usually refers to yellow to orange colors while “imperial” topaz usually refers to pinkish-orange to pink to purple and even red colors (see figs. 1 and 6).  However, some dealers argue that all topaz in these warmer hues should be classified as imperial. Since the origin of the word topaz is most likely from the Sanskrit word “tapas,” meaning fire, this argument seems to have merit. Recent price increases are due to limited mining, renewed interest from designers in these warmer hues and strong domestic demand in Brazil.

Edward Boehm

Brazil produces much of the world’s gemstone supply with vast reserves in the northeastern part of the country. Increased global demand for colored gemstones has enabled renewed mining activity in one of the world’s most productive mining regions.

Edward Boehm