If you didn't already know, blue topaz is the birthstone for the month of December. But you don't have to be a December baby to enjoy this fabulous stone.

As a kid I hated my December birthday. I'm sure you can guess why. My birthday was so close to Christmas that I figured I was getting shorted on gifts. Of course now that I'm older I realize that wasn't the case at all. And best of all, I'm absolutely thrilled my birthday is so late in the year.

Being that I was born in the month of December, I have managed to acquire a sizeable collection of blue topaz jewelry throughout my lifetime. This elegant birthstone is lovely and relatively inexpensive for its dazzling shine and hue that can compete with the most precious gemstones on the planet. I am quite lucky to be a December baby.

There are a few things I have come to discover about blue topaz jewelry. One of the discoveries is about its delicate hues. I choose the word "hues" because there seems to be a countless number of shades of blue ranging from clear ice blue to deep smoky aquamarine shades. I have blue topaz jewelry in a number of different shades and intensity.

This can be both good and bad. The problem is that with so many shades it can be difficult to match stones. Just because you have a great pair of blue topaz earrings doesn't mean it will go well with your blue topaz necklace. It's actually better to match stones when you buy your blue topaz jewelry, rather than try to make them work together later.

Let me give you an example. I like to show off my blue topaz jewelry as much as possible but sometimes I find it difficult to match the stones. My current favorite item is a pair of matching earrings my husband bought for me on Mother’s Day.

These earrings are magnificent, icy and clear. This blue topaz jewelry is comparable to a fine cut diamond in the way it captures the light and reflects it back into the room. I am particularly found of the earrings. However, I tried to match them with another piece of blue topaz jewelry and it didn’t work out very well.

The item I was working with was a rich necklace with one large stone surrounded by two smaller ones. This blue topaz jewelry is deep and rich in color and its clarity is not quite so, well, clear. My necklace is stunning but next to the icy blue earrings it looked downright dirty in comparison.

I really wanted to wear both items but they simply did not compliment each other. I found different stones worked well together in the collection of blue topaz jewelry. It was a difficult decision but the necklace won. I chose darker earrings and even though I am not as fond of them as the icy ones the pairing worked much better.

It is nice to know that blue topaz jewelry comes in a plethora of shades and clarity. However, you really have to have a keen eye to match this crafty birthstone correctly. This is a challenge I welcome. Maybe I need to expand my collection a little.

But the next time I go shopping for blue topaz jewelry I will make sure to get the earrings and necklace to match. Maybe I'll even throw in a matching ring. Or a less expensive method would be to take my earrings with me on my next shopping excursion. Then I will have them with me as I look for the perfect necklace to match.

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