Understanding This Piece
About Topaz
Topaz occurs in a wide color range — from colorless to imperial orange-pink (the most valuable), as well as blue, yellow, and brown. Most commercial blue topaz is colorless natural topaz that has been irradiated to produce the vivid sky, Swiss, or London blue tones. Topaz scores 8 on Mohs (very durable for daily wear) and is the November birthstone (alongside citrine) and the 4th- and 23rd-anniversary gems.
About the Bypass Setting
A bypass setting features two ends of the band that 'bypass' each other around the center stone — creating an asymmetric, flowing design without a closed circle of metal at the center. The style is associated with early-20th-century Art Nouveau jewelry and contemporary toi-et-moi designs, and works beautifully with two-stone configurations where the diamonds appear to embrace each other.