Topaz is one of the more popular colored gemstones among retail jewelers and consumers. All colors of topaz are accepted as the birthstone for the month of November, but yellow (or yellow-orange) topaz is the most traditional and preferred. Thus, many jewelers feel that blue topaz can be a substitute for blue zircon in December. Blue topaz is, therefore, a gem for Scorpio, Sagittarius, and—in a way—Capricorn. Although topaz comes in a variety of colors, blue is by far the most popular, perhaps because of its abundance and affordability. Most topaz comes from Brazil, but it also is found in fairly good quantities in the United States, Mexico, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, China, and Australia. History and romance. The name "topaz" may have originated from the Greek topazos, meaning "to seek," possibly a vague reference to the hidden-in-the-fog Isle of Zebargad i