![]() ![]() Ouro Prêto mines produce orange to pinkish-purple topaz. Brazilian mineral dealer Luizelio Barreto tells of a staircase within an Ouro Prêto monastery, which is paved with topaz crystals and cleavage sections.Ĭlassic Imperial Topaz. The museum is an important feature of the national School of Mines. The latter, now a museum, contains a fine 25,000-specimen collection of Brazilian gemstones, crystals, and minerals. Stone buildings with tiles roofs were constructed during the Portuguese administration, including the Liberty Pantheon and the Governor’s Palace. Ouro Prêto rapidly became the most prominent town in the state of Minas Gerais and, during the late 1800s, its capital. In 1768 the Portuguese government officially recognized the find as a commercial gem deposit-which only followed Brazil’s other major riches of gold and diamonds in importance. Brazil was a colony of Portugal then, and the impoverished mother country was delighted with the significant topaz discovery at Villa Rica (Ouro Prêto) in 1735. All three areas were known to gem prospectors working the region as far back as 1730. Hree mall areas-Dom Bosco, Rodrigo Silva, and Saramenha-comprise most of the topaz belt west of Ouro Prêto in Minas Gerais. Vermelháo, Antonio Periera Mines, Dom Bosco, BrazilĮditor’s Note: We are pleased to reprint this selection from Peter Bancroft’s classic book, Gem and Crystal Treasures (1984) Western Enterprises/Mineralogical Record, Fallbrook, CA, 488 pp. ![]()
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