Plural of “topaz”

The plural of topaz is topazes.

Why

"Topaz" comes from Greek "topazos," possibly named after a legendary island in the Red Sea where the gemstone was said to have been mined, though ancient sources disagree considerably about which stone the original Greek word actually described. Because the word ends in the sibilant -z sound, it takes the standard -es plural, giving "topazes" rather than a plain "topazs."

Ancient and medieval writers frequently used "topaz" to describe stones that modern gemology would classify quite differently, including what we would now call peridot, meaning the historical record of the word's exact original referent is genuinely uncertain and inconsistent across different classical sources. The gemstone now called topaz in modern mineralogy is a specific aluminum silicate mineral occurring naturally in a range of colors, most famously the golden-orange "imperial topaz" and the more common colorless or pale blue varieties widely used in jewelry today.

Usage note

"Topazes" is standard in every context, from gemology and jewelry writing to casual conversation about birthstones, since topaz is the traditional birthstone for November.

Most naturally occurring topaz is actually colorless or pale, and the vivid blue color seen in much modern jewelry is typically produced through irradiation and heat treatment of colorless stones, a widespread industry practice that gemologists and jewelers are required to disclose to buyers in many markets. Historically significant large topazes, including several famous stones housed in museum collections and royal treasuries, are often individually named and studied much like famous diamonds, treated as unique historical objects rather than simply interchangeable gemstone specimens.

Common real mistakes

There's minimal plural error risk here, since "topazes" is entirely regular; the more common confusion is a factual rather than grammatical one, since many consumers mistakenly believe blue topaz's vivid color is entirely natural rather than the product of common industry treatment.

The wider pattern

Any noun ending in that buzzing -z sound needs this same inserted vowel before its plural -s, a purely mechanical spelling requirement rather than anything specific to gemstone vocabulary — the same logic governs everyday words like "quiz" and "buzz" regardless of how different their subject matter is from a gemstone.

Examples

• The jeweler displayed a tray of loose topazes.
• She received a ring set with two small topazes for her birthday.
• Museum collections include several famous historical topazes.
• The mine produced high-quality topazes prized by collectors.
• Several topazes in the exhibit were treated to enhance their color.
• The necklace alternated topazes with smaller diamonds.
• Gemologists graded the topazes based on clarity and color.
• The auction featured rare uncut topazes from a private estate.
• November birthstone jewelry often features blue topazes.
• The collector kept his rarest topazes in a locked display case.
• The estate sale included a box of unset topazes.
• She admired the golden topazes displayed in the shop window.
• The lapidary cut and polished the rough topazes by hand.
• Several topazes were donated to the university's mineral collection.
• Appraisers verified the authenticity of the loose topazes.
• The bracelet featured alternating topazes and sapphires.
• The trade show displayed topazes sourced from three continents.
• The auction house catalogued rare imperial topazes for the sale.
• She restrung the necklace using matching topazes.
• The mineral museum displayed uncut topazes beside their polished counterparts.
• The gem show sold loose topazes at a discount on the final day.
• She inherited a pair of antique topazes set in gold earrings.
• The jeweler set the topazes into a delicate silver band.
• The exhibit paired historic topazes with their modern equivalents.
• The vault held a collection of rare colored topazes.
• She sorted the topazes by clarity before selling them.
• The collector traded two topazes for a rare aquamarine.
• The historical society preserved the topazes from the shipwreck.