Topaz is found in many locations worldwide where rocks like pegmatite and rhyolite are formed. Here, topaz is usually a minor mineral in terms of quantity, and a secondary mineral in terms of its time of formation.

Brazil has been the world’s most important source of topaz for decades. Almost all of the world’s fine-quality imperial topaz is produced in the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil. The Ouro Preto and Capao mines have been the most important sources of yellow, orange, pink, red and violet topaz crystals for the gem and mineral specimen markets. Brazil is also the leading producer of colorless topaz, much of which is heat treated and irradiated to produce the colors of Swiss blue and London blue.

Pakistan is a smaller but noteworthy source of pink, red and violet topaz. Sri Lanka is a very important source of colorless topaz. Other sources of topaz include: Australia, India, Madagascar, Mexico, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, Russia, and Zimbabwe. In the United States, some topaz is produced in Utah, where it was named the state gemstone in 1969.