| Citrine is a variety of a quartz stone which is | | | | crusty forms. It can be transparent to translucent. |
| usually yellowish to brownish in color. Jewelers find | | | | However, it basal cleavage is indiscernible. It has a |
| use for this type of quartz as a gem setting on a | | | | specific gravity of 2.6-2.7 and they are also |
| ring or necklace. Citrine happens to be the most | | | | predisposed to fracturing because of its inherent |
| valuable quartz gemstone. | | | | brittleness. |
| How it is formed | | | | Citrine does not appear commonly and only |
| Under natural conditions, citrine is colored yellow to | | | | appear in smaller quantities compared to other |
| orange and is generally of a lighter shade | | | | quartz deposits. Mostly, this gemstone can be |
| compared to the heat-treated stones which | | | | found in Minas Gerais, Brazil and also in the Ural |
| usually turn reddish-brown or orange brown. Most | | | | Mountains in Russia, Madagascar and Dauphine, |
| citrines sold to the public are amethysts that have | | | | France. However, the majority of them are really |
| been treated with heat. In some cases, the | | | | manufactured through heat treatment instead of |
| crystals in amethyst deposits can be changed | | | | natural means. |
| partially or fully to a citrine mineral of the brown | | | | Naturally Occurring Citrines |
| variety mainly by natural means of heating. In | | | | To the untrained eye, it is easy to mistake a |
| other cases, treating smoky quartz with heat can | | | | topaz for a citrine. Some unscrupulous individuals |
| also produce citrine. | | | | have begun to hype up the market with citrine as |
| Citrine is naturally an amber-colored stone. It is a | | | | a more valuable variety of topaz. In general, all |
| combination of ferric iron and quartz and is rarely | | | | topazes with a prefix are considered heat-treated |
| found naturally but can be manufactured artificially | | | | citrine such as Madeira topaz, gold topaz, Brazilian |
| from other gem stones. Brazil is the leader in the | | | | topaz, false topaz and citrine topaz. The only |
| production of commercially manufactured citrine, | | | | three exceptions to this rule are oriental topaz, |
| specifically from Rio Grande des Sul. | | | | precious topaz and imperial topaz, which are |
| Citrine in History | | | | incidentally the most-sought after topaz varieties. |
| Citrine was also used in ancient times as an | | | | The experts in the jewelry industry have come |
| amulet to protect the bearer or the wearer from | | | | up with ingenious ways of producing more |
| a snake's venom and even evil thoughts. It is also | | | | expensive specimens of amethyst and smoky |
| one of two birthstones for the month of | | | | quartz. In nature, citrines are usually pale yellow |
| November. | | | | but the heat treated specimens come out as |
| Chemical Composition of Citrine | | | | orange or reddish shades. Under natural conditions |
| The chemical composition of citrine is silicon | | | | citrine starts out as amethyst then changes to |
| dioxide. The crystals formed follow a hexagonal | | | | citrine due to heat emitted by magnetic bodies. |
| structure which commonly shows as clusters of | | | | Citrine from amethyst can be changed back to a |
| pyramids based on a geode. They could also | | | | purple shade through the process of beta |
| come in short, terminated crystals either singly or | | | | radiation. A popular gemstone, ametrine, is in fact |
| in aggregates. They can also come in massive and | | | | a combination of amethyst and citrine. |