| Citrine is one of the most popular and affordable gemstones. Named after the French word for lemon, "citron", most citrines are actually more of a golden than lemon yellow. Citrine colors includes yellow to gold to orange brown and red shades of transparent quartz. In ancient times, citrine was carried as a protection against snake venom and evil thoughts. Today citrine is known as the merchant's stone and is associated with success and prosperity.
Citrine colors
Buying Citrine
Where is Citrine found?
Common Citrine Treatments
World-famous Citrine
Citrine gemology
Citrine legends & lore
Citrine colors
Natural citrines are mostly pale yellow to golden. Much of the citrine in the market is heat-treated amethyst, which nearly always has a reddish tint.
Buying Citrine
Color
The chief determinants of value are color, clarity and luster. Natural citrine is much preferred over the citrine produced by heat-treating amethyst.
Clarity
Since quartz is an abundant material, look out for transparent stones with excellent clarity.
Cut
Citrines come in a wide range of calibrated shapes and sizes, and include both faceted stones and cabochons. Portuguese cuts have become popular due to the brilliance added by the extra facets. Citrine location and deposits
The most important deposits of natural citrine are in Brazil. Other locations include Argentina, Madagascar, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia Russia, Scotland and Spain. Common Citrine treatments
Natural citrine is untreated and will typically exhibit some color zoning. Many of the citrine in the market have been produced by heat-treating amethyst. The heat-treated stones will usually exhibit a reddish tint. World-famous Citrine
None Citrine gemology
Species: Quartz
Color: Light to dark yellow, gold-brown
Chemical composition: SiO, silicon dioxide
Crystal system: Hexagonal (trigonal), hexagonal prisms with pyramids
Hardness: 7 (Mohs scale)
Specific gravity: 2.65
Refractive index: 1.544 - 1.553
Birefringence: +0.009
Optical character:
Color of streak: White
Absorption spectrum: Not diagnostic
Fluorescence: None The Citrine zodiac, myth & legend
Citrine is often used as a birthstone of November along with topaz.
In Antiquity, as well as in the Middle Ages people believed that the cosmos is reflected in gemstones. Citrine is assigned to planet Mercury. The esoteric movement revived the ancient belief and the gem industry made it another marketing tool to promote certain gems.
The healing powers of gems remain a controversial issue, but are mentioned for centuries by healers, shamans and medicine men. Whether its factual or a placebo effect doesn't matter, if it helps. The safest approach is to wear the gemstone in skin contact to the troubled part of the body. Citrine is said to be of help for backache.
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