Citrine

An interesting yellow / orange Quartz which is generally sold in either its crystalline natural form, or as a polished stone. It is very popular with those who believe in crystal healing.

Due to the rarity of the natural gemstone, a large amount of the stones sold online and in stores are actually heat treated Amethyst, which does look similar, but has slightly different shapes and tones. We sell both and try to make it clear when something is natural or ‘unnatural’ – more on that below.

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Appearance, Uses and History

The term Citrine comes from the latin word citrina, meaning yellow. This is also the source of the word citron, and the source of the word citrus too.

The majority of all Citrine on the market today is what we would call ‘heat treated Amethyst’, although many people would call it ‘cooked Amethyst’ or ‘fake’.

Most commercial Citrine is heat treated Amethyst or Smoky Quartz, which can change colour when heated or irradiated. Citrine is not coloured by a coating or any surface iron staining, and frankly it is a little difficult to give a straight answer as to the cause of the colouring.

Mindat has a decent section on the colouring, suggesting it is aluminium based or iron based.

The large Brazilian geodes with the very dark black backs are heat treated – the black backs are actually coated with cement and then painted.

I think realistically its best to consider that there may be a few ‘types’ of Citrine to consider before making a purchase.

  • Natural untreated Citrine
  • Natural Citrine which has been treated
  • Natural Amethyst/Smoky Quartz which has been treated
  • Synthetic lab grown Citrine, as in hydrothermal Amethyst/Quartz
  • Imitations – non SiO2 imitations such as glass
  • Iron stained Quartz
  • Coated Quartz

The first known use of Citrine in jewellery was somewhere between 300 and 150BC in Greece. The term yellow Quartz was replaced by ‘Citrine’ sometime in the medieval period.

Darker colours of Citrine are more desirable – sometimes known as madeira Citrine. However, this material is now incredibly rare and most darker Citrine is heat treated Amethyst.

 


Locales

Natural Citrine is uncommon, with most material coming from Brazil – specifically Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais.

Other locales include Bolivia, the DR Congo, Madagascar, Russia, the USA, and Zambia.


Mineralogy

Chemistry
As Quartz – silicon dioxide – SiO2.
Colours and Variations
Yellow, yellow-brown, yellow green, yellow olive, orange, dark orange.
Streak
White
Luster
Vitreous
Fracture
Conchoidal
Transparency
Transparent to translucent
Crystal habit
Hexagonal, geodes, points, druzy, prismatic crystals, massive
Mohs hardness
7
Specific Gravity
2.6 – 2.7 – usually 2.65
Fluorescence
N/A
Easiest testing method
Common Treatments
 The majority of Citrine on the market today is ‘man altered’, heat treated Amethyst.

Hazards and Warnings

Almost all rocks, minerals (and, frankly, almost all other substances on earth) can produce toxic dust when cutting, which can cause serious respiratory conditions including silicosis.

When cutting or polishing rocks, minerals, shells, etc, all work should be done wet to minimise the dust, and a suitable respirator or extraction system should be used.


Translations

Arabic:

  • السترين

Hindi:

  • सिट्रीन

Portuguese:

  • citrino

Bengali:

  • সাইট্রিন

Indonesian:

Punjabi:

  • ਸਿਟਰੀਨ

English:

  • citrine

Italian:

  • citrino

Russian:

  • цитрин

French:

Japanese:

  • シトリン

Spanish:

  • citrino

German:

  • zitrin

Korean:

Thai:

  • ซิทริน

Gujurati:

  • સાઇટ્રિન

Mandarin and Traditional Chinese:

  • 黃水晶

Urdu:


Further Reading / External Links

  • https://www.minerals.net/mineral/citrine.aspx
  • https://www.mindat.org/min-1054.html
  • https://www.gemselect.com/gem-info/citrine/citrine-info.php
  • https://geology.com/gemstones/citrine/
  • https://www.gemsociety.org/article/citrine-jewelry-gemstone-information/