What is a Citrine ?

Citrine is a clear quartz, pale yellow and brownish orange, which is rare in nature. In the past, the color of its sobriety was confused with topaz. Citrine is the best-selling yellow to orange gemstone due to its attractive color, plus durability and affordability. Citrine can be an attractive option not only for topaz, but also for sapphire. The most popular citrine color is a saturated yellow to reddish orange free of brownish.

As mentioned, natural citrine is very rare, most citrine on the market is the result of heat treatment, and some of them may be amethysts that turn from a faint purple to an attractive yellow. In these cases, the main color of amethyst can determine the yellow richness of the resulting citrine.

Fortunately, citrine crystals come in a wide range of sizes. Citrine sizes up to 20 carats are easily available in jewelry. Citrine is available in standard shapes and sizes, which is why many expensive jewelry designers and gemstone cutters have turned this warm yellow gem into unusual cuts for jewelry and inlay.

Citrine History

Citrine has long been known as a symbol of optimism. In ancient times, citrine was considered to have the power to protect against the poison of evil words and thoughts, and it was thought that it even defended against snake bites.

Citrine was especially popular in the integrated jewelry of the 1940s. The sunny color and striking proportions of citrine fit well with the simple style and bold gold of the time. This gem was often placed with rubies, peridot and aquamarine in colorful bracelets, necklaces and bracelets. Even today, jewelry designers like to put citrine in yellow gold alone or in combination with amethyst, blue topaz or peridot.

People have been using quartz in jewelry for centuries. The Egyptians also collected striped and decorated opals from the coast and used them as a talisman. The ancient Greeks carved citrine crystal ornaments to shine like ice, and the hands of Roman popes had rings set with large purple amethysts. As mentioned, most quartz citrine today is the result of heat treatment of amethyst quartz. Even so, Victorian gems have emerged, and they are not hard to imagine.

Citrine Sources

Although most natural citrins are made in Brazil, there are a number of significant sources of citrine gemstones in Bolivia, Spain, Madagascar, Mexico, and Uruguay.

Today, Bolivia has also become a leading producer, producing a colorless quartz of two colors, yellow and purple, called ametrine, which is a combination of amethyst and citrine. Citrine is also mined in African countries including Tanzania, Namibia and Zambia.

Located deep in the world's largest freshwater lagoon, Bolivia’s Anahí mine is an important source of natural, unheated citrine. The mine was discovered by a Spaniard in the 1600s, when he married Anahí, a princess from the Ayoreos tribe of Paraguay, who gave her the dowry as a gift. Bolivia’s Anahí mine was lost for three centuries until it was rediscovered in the 1960s.

In the 1960s, a miner discovered the light of thousands of purple and yellow citrine crystals on the walls of Bolivia’s Anahí mine by illuminating the light.

This mine produces a unique combination of amethyst and citrine in one crystal. When these two colors appear together in a piece of jewelry, it is known and popular as ametrine. Citrine ores at the Anahí Mine typically range from orange-yellow to brownish-yellow or yellowish-green.

Other sources of citrine include:

·        Myanmar

·        Peru

·        Russia

·        Democratic Republic of the Congo

·        Namibia

·        South Africa

·        United States

·        Zambia

Citrine Color

The best citrine has a saturated golden color that flashes inside. Citrins with reddish orange and reddish orange without brown are very expensive. Citrine with a deep reddish orange color is known as Madeira citrine.

Yellow sapphire is very similar to citrine. However, yellow Mohs 9 sapphire is much harder than citrine and also more durable. That is why sapphire is rarer and more expensive than citrine. Great examples can be a thousand dollars per carat.

Citrine Sizes

Citrine crystals come in a wide range of sizes. Citrine sizes up to 20 carats are easily available in jewelry. Citrine is available in standard shapes and sizes, which is why many expensive jewelry designers and gemstone cutters have turned this warm yellow gem into unusual cuts for jewelry and inlay.

Citrine Care 

Citrine is a relatively durable gemstone with a hardness of 7 Mohs. Its properties gradually disappear over the years because the dust in the air is also quartz. Citrine color is stable, but do not expose it to extreme heat. Be careful not to pull the jewel when using the Citrine ring, as it can create a chip.

To take care of it, do not wear citrine when using lotions or creams or when using cleansing products. Store all your gemstone jewelry, especially citrine, separately when traveling, so jewelry and metals can not scratch each other. Clean citrine with mild soap in water, you can use a soft brush to clean dust.

Citrine Value

The value of citrine is determined by its color. You will find the original citrine in the most saturated colors of yellow, orange and reddish yellow. Those with less color are in the lower price range. Pale or smoky citrine stones do not increase exponentially due to the increase in size in each grade, because larger sizes are easily available. In these cases the value decreases.

Like other gems, custom cuts increase the value of citrine. In many cut or carved specimens, the greatest value lies in the art of cutting.

Citrine Healing

Citrine has various healing properties and generally energizes life. Here are some of its properties:

·        It cleanses the chakras and opens the intuition.

·        It attracts wealth, prosperity and success and brings good luck.

·        It causes joy, surprise, pleasure and passion.

·        Boosts self-esteem and confidence.

·        Stimulates the brain, strengthens the function of the intellect.

·         It strengthens motivation, activates creativity.

·        It strengthens concentration and revives the mind.

·        Releases negative traits, depression, fear and panic.

·        It causes emotional balance.

·        Reverses degenerative disease and helps balance chemical imbalances in the body.

·        It is useful in the treatment of diabetes, stimulates digestion, spleen and pancreas.

·        Ignores kidney and bladder infections.

·        Helps with eye problems, increases blood circulation.

·        Detoxifies the blood, activates the thymus and balances the thyroid.

·        Relieves constipation and cellulite.

Synthetic Citrine

As mentioned, citrine is a type of quartz and natural quartz is common and inexpensive. However, synthetic quartz can be produced in sufficient quantities and at low cost. For this reason, the production of synthetic citrins is economical. Citrins can be grown hydrothermally in laboratories.

Citrine Identification

It is not difficult to distinguish a natural citrine from a citrine made by heat treatment. The first thing to consider is a splotchy or patchy coloring. When a citrine is subjected to heat treatment, it has darker tips with the color receding down from there.

Citrine Enhancements

Smoked quartz and natural amethyst can be converted to citrine, which often occurs in the mine through heat treatment. It is interesting to know that this sustainable treatment method is fully accepted in the gem trade. Even colorless quartz stones are irradiated and heated to produce "lemon quartz" stones, with a neon yellow, slightly greenish color.

If citrine contains proper iron and is subjected to heat treatment, it will produce a "Madeira" color. Because there is no easy way to test the iron content of citrine, processors must carefully monitor this treatment.

Citrine as gift



Citrine and topaz are the birthstones for November. Citrine is also the thirteenth anniversary gemstone. This stone is available in a wide range of sizes and shapes so it is an inspiration for jewelry designers.

It is very easy to like citrine because of its warm color, great variety in sizes and shapes, reasonable price and lovely golden shades. This gem matches beautifully with yellow gold and is also prominent against white gold and silver. Citrine is neutral and looks beautiful with everything in your closet.