Citrine
VARIETY INFORMATION:
- VARIETY OF: Quartz , SiO 2
.
- USES: Gemstone and ornamental stone.
- BIRTHSTONE FOR: November
- COLOR: various shades of yellow and orange.
- INDEX OF REFRACTION: 1.544-1.553
- BIREFRINGENCE: 0.009
- HARDNESS: 7
- CLEAVAGE: none
- CRYSTAL SYSTEM: trigonal
Citrine is any quartz crystal or cluster that is yellow or
orange in color. Although, often cut as a gemstone, citrine is actually somewhat
rare in nature. Most citrines on the market have been heat treated. Specimens of
low grade, inexpensive amethyst or smoky quartz
are often cooked at high temperatures to produce the more profitable orange
yellow citrine. Citrines whose colors have been produced by artificial means
tend to have much more of an orange or reddish caste than those found in nature,
which are usually a pale yellow. Much of the natural citrine may have started
out as amethyst but heat from nearby magmatic bodies may have caused the change
to citrine. Interestingly, a popular gemstone on the market is a mixture of half
amethyst and half citrine and is given the name ametrine.
Unfortunately for citrine it is often confused with the more
expensive orange-yellow topaz and is at times sold as topaz by unscrupulous
dealers. This practice has soured many potential citrine fanciers who see
citrine as a fake topaz and not as a legitimate gemstone.
Serendipity
Ranch Gem Mine