Citrine
Yellow quartz, rare in nature and mostly made by heating amethyst.
- Family
- Quartz
- Formula
- SiO₂
- Mohs
- 7
- System
- Trigonal
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Science
Citrine is the yellow to orange-brown variety of quartz, coloured by iron. Natural stones tend to be pale lemon; the saturated orange 'Madeira' colour is nearly always the product of heating amethyst. Because it never needs cleansing in folk practice, it is sold as the 'merchant's stone'.
- Mineral
- Quartz (variety)
- Formula
- SiO₂
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Mohs hardness
- 7
- Specific gravity
- 2.65
- Refractive index
- 1.544 to 1.553
- Lustre
- Vitreous
- Colours
- Yellow, Gold, Honey
- Birthstone
- November
Composition
SiO₂. Made of Silicon, Oxygen, with trace Iron responsible for colour.
Origin
- Brazil
- BoliviaAnahí mine, natural material
- Madagascar
- Zambia
- RussiaUrals, historic
- Spain
Filled dots are primary sources
Rarity
Natural citrine is uncommon. Almost everything sold as citrine is heat-treated amethyst or smoky quartz from Brazil.
- 1 Abundant
- 2 Common
- 3 Uncommon
- 4 Rare
- 5 Exceptional
Hardness
Citrine sits at 7 on the Mohs scale. It will scratch glass and holds a polish in daily wear.
Energy
Associations from crystal-healing tradition, recorded here as folklore. They are not medical claims.
Chakras
- Solar Plexus
- Sacral
Element
- Fire
Zodiac
- Aries
- Gemini
- Leo
- Libra
Planets
- Sun
- Jupiter
Properties
- Abundance
- Confidence
- Energy
- Optimism
- Creativity
Lore
The name comes from the French citron, lemon. In the Hellenistic period it was carried as protection against snake venom and bad thoughts, and Scottish Highland dirks were set with it as 'cairngorm'.
The Art Deco years made it fashionable: large citrines were set for Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, which pushed Brazilian production of heated material.
- TellHeated amethyst is often orange with a white base; natural citrine is more evenly pale yellow.
- Pairs withAmetrine, where citrine and amethyst share one crystal.