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Citrine
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Citrine belongs to the quartz group which also includes amethyst, and smoky
quartz. Most citrine is formed when amethyst is heated commercially. The color
ranges from light yellow to dark yellow to reddish yellow. Natural, unheated
citrine is rare. The term Madeira citrine refers to citrine which has a
reddish-brown color caused from heating at high temperatures. Look for citrine
that has no eye visible inclusions. Much of the citrine on the market today is
color zoned; areas where the color is unevenly distributed. Usually this will
not affect the face up appearance. A great deal of citrine is poorly faceted
with deep pavilions, thus making it difficult to set in jewelry. People become
of aware of this problem when they buy citrine while they are on vacation,
somewhere like in Brazil and bring it back to their jeweler to set into jewelry.
Many times the jewelry has to be hand made to accommodate the gem, increasing
its price far beyond what was originally intended. Beware of poor cutting! It
will cost you dearly.
The marketplace is awash in synthetic citrine and amethyst. It is important
to deal with a reputable jeweler who will guarantee the gem's natural origin.
Synthetic citrine can be suspected when all of the jewelry in a display case is
set with calibrated, Madeira color citrine. Natural citrine in good color will
sell for $30/ct for one to five carat sizes (example: 5 carats x $30/ct =
$150.00). So if the price of the jewelry doesn't reflect this cost, be careful.
You could be looking at synthetic material.
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| Brazil, Malagasy Republic, Colorado, Spain, Russia |
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| SiO2, silicon dioxide; hexagonal (trigonal);
hexagonal prisms with pyramids |
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| Transparent; R.I. 1.54-1.55; Hardness 7 |
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| Widely available in sizes ranging from small to
medium |
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| Light yellow to gold-brown. Maderia citrine usually
has some reddish brown to the color |
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| Heating- stable |
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| Normal (be careful of heating-can affect color) |
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| None |
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| Found in faceted and cabochon and freeform shapes |
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$30-$50/ct (one to fifteen carats)
Best prices paid for Maderia citrine (reddish brown and saturated color) |
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