Citrine is one of the most popular gemstones available today. It belongs to the very large family of quartz gemstones.
It is the purple Amethyst’s yellow cousin or, more properly, sister since they are so closely related. The only difference between these two members of the quartz family is the rate of oxidization of their iron impurities.
Citrine is quartz. Quartz is the second most common mineral in the earth’s crust. It is made up of silicon and oxygen formed within all types of rocks. Common quartzes include amethyst, blue quartz, cactus quartz, chalcedony, rose quartz and smoky quartz. Liquids cool within cracks of rocks and begin to form crystals and when certain minerals are trapped together they can form colored crystals.
Citrine is basically a yellow quartz but the color ranges from a light lemony yellow all the way to an earthy brown color with some very nice oranges in between. The more saturated the color the better and an even tone throughout makes for a higher valued gemstone.
In general the most highly valued color citrine is the deeply saturated reddish orange color, most often found in Brazil although Uruguay produces some wonderful colored citrine. The golden orange to almost reddish brown Madeira Citrine is a good example of the most sought after color in citrine. Another deep red-orange citrine is the Fire Citrine, a trade name for a heat treated citrine quartz mined in one specific mine, the Linha Estefania Mine in Brazil.
To slightly confuse matters, natural citrine is valued more than treated citrine yet natural citrine is not often found in these deep reddish orange hues so occasionally a natural lighter yellow citrine of fine clarity and cut well will command an even higher price.
