Citrine Gemstone

Citrine is a beautiful gemstone that has become quite popular over the last few decades. While it is made from quartz (the most common type of mineral), it is quite rare in its natural form. Citrine has a beautiful yellow color which can vary from a light or pale yellow, to a yellowish orange to having other colors present such as a red or brown tinge.

Citrine gets its wonderful hues from the small particles of iron trapped in this quartz mineral. In fact, Citrine usually has only about 40 parts per million particles of iron. The oxidation of this iron is what gives the Citrine its yellow or yellow orange color. It should be noted that Citrine is associated with Amethyst. It is in fact the substance, except it has a different oxidation state of the iron present. This means that you can easily heat up Amethyst to create Citrine. Since Amethyst is found more readily than Citrine, the commercial Citrine you purchase is usually Amethyst that has been specially treated.

Citrine is a hard mineral and usually has a harness of 7 on Mohs’s hardness scale; this makes it a great stone to use for jewelry. Citrine can be found on many ornamental jewelry pieces including rings, earrings, charms, bracelets, etc. It can be cut easily and has a vitreous luster. It should also be noted that it is transparent or translucent giving it a nice glassy quality. Citrine is one of the more affordable gemstones and can come in many sizes.