Samson Jewellery - Birth Stone
November / Citrine

Citrine is yellow quartz, and the color may grade into a smoky brown.  The color is due to the presence of iron, though some lemon-yellow quartz on the market derives its color from irradiation, and is not naturally colored.  The primary source of citrine is Brazil.  The color range of citrine is very similar to that of precious topaz.  This has led to widespread misuse of the terms "citrine topaz" and "quartz topaz," both of which are quartz.   Much of the golden-colored or brownish quartz being sold today as "topaz" is actually heat-treated amethyst.  Lighter-colored stones are sold as "Palmyra topaz" and deeper, reddish-brown gems as "Madeira topaz," both of which are isnomers.

Crystalline quartz sometimes contains small quantities of alien substances which have not yet been indentified for certain.  One of these colours the quartz to produce the purple amethyst, and another produces the ellow citrine.  Some confusion has been created over this stone because in the past it was sold as 'quartz-topaz' or just  'topaz'.  Topaz is, in fact, an entirely different mineral.  Apart from the fact that both are yellow, citrine and topaz have nothing in common.  Topaz is harder and more lustrous, and at its best a far mor beautiful and expensive gemstone.

Citrine is relatively rare but a long time ago it was discovered that is was possible to transform poor-coloured amethyst crystals into attractive yellow ones by burning them.  In Brazil one sees the miners heaping up piles of amethyst crystals, covering the heap with brushwood, setting light to it and in this primitive oven cooking up citrines of a richer, more attractive colour than most of those found in nature.  Happily this colour change is permanent.