CITRINE  

     This golden variety of the Quartz Family is often called quartz topaz, citrine topaz, or topaz, all of which are misleading. It is yellow, amber, to amber brown. While a pleasing stone in terms of color, and fairly durable, (equal to it’s sister stone Amethyst), citrine is slightly softer and has less brilliance than precious topaz. It also lacks the subtle color shading, the pinker yellow or pinkish amber shades, which lend to precious topaz a distinctive color difference. Its coloring is due to ferric iron. Its name is from the old French citrin meaning yellow.
 

     Citrine is the traditional gem to give for a thirteenth wedding anniversary, and is often substituted for topaz as the birthstone for November.

     Much citrine is made by heat-treating purple amethyst. Citrine is also much less expensive than precious topaz. It should never be represented as topaz, which technically is "precious" or "imperial" topaz. Citrine is plentiful in all sizes, and can be made into striking jewelry, especially in very large sizes, for a relatively small investment.

TREATMENT: Commonly heat treated (permanent color)

MOHS HARDNESS: 7 (a rather durable stone requiring normal care)

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION: SiO 2

REFRACTIVE INDEX: o=1.544 e= 1.553 (very constant)
(The angle light is bent traveling through a gemstone)

DENSITY (SPECIFIC GRAVITY): 2.651 (very constant)
(The number of times heavier a gemstone is compared to water)

PRINCIPAL SOURCES: Brazil, Madagascar