





Happy birthday, November babies! Along with Imperial Topaz, citrine is your birthstone. It's nice to have a reminder of sunshine in the sometimes-gloomy weather. Citrine is also listed as birthstone for the Scorpio & Gemini Zodiac signs, and is the traditional gift for the 11th & 13th wedding anniversaries.
History
For centuries, citrine was often confused with other yellow gemstones, such as yellow tourmaline, yellow beryl, and especially yellow topaz. This was in part because citrine & topaz were both found on the island of Topazius off the coast of Egypt in the Red Sea. It was first named by Georg Bauer, a German metallurgist & father of modern mineralogy. There are reports of it being based on the French citron
, which is one of the original four citrus fruits, or the Latin citrina
, because of its pale yellow color. Alternate names include "Bohemian Topaz" and cairngorm
, a Celtic word used in ancient Scotland.
Citrine was popular in ancient Greece during the Hellenistic period, ancient Egypt, and ancient Europe. By the 17th century, it was used for weapon adornment in Scotland. Some weapon-makers even carved dagger blades from larger crystals. Queen Victoria was a lover of all gems, but her favorite was citrine because of its sunny color.
Metaphysical Properties
The color of citrine (particularly saffron) is associated with spiritual enlightenment and inner peace. Eastern traditions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism use this color for their monks' robes in spiritual practices. Citrine corresponds to the solar plexus chakra. The Romans believed it to be the stone of the messenger god Mercury.
The stone is said to have many properties, such as attracting prosperity, which led to it being known as the "merchant's stone", "success stone", or "money stone". The sunshiny color can add joyous energy to the lives of people who wear or carry it.
Healthwise, citrine is said to relieve backache, combat depression, and fight ailments of the liver, spleen, digestive system, and bladder. It can grant youthfulness, joy, and vitality. It promotes creativity and clarity, and eliminates self-destructive tendencies.
Geological Properties
Citrine is a form of quartz, the second-most abundant mineral on earth. (The first is the feldspar group, if you were curious. I was.) There are several other forms of quartz used as gems, including amethyst. Sometimes amethyst and citrine crystals will grow together and form the gem known as ametrine.
Crystal veins of citrine (and other members of the quartz family) form from molten magma or mineral solutions deposited in rock through precipitation. Gem-quality specimens of natural citrine are actually rare, so most citrine on the market is heat-treated amethyst or smoky quartz.
Citrine has been mined in Brazil, the United States, Madagascar, Argentina, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Russia, Scotland, and Spain. It rates 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, has a specific gravity of 2.65, and a refractive index of 1.544-1.553.
Clean your citrine with warm, soapy water. You can use an ultrasonic cleaner as long as it isn't dyed or filled, but don't stem-clean it as heat can change the color. Fast temperature changes can cause fractures. Prolonged exposure to intense light can cause the color to fade. It can be damaged by hydrofluoric acid, ammonium fluoride, and alkaline solution.