Citrine vs. Yellow/Lemon Yellow/Golden Yellow Quartz

[Cave Keeper]

Isn''t Yellow Quartz the same as Citrine?

 

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Yes, I believe so...

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[Cave Keeper]

Now that I recall it, Amethyst may be heat-treated to turn them into yellowish-looking quartz. A gemshop owner told me a "Citrine" that is too brownish in color is suspect. I suppose the more honest ones could label their heated Amethysts with the appropriate name "Yellow Quartz", etc.

 

[Edward Bristol]

Citrine is cooked amethyst.

Edward Bristol
www.wildfishgems.com

 

[Cave Keeper]

You''re only joking, right?

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Hi Again CaveKeeper:

Citrine is less common in nature than amethyst, and it has the same general occurance. The color of citrine is due to small amounts of iron impurities in the crystal structure of quartz.

The difference between citrine and amethyst is only the oxidation state of the iron impurities present in the quartz. Subjecting amethyst to heat mentioned by Edward earlier will reduce the oxidation state of the iron impurities in the quartz structure thereby causing amethyst''s purple color to fade and become yellow to reddish-orange (citrine), green, or colorless depending on the site and original oxidation state of the iron impurities present and depending on the amount and duration of the heat applied.

The heating process can occur naturally or synthetically.At the present, it is not possible to determine whether or not an amethyst or citrine was synthetically irradiated or heated.

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 8/5/2005 3:06:41 AM
Author: Cave Keeper
I suppose the more honest ones could label their heated Amethysts with the appropriate name ''Yellow Quartz'', etc.

The word "citrine" is derived from the Latin "citron" which essentially means "lemon" or "lemon-colored." This traditional name has been in use for centuries. What''s dishonest is calling citrine quartz "topaz" as some people still do, or selling synthetic citrine as natural.

Richard M.

 

[Cave Keeper]

Date: 8/7/2005 1:21:48 PM
Author: Colored Gemstone Nut
:
The heating process can occur naturally or synthetically.At the present, it is not possible to determine whether or not an amethyst or citrine was synthetically irradiated or heated.

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The heating process that occurs synthetically is a relatively accelerated one, perhaps only seconds, minutes, hours or days; whereas the natural process goes through a period of thousands of years. Wouldn''t the synthetic process detroy some of the wonderful natural flaws or convert such flaws into "melted" messy blobs: if so, that is how heating can be detected.

As for irradiation, that depends on the actual process used; perhaps whether traces of radiation are left behind. But nowadays, the clever Germans have developed this process to a fine art ensuring no traces of radiation are left behind in the interest of consumer safety.

 

[valeria101]

No idea what is what...

but the name ''yellow quartz'' is used for color treated quartz, I thought, while ''Citrine'' could be either natural or syntetic yellow. I don''t think treatments or origin make much of a difference among these stones anyway.

 

[Cave Keeper]

Date: 8/8/2005 8:35:47 AM
Author: valeria101
No idea what is what...

but the name ''yellow quartz'' is used for color treated quartz, I thought, while ''Citrine'' could be either natural or syntetic yellow. I don''t think treatments or origin make much of a difference among these stones anyway.

Not much difference? I won''t wish to be on the receiving end if I knew that the $100 Citrine sold to me could have been obtained at $5 as an Amethyst to be heated by myself to turn it into a $100 Citrine.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Hi CaveKeeper:

i thought I would post this interesting 10 carat carved citrine I came across tonight...

 

[Cave Keeper]

Date: 8/8/2005 8:35:47 AM
Author: valeria101
No idea what is what...

but the name ''yellow quartz'' is used for color treated quartz, I thought, while ''Citrine'' could be either natural or syntetic yellow. I don''t think treatments or origin make much of a difference among these stones anyway.

From anothe angle, and this applies more to crystal collectors more than to gemstone collectors, there is the ''spiritual'' angle.. Most crystals are relatively gigantic as they can be from 50 to tens of thousands of carats, whereas most gemstones are under 10 carats. Here, the so-called internal flaws turn into amazing and fascinating landscapes. Some external ''defects'' are regarded as ''superior'' qualities. One of the most desirable crystals, for example, is the white quartz cyrstal with a green phantom pyramid. The most elusive seems to be either a yellow crystal with a phantom pyramid or a white quartz crystal with a yellow phantom pyramid, both of which I have personally yet to come across although I''ve been searching in vain for either of them. Yes, this, rather than any gemstone, is what I desire most.

Many large crystal collectors tend to regard quartz crystals as spiritual guardians of time who have undergone spiritual transformation They are supposed to have evolved in the spiritual sense during the eons of time spent in their crystallization and transformation process. The hope is that by wearing or having contact or being in close proximity with such crystals, the user may obtain spiritual power of some sort.

So anything else like heating is likened to attacking a person on the head with a chisel or hammer. Just as such violence done to a human may result in brain damage and diminished mental capacity, so treatment may reduce the spiritual power of the crystal.

Even though we are not talking about raw crystals, but about gemstones, perhaps some of this reasoning applies, especially for those who wear colored gemstones for good luck, general or specific. One might believe an untreated stone retains more of its inherent spiritual power.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

...

 

[Cave Keeper]

Date: 8/13/2005 3:10:22 AM
Author: Colored Gemstone Nut
Hi CaveKeeper:

i thought I would post this interesting 10 carat carved citrine I came across tonight...

Thanks, Colored Gemstone Nut.

The carved Citrine looks fantastic!

Thanks for sharing.

Interesting idea: Think of the various curses, magic spells, charms, signs and even mantras which can be carved almost unseen on small stones.