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Where can I get an amazing citrine?

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jessica1973

Rough_Rock
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Joined
Jun 1, 2010
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21
I am helping my future brother-in-law design an engagement ring for my sister-in-law. We have already chosen the BGD Eternal Grace setting in platinum but now are looking for a 8 mm x 10 mm cushion cut citrine for it. Any suggestions of where to look?

I found what I thought was a perfect one on Gemselect but have since read reviews about them and think we will pass. I (and he!) would appreciate any help you could give us!
 
Can I ask why a citrine? They aren't durable and will not survive as an everyday e-ring stone.

Also, you've made your search more difficult by selecting a setting first, so on top of finding the right colour, you've added additional constraint of a cushion shape that must be 10 x 8 mm.
 
I really like citrine but I agree I don't think it would be a great idea for an everyday ring. It would be nice stone for a right hand ring that you don't wear all the time.
 
A durable stone (mohs hardness 8 or greater) for an everyday ring, with a yellow or orange color might be sapphire. You can find lots of recent threads on yellow sapphires. In terms of treatments, unheated stones are the most expensive. Stones that are heated (only) are less expensive, and I would personally be okay with this. The most invasive treatment is beryllium-diffusion, which basically artificially colors the sapphire at very high heat--these are very affordable. If you are okay with BE diffusion, it could be a great option.

A chrysoberyl is also an option, and would be much more affordable than a unheated or a heat-only sapphire. They are usually a slight greenish-yellow (think lemon with a slight green in some light), but they also come in a more straight yellow color. You can also search for threads on chrysoberyls.
 
Thanks for all of your replies.

We are looking for citrine because that is what my sister-in-law requested along with the cusion shape. We are definitely not held to an exact size but something that is roughly 8x10 mm. The setting will be made for the stone we choose.

I appreciate your warnings regarding durability. I will pass this along to my future brother-in-law and suggest that maybe we take a look at sapphires and other options.

Thanks again!
 
pregcurious|1351225185|3292666 said:
A durable stone (mohs hardness 8 or greater) for an everyday ring, with a yellow or orange color might be sapphire. You can find lots of recent threads on yellow sapphires. In terms of treatments, unheated stones are the most expensive. Stones that are heated (only) are less expensive, and I would personally be okay with this. The most invasive treatment is beryllium-diffusion, which basically artificially colors the sapphire at very high heat--these are very affordable. If you are okay with BE diffusion, it could be a great option.

A chrysoberyl is also an option, and would be much more affordable than a unheated or a heat-only sapphire. They are usually a slight greenish-yellow (think lemon with a slight green in some light), but they also come in a more straight yellow color. You can also search for threads on chrysoberyls.
Click to expand...

Good advice! Those would both be really great alternatives. If he decides it has to be a citrine he might want to consider just having one cut since he needs an exact shape and size.
 
I realized we didn't really answer your original question. If your SIL insists on citrine, you can ask any of the precision cutters to custom cut a citrine for you. You can find lapidaries here on the PS post:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/can-we-start-a-new-thread-with-respected-cs-vendors.169561/page-4']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/can-we-start-a-new-thread-with-respected-cs-vendors.169561/page-4[/URL]

Doug Menadue at Bespoke Gems (www.bespoke-gems.com) has examples of citrines. He is located in Australia, however.

Precision lapidaries that I am familiar with in the US are:
Gene Flanigan of Precision Gems - www.precisiongem.com
Barry of Artistic Colored Gems - www.acstones.com
Richard Homer of Concave Cut - www.concavegems.com
Dan Stair of Custom Gemstones - www.customgemstones.com
Dana of Master Cut Gems - www.mastercutgems.com
Peter Torraca www.torraca.net
Jeff White of White's Gems - www.whitesgems.com

I have personally bought a peach/pink sapphire from Peter Torraca, and the precision cutting makes it glow more than any other stone I have. I also have a cabochons from Barry that are beautiful, and his customer service is great.
 
Citrine comes in a very wide range of colors from orange to brown yellow, so you may want to find out what color your SIL has in mind before buying a citrine or another stone. Here is a great color chart for citrines showing the range of colors:

http://www.bespoke-gems.com/SacredGeometrics_Gemstones_ColourChart_Yellow.php

Based on her feedback, it may become more clear if you can easily substitute another more durable stone. For example, if she is okay with a light yellow, a yellow sapphire may be reasonably easy to find, although the size will make it difficult. Here are yellow sapphires from Gemfix, to give an idea on pricing. There are no stones with the dimensions you want.

http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_yellow_orange.html
 
yes, indeed, citrine comes in many different colors! i saw one set in a ring in san luis obispo that i would have swore was a spessartite. in fact, i made them take it out for me to see to check the labeling to make sure. it was an amazing citrine like i'd not seen before or since.

it was cut by this guy:
http://philipzahm.com/
so i should have known. his website doesn't do justice to the stones he cuts.
 
MZ, do you know if the melee in his rings are yellow sapphire or yellow diamonds?
 
The other thing I didn't see mentioned is the relatively poor brilliance of Citrine gemstones.

You will end up with a MUCH more brilliant stone (more sparkles) with either a yellow Sapphire, Chrysoberyl, or even a Yellow garnet.

There are yellow-golden Garnets sometimes referred to as "Mali Garnets". While the most common hue is a greenish-yellow, there are orange-yellow varieties, and I bet you can find one in most of the Citrine-colors. The Yellow Garnet will be more durable, be much more brilliant, and will even have visible dispersion, which a Citrine will NOT have. Dispersion, is multi-colored "fire" that will come from the gemstone.

There are many much better stones out there than Citrine.
 
OT: I hope I'm not thread jacking but has everyone noticed how popular the color yellow is around here right now?
 
movie zombie|1351262180|3292830 said:
yes, indeed, citrine comes in many different colors! i saw one set in a ring in san luis obispo that i would have swore was a spessartite. in fact, i made them take it out for me to see to check the labeling to make sure. it was an amazing citrine like i'd not seen before or since.

it was cut by this guy:
http://philipzahm.com/
so i should have known. his website doesn't do justice to the stones he cuts.
Click to expand...

MZ, I was just checking his site out the other day. Nice stuff.
 
Is her birthday in November?
 
And if your sister in law's birthday is in November, golden topaz is also a birthstone for November.....
 
pregcurious, i don't know the answer to your question.
i do know that zahm is not inexpensive!

innerkitten, how did you trip onto him?

do not discount very high end citrine, my friends. they can hold their own with spess. however, its rare to see one of that quality. and most wouldn't want to pay the price.......
 
I found it looking for colored stone jewelry inspiration :) Just love looking sometimes.
 
Wow! I just checked back in and there are so many more responses! Thank you!

My sister-in-law specifically requested a citrine on the yellow end of the spectrum. She has seen them, tried them on, has friends with them and absolutely loves them. Her birthday is not in November but she is drawn to yellow stones in general.

I have emailed Peter Torraca, Jeff White and Bespoke Gems. Jeff has replied saying that he does not have any rough that fit the criteria. Peter replies saying that he does have rough that would fit the bill and I replied answering some of his questions. I am anxiously awaiting his next email. I have not heard from Bespoke Gems yet.

I have been looking at other yellow stones (sapphire, lemon quartz, honey topaz, chrysoberyl) to expand our options. We are not confined by a size of stone since the setting will be made specifically for the stone that is chosen. A stone of an approximate 8 mm x 10 mm size would be ideal but it won't be a deal breaker if it is bigger or smaller.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will be checking out the yellow-golden garnets now as suggested by ChrisA222. Wish me luck!
 
Erinl, that golden topaz is amazing! I will definitely pass this one along as a suggestion!
 
jessica1973|1351467965|3294388 said:
Wow! I just checked back in and there are so many more responses! Thank you!

My sister-in-law specifically requested a citrine on the yellow end of the spectrum. She has seen them, tried them on, has friends with them and absolutely loves them. Her birthday is not in November but she is drawn to yellow stones in general.

I have emailed Peter Torraca, Jeff White and Bespoke Gems. Jeff has replied saying that he does not have any rough that fit the criteria. Peter replies saying that he does have rough that would fit the bill and I replied answering some of his questions. I am anxiously awaiting his next email. I have not heard from Bespoke Gems yet.

I have been looking at other yellow stones (sapphire, lemon quartz, honey topaz, chrysoberyl) to expand our options. We are not confined by a size of stone since the setting will be made specifically for the stone that is chosen. A stone of an approximate 8 mm x 10 mm size would be ideal but it won't be a deal breaker if it is bigger or smaller.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will be checking out the yellow-golden garnets now as suggested by ChrisA222. Wish me luck!
Click to expand...

If you click on "subscribe topic", then you'll get email notifications when someone adds to this thread, so you won't miss anything. :)
 
So even knowing that her citrine will chip if worn everyday, your SIL still wants one and is prepared to replace it every year or so? Lemon quartz is also not going to hold up well. With care, garnets might be worn as e-ring stones. The only stones that will hold up well in yellow are sapphire and chrysoberyl.
 
Chrono,

It sounds as though the citrine request by the sister-in-law was made prior to being informed that the stone will deteriorate with everyday wear, and now all yellow options are on the table. But I agree, Chrsyoberyl or Sapphire are the prudent choices for everyday wear. Tell your sister-in-law that there is a substantial risk of deterioration with any yellow stone stone other than these two.

Between the two, you can probably find more orangish yellows in sapphire, while chrysoberyl is going to have more green. I haven't seen too many orangish chrysoberyls. However, there are goldenish yellow chrysoberyl out there, for instance this one is close to the size you want:

http://www.finewatergems.com/chrysoberyl.html

Chrysoberyl will also be more moderately priced. You can probably find them more easily at that larger size than yellow sapphires. Then again, most large Chrysoberyls are going to be greenish-yellow...
 
CC,
We have not heard back if she's still considering citrines but know that she's open to other yellow stones. So far, there is no mention of budget either yet, which could limit or dictate her options.
 
So much information! I had a much easier time with my own engagement ring (diamond)! Perhaps because I am the middle man...

Here is the thing - everyone in our family knows that I am the jewellery nut. So my sister-in-law and I have spoken about her likes and dislikes when it comes to rings. Both of us were anticipating that her boyfriend would come to me when it was time to find her a ring. Which he did - just a little sooner than I had imagined he would so I am a bit behind on the research into stones. She made it very clear that she would like a citrine. However I don't think she realizes that they are not a practical stone for an engagement ring that she is going to wear every day.

I am going to spend a good chunk of time tomorrow in front of my computer screen researching all the stones that have been recommended here and then present options to my future brother-in-law. He knows nothing about jewellery and has been relying on my after coming to me with "All I know is that she wants a citrine." Hopefully I can convince him that choosing another stone will be a better choice in the long run. He really wants to get her something that she will love. I think she will be open to other yellow stones since she mentioned yellow sapphires at one point after seeing a gorgeous one online.

The other difficult thing is that I have not discussed budget with him but I'm pretty sure it is not in the yellow sapphire range. So I guess that will be on the agenda as well when we talk. Thanks again for all the recommendations and thank you corundum for the link to finewater gems. That is a beautiful chrysoberyl and is a great size for this project!
 
Woopsie, sorry Chrono. I took your question to mean that you thought the fragility of Citrine had been run by the SIL, and SIL still insisted on a citrine. I take it from your reply:read: that you were merely posing that question as one that should go to the SIL before further options should be tossed-out. :))

OP: I've actually been on the hunt for a yellow sapphire myself recently. They are less expensive than blue sapphires on average, so you may be getting scared away from them prematurely. However, they are not a bargain in the way that Chrysoberyl's are. For example, you would need at least a 3+ ct yellow sapphire to get the dimensions you are looking for. At that size, I would think 750-1000 dollars per carat would be a good bargain price, and probably a price you are capable of getting if you buy from a reasonable cutter or from an Internet vendor. They would be more at a B an M store. Sapphires can also be a bit cheaper or more expensive depending on whether they are unheated, heated, and a lot cheaper if treated with Beryllium. You would need a 3.5 ct chysoberyl for your size, but that can be had for about 200 dollars per carat online. So you will be looking at something around 2250-3000 for the sapphire fitting your size requirements, and maybe around 700 for the Chyso. These might be helpful approximations to present to your brother in law.

(please correct my numbers, other PSers, if you think I'm off)
 
CC,
I did not explain myself clearly earlier but yes, I meant that the SIL should be aware of the fragility of citrines and having all her options laid out together with pricing. Without knowing her budget, PSers cannot even suggest what stones might be suitable. Your approximate numbers are a good start.

Jessica,
We really need to know the approximate budget to be able to suggest realistic stones. We also need to know if your SIL is fussed on treatment or not. If she is, then sapphires may be priced out unless she has a healthy budget or is willing to accept heat or diffusion or both. If she doesn't want any treatment, then we will suggest other stones that might fit your requirements. Coloured gemstones are a whole different bag compared to diamonds, so the search will be more difficult and take far longer. The fussier you are, the longer it will take. It is not unheard of to take over 1 year to find what you want.
 
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