All About Citrine – Uses, Properties, Color, and Worth

Citrine is a type of quartz which consists of silicon and oxygen along with varying degrees of iron impurities.  Citrine is not very common in nature and most citrine available on the market is heat treated from amethysts and smoky quartz.

Both natural topaz and citrine look very similar when cut and both gemstones are commonly used for the birthstone of November.  The name citrine comes from the Latin word “citrina”, which means yellow. 

Sometimes citrine and amethyst are found together in the same crystal structure.  This type of find is referred to as Ametrine.

Did you know that citrine is is very similar to amethyst with only some slight differences. Read about it here in our “All About Amethyst” article.

Common Citrine Properties:

Mineral Category	Citrine is considered an oxide mineral.
Citrine Mohs Scale Hardness:	7
Citrine Specific Gravity:	2.65
Citrine Streak:	White
Citrine Fracture:	Conchoidal, typically uneven or splinter like.
Citrine Luster:	Glassy, Transparant
Citrine Crystal System:	Hexagonal
Citrine Chemical Formula:	SiO₂

Citrine Uses

Citrine is primarily used for jewelry.  Many years ago this stone was discovered and used as a translucent golden gemstone for various pieces of jewelry.  Today that main use continues as citrine can be used in rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces and pendants. 

Some specimens of citrine can be purchased for display in one’s home or elsewhere.  Large crystals, or even a cluster of crystals can dazzle the eye and capture attention quickly.  Some will cut citrine out into marbles, but beyond that, citrines main purpose has continued to be jewelry for some time.

Some people believe in our modern day that citrine has healing powers.  It has been believed that anyone in possession of this stone can acquire better brain functionality by enhancing mental clarity.  Other enhancing, energy gaining, and improved physical or spiritual attributes are also believed to occur with possession of citrine jewelry.  

Some have believed in distant past and likely even in present times, that this stone was capable of bringing prosperity to the owner as it was often called the “money stone”.

Whether it be in fish tanks or other water features, citrine can go in water without damaging it. The surface of citrine is very hard and resistant to water damage. Citrine in salt water can start to cause damage over longer periods of time and is not recommended.

So if you do buy some citrine for display or jewelry, don’t worry. Citrine can get wet without damaging it. Just dry it off after it gets wet. If it gets wet by salt water, rinse it off and dry it.

Citrine Color

Citrine color is a golden yellow to deep orange or reddish brown color.  Many describe the color of citrine as the color of honey.  The array of yellow colors of citrine come from impurities of iron that were available when this type of quartz was formed.

Confusion can often happen between citrine and other gemstones that have similar color and are more precious.  Since citrine is considered lesser of a gemstone, some deception can be made to unwary purchasers thinking they are getting a more valuable stone such as topaz, yellow sapphire, golden beryl, and some garnets.

Citrine cannot go in the sun for prolonged periods of time. The sunlight will, over time, bleach out that beautiful honey yellow color. Wearing citrine as jewelry out in the sun should not be a worry though, as this is not really considered a prolonged period of time.

Citrine Value and Worth

The worth of citrine can be small as the availability of citrine is quite abundant.  The price of citrine per carat can be around $2 to $7 per depending on color and clarity. The ability to heat treat amethyst and smoky quartz to create citrine has put the value of citrine on the bottom end of gemstones.

Expect that the larger the cut gemstone or raw specimen, the more cost you will incur while purchasing citrine.  Some still attempt to sell natural occurring citrine for some larger prices, though the increase does not seem to draw any sort of outrage and it still remains affordable.

As a current example, a rounded cut natural citrine gem at about 46 carats can run you 330 USD.  That’s roughly about 7 USD a carat.  A heat treated gem can sell at about 2 to 4 USD per carat.  Though that price gap between natural and heat treated looks to be double, it’s not extremely expensive to the consumer when doubling smaller numbers.

A loose uncut crystal can be under a dollar a carat which makes it quite easy to obtain by many rock collectors.

Fake citrine can be hard to spot and are often heat treated smoky quartz and amethyst. Typically real or natural citrine will express a nice yellow color throughout the crystal. Some fake citrine will be glass and can be easy to spot as real citrine is very transparent.

Is Citrine More Expensive Than Amethyst?

Citrine is not more expensive than amethyst. Since Amethyst is more sought after than citrine, amethyst can be a $1 or more expensive per carat than citrine. The cost for raw specimens may lean toward amethyst being more expensive especially for larger specimens.

If you are looking at a large specimen of amethyst, often called a geode or cathedral, you can end up spending thousands to obtain it, citrine appears to have no such comparison in this regard.  

Where is Citrine Found?

The places where natural citrine can be found will be typically anywhere amethyst is found. South American countries, in particular Brazil where much of the nice crystals are found, will be the most notable location. Other places citrine can be found are in just about every major continent including countries like Russia or the USA.

The reason for the abundance is that silica is just about everywhere on our earth. This quartz type mineral with silica and dioxide has literately crystalized in some form or other all over the world.

Citrine and Topaz

The comparison of citrine vs topaz is often made as they can be both be very similar in color and crystal look. They are however two very different minerals. The major differences will include the crystal system and the chemical formula. Citrine a simple silicon dioxide while topaz has other elements such as aluminum and fluorine with hydroxide.

One can really see the difference between citrine and topaz when it comes to simply how it looks. Citrine will be a bulbus to fine point forming crystal or even just misshapen crystals. Topaz will crystalize in a uniform length until it finally turns to a point. For some finer details on topaz to help you in comparison, visit our article “All About Topaz”