Citrine - November Birthstone

Contributed by CanterburyVinesStudios

Brazil is the leading producer of citrine, with much of its production coming from the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The name is derived from Latin citrina which means "yellow" and is also the origin of the word "citron." Sometimes citrine and amethyst can be found together in the same crystal and is referred to as ametrine. Citrine made by heating amethyst may be returned to a purple color by bombarding it with beta radiation. Interestingly, a popular gemstone on the market is a mixture of half amethyst and half citrine and is given the name ametrine, made by heating an amethyst until it turns into citrine, then irradiating a part of the resulting crystal or gemstone to convert that portion back to amethyst.Citrine is a variety of quartz whose color ranges from a pale yellow to brown. Natural citrines are rare; most commercial citrines are heat-treated amethysts or smoky quartzes. It is nearly impossible to tell cut citrine from yellow topaz visibly, but they differ in hardness. Citrine has ferric impurities, and is rarely found naturally.



Citrine is one of three traditional birthstones for the month of November.






Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are semi-precious gemstones. Especially in Europe and the Middle East, varieties of quartz have been since antiquity the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewelry and hardstone carvings.Pure quartz, traditionally called rock crystal (sometimes called clear quartz), is colorless and transparent (clear) or translucent. Common colored varieties include citrine, rose quartz, amethyst, smoky quartz, milky quartz, and others. Quartz goes by an array of different names. The most important distinction between types of quartz is that of macrocrystalline and the microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline varieties. The cryptocrystalline varieties are either translucent or mostly opaque, while the transparent varieties tend to be macrocrystalline. Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica consisting of fine intergrowths of both quartz, and its monoclinic polymorph moganite.




I like the warmth of the Citrine and I often pair it with Smoky quartz.
Happy Birthday November!

Shannon

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartz http://www.galleries.com/minerals/gemstone/citrine/citrine.htm