Is Your Citrine Actually Citrine?

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 Is Your Citrine Actually Citrine?

A Look Into How You Can Tell 
if Your Citrine is Heat-Treated



    What does quartz, amethyst, and citrine all have to do in common? Well, all three are varieties of quartz. Quartz can be found worldwide, but amethyst and citrine are located in certain locations. Citrine is usually found in Brazil, Madagascar, and Russia. Citrine occurs in the same environment as smoky quartz, mostly intrusive igneous minerals which have traces of radioactive elements, whose radiation cause the coloration.

But, you can find fake citrine almost everywhere, from online stores to local mineral shops. I, unfortunately, have been a victim of the fake citrine market. Fake citrines are scattered everywhere. Every citrine that you see on the market that are either a light orange or deep orange with the color stopping halfway through the crystal is fake. 

    These fake citrines are created by applying heat to amethyst crystals. The amethyst crystals do not need to have a deep purple color, as faint specimens can also turn a deep yellow or orange once heated. Once offered in large amounts, crystallized mineral specimens heat-treated have disappeared from mineral shows, as collectors do not want to pay for something that has been artificially altered. Shocker. 

    Heat-treated amethyst is sold in lots as "citrine" for jewelry purposes, since the distribution of color of amethyst is different from those of real citrine, a heat-treated amethyst is easily recognizable. The yellow color is most intense in the ends, whilst the color goes clear towards the other ends. Many uninformed people who do not know anything about fake minerals (including me, a day before writing this) will buy "Citrine Clusters" which are obviously fake. I've seen fakes like this multiple times, and there are people who eat it right up and pay large sums of money for them.


I don't understand the appeal of this

    So, to recap, if you see a "citrine" that has a deep orange, or light orange color only in the caps or "points", it is most likely a fake. Please be careful whilst buying citrine online and in person, as many retailers don't know that they're selling fake citrine. 


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