This special gemstone offers a spectrum of colors from yellow to orange. Its name is derived from French “citrine” meaning lemon as a nod to its color. Citrine is a variety of quartz and its color is said to be a gift of the sun, making it the perfect birthstone for the typically chilly month of November. The presence of iron gives the stone its lovely golden hues.
It is also said to specifically resonate with the signs of Aries, Gemini (magnifies their duo nature, their yin and yang energies while promoting balance), Leo (as they are ruled by the sun, it’s a natural choice), and Libra (offers balance to their intellectual and emotional sides).
With its warm yellow to orange tones, it is often referred to as the sun stone and is considered to generate positive energy while promoting abundance and success.
This gorgeous crystal, citrine comes from all over the world, namely: Brazil, Spain, Russia, Madagascar, and Scotland.
Since ancient times people believed that citrine calmed tempers, soothed anger and manifested desires specifically in the area of prosperity. Consequently, Egyptians used citrine as talismans, Greeks carved iconic images with this special stone and Roman priests fashioned this beautiful gemstone into rings.
In the 1930’s, experienced gem cutters moved from Europe to South Africa where much of the world’s citrine was being mined at the time. This fortuitous move resulted in the delightful consequence that as the Art Deco design movement was taking place at roughly the same time and saw Hollywood stars adorned with elaborate citrine jewelry and ensuring its appeal with the association or wealth, beauty and success.
Given the prosperity associated with citrine, it should come as no surprise that it also has the moniker of the “merchant’s stone” with the focus on prosperity, wealth and good fortune.
It keeps quartz physical characteristics and citrine also has a 7 on the Mohs scale for hardness and is considered brittle.
Why is Citrine Special?
Citrine is thought to be a stone that holds no negative energy and only instills confidence and healing wisdom while repelling all negativity to the wearer.
The rarity of natural citrine insured that an alternative was developed, in this case leveraging amethyst and heating the stone until its color took on deep amber or smoky yellow. A second alternative is to use the stone that is the basis of citrine (quartz) and introduce iron in it in an autoclave to produce deep yellow gemstones.
How to Care for Citrine Jewelry:
Use a soft cloth and gentle soap and water to clean the quartz. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners with this stone. Follow the cleaning with a soft dry cloth should do the trick. Essentially, whatever you are doing for your quartz pieces, do the same for your citrine.
Try to prevent cosmetics, lotions, sunscreens from encountering the stone.
Citrine is best kept in a dry, dark place away from direct sunlight.
Our artist friends here at Sundara Joon have been hard at work making some beautiful pieces incorporating this special stone. Check out their special jewelry for yourself. Citrine is a wonderfully popular stone on its own, but is equally lovely when paired with other colorful gemstones.
