ORIGIN

Citrine was first discovered by a Spanish conquistador in the 1600s. The Bolivian mine he came across, "Anahí", contained large deposits of citrine as well as amethyst. Although the mine was lost for three centuries after it was initially found, it was rediscovered in the 1960s and quickly became the most important source of natural, unheated citrine. Spain, Madagascar, Mexico and Uruguay are also citrine hot spots.

COLOR GRADING

Citrine colors range from pastel yellow to madeira. Like other stones, the more saturated the citrine's color is, the more valuable. 

When looking for citrine for everyday jewelry, typically below one carat, the color scale ranges from AAAA - A. Stones are labeled with these letters based on rarity. For example, an AAAA (heirloom quality) stone accounts for the top 1% of all-natural gemstones, AAA stone (fine quality) accounts for 10%, AA accounts for 25%, and A for 50 - 75% (a more commercial-grade stone). 

When looking for a citrine stone that is fine quality (typically over one carat), you would ask your jeweler to find you a "Gem". Gem is a term used to describe the best quality in gemstones, for any size above one carat. In the case of citrine, a gem would have a deep red-orange color like the "golden citrine" and "madeira" colors above.

Source: gems-inclusions

CLARITY GRADING

Citrine is known to have very few inclusions - majority of the faceted stones on the market are eye-clean. If a stone does have imperfections, it will most likely be color zoning, which will cause the citrine's value to decrease. 

Source: John Dyer & Co.

LUSTER

Luster is the way light interacts with the surface of a stone. Also known as crystal or the "life" in a stone, this seemingly slight difference between stones can raise the price of a gem significantly. Citrine is a transparent quartz making it easy for these stones to carry light - this is why citrine is know to have particularly good luster.

Source: Geology In

TREATMENTS

Natural citrine does not typically undergo any treatments to improve its color or clarity. However, natural-color citrine is rare. In order to achieve the citrine color at a lower cost, it is common for amethyst to be heated so that it produces a strong yellow or orange hue similar to a natural citrine. Although it can be quite difficult to tell the difference between a real citrine and a heat-treated amethyst once the stone is polished, you can usually tell by looking at the rough. A heat treated amethyst will have a white bottom with orange tips, while a true citrine will be orange all the way through. All of our citrine is sourced from reputable vendors and is 100% authentic.

Source: Diamond Advisor

DENSITY

The density of a stone is what determines its carat weight. Because density varies between different types of stones, carat weight differs even if two stones have the same dimensions. For example, if a citrine is 12x10mm it weighs in at around 6 carats. However, a 12x10mm sapphire weighs in at about 8.5 carats. 

Source: GIA

CERTIFICATES

Since citrine is a semi-precious stone rather than precious, it is uncommon for them to come with a certification. However, all stones are available for certification if its owner wishes to certify it. If a citrine is certified, it most likely will have a certificate from a notable lab such as GIA, Lotus, AIGS, CDC, and IGI.

Source: Gems N Gems

LAB GROWN CITRINE

Just like diamonds, lab-grown citrine is 100% atomically the same as natural citrine. The cost difference between the two isn't as significant as we would typically see with diamonds or precious gemstones, however, the color of these stones are particularly vivid.

Source: Shahla Karimi

BIRTHSTONE MEANINGS + HEALING PROPERTIES 

November's birthstone, citrine, is primarily know to bring good luck and fortune to its wearer. For this reason, it was common for ancient Greeks to carve citrine into ornaments, while Romans primarily used them as the center stone in rings. On the health front, citrine is believed to help heal the gut and aid in digestion.
*Fun Fact: People born in November are the coolest (according to SK)