Citrine

THE MAIN CITRINE DEPOSITS

Belonging to the quartz family, citrine is a stone that is rarely found in its natural state. Its deposits, which are frequently those of amethysts, are mainly located in the United States, Spain, Uruguay and Madagascar. However, Brazil is the main producer of citrine with its significant deposits in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais. Moreover, the most beautiful stones come from this country, to mention only the famous faceted citrine of more than 2,000 carats which is exhibited in Washington, at the Smithsonian Institute.

ORIGIN OF THE NAME CITRINE

The name of citrine comes from the Latin word "citrus", meaning "lemon" in French, in reference to its color. This stone was already known in Ancient Greece. The Romans used it to make cabochons and intaglios. The men of antiquity used it, for their part, as precious stones endowed with power. It would seem that she had the gift of preserving them from the bites of poisonous snakes, the evil eye and negative thoughts. In the 1800s, citrine was used, among other things, as decoration on combs and tiaras.

THE CITRINE AND THE LEGEND OF ANAHI:

A legend tells that once, in a region located on the common borders of Brazil and Bolivia, a sorcerer had imprisoned the mantle of the dawn of purple color in a crystal. Exacerbated, the sun had then hidden it in the depths of the Earth, thus giving its color to the stone. Several years later, a conquistador had received a sample of this stone from his wife named Anahi. This is a princess from the Ayoeros tribe, who is none other than one of the wizard's descendants. She was sacrificed by her people to avoid seeing her leave with her husband for Spain. As she was dying in her husband's arms, she placed the stone in his hands to show him her eternal love. The miners who worked in the Anahi mine in the 19th century said that sometimes they still heard the cries of the conquistador, crying for his dear and tender.

THE MAIN PHYSICAL AND OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CITRINE

Citrine is both a fine, transparent and solid stone, with a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale. She is able to scratch glass. Its crystalline system is trigonal and its pleochroism weak. It is associated with zero fluorescence and conchoidal breakage. Chemically speaking, citrine is written under the formula SiO2. Its boiling point is 2230°C while its specific gravity is between 2.63 and 2.65. Unless dissolved in a concentrated solution of soda or in hydrofluoric acid, this mineral is associated with a very stable solubility.

THE COLOR OF CITRINE

Citrine owes its citrus color mainly to the tiny amounts of iron hydroxides it contains. It can sometimes be confused with yellow topaz because of their nearly identical hues. With a vitreous luster, it has several varieties depending on its tones, ranging from lemon yellow to Madeira red, passing through golden yellow, brownish orange, golden brown and tangerine orange. The green tips in the heart of the lemon yellow citrine allow to recognize this variety. For its part, the yellow-gold citrine shines like the eponymous precious metal. Madeira citrine is recognizable, for its part, by its orange-red tones, thus recalling the color of the famous Madeira wine. Orange and yellow hues combine in mandarin citrine. As for the multicolored citrine, it presents a gradient from golden yellow to colorless.

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR CITRINE WELL?

In order to choose the right citrine, it is important to consider a few criteria. As far as color is concerned, the most popular remains Madeira citrine. This is due to the fact that it is particularly bright. Nevertheless, the other color varieties have something to appeal to everyone. Purity is another essential point in the choice of this gem. The size of the citrine also matters in its choice since it allows it to adopt all kinds of shapes, according to the needs and tastes of each one.

MAINTENANCE AND PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE WITH YOUR CITRINE:

In order to keep all the brilliance of a citrine, it is better to avoid any contact with a source of excessive heat. It should also not be exposed to too intense a light. It should be noted that lime deposits and chemicals of all kinds can also affect its beauty and shine. If it is necessary to wash the citrine with water and dishwashing liquid, it is recommended to rinse it afterwards with alcohol.

VIRTUES AND BENEFITS OF CITRINE:

Thanks to its positive energies and warm color, citrine can soothe and invigorate the body and mind. It helps to find a certain inner serenity, to promote concentration, to stimulate intelligence and to stimulate good humor and creativity. It also has the power to ward off negative influences, illness, nervousness, fatigue, anxiety and stress. It can even induce beneficial financial changes and bring prosperity.

ASTROLOGICAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE CITRINE:

Citrine has the gift of promoting optimism, well-being and spiritual peace for Leos, Sagittarius, Pisces and Gemini. Taurus can also enjoy the benefits of dark citrines. Regarding the Chinese zodiac sign, citrine is beneficial for Roosters, bringing them calm and frankness. They thus become less pretentious and less arrogant.

TRADITIONAL CITRINE ASSOCIATIONS

Citrine can be given as a gift on the occasion of the 13th wedding anniversary. It is also a lucky stone for those born in November.

The Science of Citrine

With a vividly bright and colorful appeal, citrine is the name given to any quartz crystal that has a natural orange or yellow tonality, and is the most valuable of all quartz gems. Interestingly, most of the citrine stones that are mined were actually amethysts that due to the heat from surrounding magmatic energies made its color change.

The main locations where citrine is mined are all near the equator, and this gemstone has a trigonal trapezohedral crystal system and a Mohs hardness of 7.

Citrine throughout History

For thousands of years citrine was adored for its rarity, being one of the main gemstones from which the Romans crafted their beautiful and exquisite jewelry. However, the stone's rarity has changed nowadays and its use no longer is related to sheer opulence and luxury, but that didn't change its charm and amazing properties not even a bit, and it will forever be associated with its historic reputation of being the “success stone” that sprouted myths about its wealth-boosting abilities and being beloved by Celts and Scots that worshiped this gemstone for its protective qualities against evil thoughts and diseases.

Citrine's healing properties

Few gemstones represent the power of the Sun as strongly as citrine with its warming and reinvigorating, cleansing and renewing energy. It's thought to serve as a link between lower and higher forms of consciousness and, therefore, balancing our vital energies. Due to its enlightening qualities, citrine helps the individual find himself and channel the true will to struggle for the accomplishment of all personal goals.
Citrine strongly encourages creative thinking and reinforces the belief in one's intuition, boosting self-confidence without ever leading to narcissism.
Just like the Sun itself, this gemstone stimulates healing throughout the whole body, playing a crucial role in the regeneration of tissues and cell growth. It's an amazing antioxidant that reverses the negative effect of radiation and lowers the impact of allergies.
Citrine is cherished by those suffering from digestive, circulatory or urinary problems, as well as individuals with diseases that affect any of the internal organs.

citrine care

Given the right care, citrine can last forever. Even though it's solid enough to resist every day's use, it should be protected from any situation where it could be severely hit or scratched. It should also be shielded from prolonged exposure to the Sun, or its color might undergo a severe tonality change. After cleaning it with lukewarm water, make sure to properly rinse and dry it.