Fun Facts About Citrine: November's Birthstone
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November’s birthstone is less well-known than many others. Citrine, a gold-colored variety of quartz, is often mistaken for topaz and has been throughout history. Here are some fun facts about citrine:
- Citrine is November’s birthstone, as well as the gemstone for the 13th anniversary.
- Citrine is a variety of quartz. It is transparent and appears in a color range from yellow to brownish orange.
- Citrine is rare to find in nature and when it is, it has often been confused for topaz.
- Most citrine that is used in jewelry today has been heat-treated to achieve its attractive yellow color.
- Quartz gemstones have been treasured and used in jewelry throughout history. However, because natural citrine is rare, there is less history about them than many other popular gemstones.
- Citrine ranks as a 7 on the Mohs scale.
- Citrine’s color results from a trace of iron in the gemstone.
- Citrine is the most popular yellow gemstone on the market.
- Citrine comes in a wide variety of sizes. Gems as large as 20 carats are readily available.
- The world’s largest faceted citrine is called the “Malaga” and is over 20,000 carats (that’s almost 9 pounds)!
- When amethyst and citrine colors occur together in the same crystal it’s called an ametrine. These unique gems have only been found in Bolivia.
See our collection of citrine jewelry here.
