Buyer's Guide
A saturated yellow to reddish orange color free of brownish tints is prized in citrine. Dealers look for citrines without color zoning or visible inclusions.
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What To Look For
The finest citrine colors are saturated, with little or no brownish component, and range from yellow to reddish orange, and even orangy red.
Much of the faceted citrine in the market is “eye-clean,” meaning it lacks eye-visible inclusions. Material with minor inclusions is often used for cabochons or carvings. Visible inclusions in pale-colored gems reduce citrine’s value greatly.
Citrine is available in a wide variety of fancy shapes, including custom cuts. Many cutting styles are calibrated in standard millimeter sizes for use in mass-market jewelry.
Large-size citrine is not priced significantly more per carat than smaller sizes, making it a good choice for bold jewelry designs. Unlike other colored gems, smaller citrines can have strong color, making it easier to match sets of differently sized gems.
Citrine Quality Factors: The Comprehensive Guide
Questions & Answers
Is citrine treated?
Because yellow quartz colors are rare in nature, most citrine is the result of heating, which converts less valuable shades of purple amethyst to the golden shades of citrine.
Is there synthetic citrine?
Quartz is grown in laboratories for industrial purposes and to make laboratory-grown amethyst. Some of the material becomes laboratory-grown citrine quartz.
How can I judge citrine’s quality?
Look for eye-clean gems with lively, pleasing color and attractive cutting styles.
Does GIA offer reports for citrine?
GIA offers a Colored Stone Identification Report for citrine, but it is not commonly requested because of the cost of the report compared to the value of most citrine.
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Questions & AnswersCaring for Your Citrine
Keep your citrine beautiful by following simple care and cleaning guidelines.
Durability
Citrine is fairly durable, but abrupt temperature changes can fracture it.
Care and Cleaning
Warm, soapy water is always safe for cleaning citrine.
Treatment
Since natural citrine is rare, most citrine on the market is the result of heat treatment.
