15 Interesting notes on citrine
1. Sunny citrine is a transparent yellow variety of quartz found in shades ranging from pale lemon to golden honey and even sometimes amber-brown.
2. The most highly prized specimens are highly saturated yellow with little to no brown tones.
3. It may sometimes exhibit sparkling rainbow inclusion, though inclusions are on the whole rare.
4. The name citrine is derived from the French for lemon – citron – which ultimately derives from the Latin name for the fruit citrus.
9ct pave set citrine & gold ring, £415
5. Records for the use of citrine as talismans & simple decorative gems date back as far as 300 B.C. in Greece.
6. Many ancient cultures considered citrines to be gifts from the sun, little drops of sunshine no less. They were believed to encourage cheerfulness and positivity…an overall sunny disposition.
Shooting Star earrings by Fei Liu, £180
7. This gemstone has no cleavage and a mohs hardness rating of 7, meaning it is very hard to break or split, making it an extremely wearable stone in jewellery and perfect for use in larger, unusual & creative designs.
8. Often referred to as The Merchants Stone for its reputed ability to attract wealth and prosperity.
9. In the midst of the Art Deco period large citrines were very popular, although rather rarer to find than now and as such was much sought after by Hollywood stars. Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford were both known to favour citrine.
Greta Garbo was a fan of citrine
10. In the 1920’s-1930’s Greta Garbo designed her own jewellery. A citrine cabochon and gold art deco cocktail bracelet of her own design recently sold at auction for $17,000.
11. The worlds largest supplier of natural citrine is Rio Grande do Sul area of Brazil, but the stone can be found all over the world including Britain.
12. Particularly popular in Scotland, where it is thought to offer protective qualities to the bearer, it is often found incorporated into kilt pins and sword hilts.
13. The stones colour is often thought to derive from traces of iron found in its structure, however this has recently been the subject of some debate.
Silver multi-gemstone necklace, £225
14. Associated with the 13th wedding anniversary as well as being an alternative birthstone for November, the other being blue topaz.
15. Like topaz, citrine is often found in large clusters making it an excellent stone for designers and cutters to experiment with unusual cuts & settings without worrying about loss of carats.
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