Crystals are remarkable and glorious gifts from Mother Earth. Aren’t they? Well, what does fake citrine have to do with all of this?
And we all love citrine. Right? But do you know if your citrine is real or fake citrine…
and should you care?
Some crystal peeps prefer their crystals to be all-natural; as they were found in Mother Nature, in the raw.
Others may be drawn to the beauty of crystals that have been enhanced in some way but they may be totally unaware that they have been artificially altered. Maybe the crystals have been molecularly bonded, irradiated, tumbled, cut, polished, or even heat-treated in a lab. Now, I’m saying “lab” in this post for ease & flow but often times the heating we’re talking about here isn’t done in a lab at all. It’s usually done in a dusty warehouse by the miners themselves; no lab coats or anything. Just keepin’ it real for ya. 😉
Lab-heated citrine seems to be a sore spot with many. So much so that over the years as I received many questions about it I’ve created a few videos to talk about the topic & show some examples. (See below for vids).
Sometimes when people find out that much of the citrine on the market isn’t a Mama Earth Creation, they may go into a mini-panic, thinking that they’ve been duped or that their heat-treated citrine is totally useless. Not so…IMHO. But more about that in a bit.
How to tell the difference
It’s not always an easy task but let me give you a few pointers. If it’s heat-treated citrine, the color will be most concentrated at the tips but white at the bottom (see photos below). Also heat-treated citrine will be sort of crumbly & break apart easily since heating the stones at the temps necessary does seem to weaken the stability of the crystals.
Natural Citrine
Natural citrine points from the Congo. Notice their generally uniform smokey, champagne or honey color to them. Congo natural citrine usually comes in these nice elongated points & often have babies & hematite around its base where it was attached to the rock matrix.
This is a natural citrine with a classic point shape and light tea color throughout the crystal.
This piece is an amazing feat of geology! Here you see a double terminated penetrator twin that got fractured during its growth process and self-healed while turning into a natural golden citrine only above the fracture! AMAZING & have never seen anything like it!
Heat-Treated Citrine
Heat-treated citrine from Brazil is usually amethyst (sometimes smokey quartz) that’s been baked. This piece was broken off of a large amethyst geode then heated to get this tell-tale baked orange color at the tip with white bottom.
This photo demos another common baked citrine formation, the druse. This darker deep honey-colored ice tea hue is known as Madeira citrine. Then you can see a sharp border which then goes white.
How do They Do It?
Mother Earth naturally creates citrine with her geothermal heat source; from within the mantle (her deluxe gourmet geo-kitchen!) by heating amethyst or smoky quartz (both are SiO2 (quartz), just as citrine is).
The Earth can also produce the deep brown citrine, aka Madeira citrine. This is rarer than your usual lighter honey or white wine-colored natural citrine. Actually, all types of natural citrine are considered relatively rare. They’re nowhere near as bountiful as amethyst so they can get be hard to find & a bit pricey. Be prepared.
When we lab-heat citrine we’re simply mimicking what Mama Earth does. You usually begin with a poorly or lightly colored Brazilian amethyst. Then you heat it in a kiln to over 900°F (482°C). If you want it to go dark yellow or to red-brown (Madeira color) then you go up to 1022-1040°F (550-560°C). Some smoky quartz can turn citrine color as cool as 390°F (199°C).
Interactive!!
Ain’t this the interactive classroom?? My favorite kind. Crystal Hottie Shayla read this blog post w/i hours of it posting & got to experimenting in her lab kitchen & showed us how it’s done. Thank you Prof. Shayla for sharing this with us & your quick work! *bowing down* Check out her results:
Is it Still Citrine?
Yep, yep, yep.
And I feel that heated/baked crystals and stones can be worked with very effectively. Heating the stone at these temperatures simply changes the color but doesn’t change its molecular structure & again, IMHO, as long as a crystal’s molecular structure hasn’t been altered, I feel that the crystal will still have effective healing qualities. In addition, the stone’s color (light vibrational frequency) has now been changed to that of natural citrine’s. It’s no longer of the violet frequency, it’s now in the orange or yellow frequency. So it’s going to resonate that energy now.
Is Your Citrine Fake or Natural? Part 1
That being said, I do think that heat-treating or enhancing a crystal can reduce this frequency and effectiveness since it does weaken the stone some, but it doesn’t totally burn out its potential healing effects. So, no need to replace your citrine at all.
Citrine – Fake or Natural, Part 2
Whether citrine is heated artificially or naturally, it’s still often commercially classified as citrine. Remember, this artificial or natural heating is not enough to change the molecular structure of the crystal so it’s still SiO2. I feel the healing properties are still those of citrine but on a lighter scale.
To me, lab-heated citrine’s properties are not similar to amethyst’s or smoky quartz’s at all. Through much experimenting of my own as well as that of my students’ and clients, baked citrine’s properties align perfectly to my solar plexus chakra; it’s energetically stimulating, it helps with financial issues and it helps us to be more confident. Now, if you’re looking for a piece that’s just going to go BAMMM! in these precise areas, then I’d advise you to go with a natural citrine, for sure…
its energies will be much more powerful.
Types of Citrine for Crystal Healing
Let me end by saying that I feel that your intuition should always be your first guide. If a stone or crystal works for you for a particular purpose then don’t let anyone or anything that you read or hear change that for you. For certain people, certain stones may work very well while not working for others no matter what is said or written about them. Keep on truckin’, Crystal Hottie!
Just as in quantum physics, the scientist doing the observing actually influences the outcome & properties of the subatomic particles being observed. So, basically, if you believe it to be so, it simply is, on a subatomic level. Why should it be any different on a super atomic level? As below, so it is above, right? Let the crystals that you know work for you continue to do so…if you believe it to be true, it simply is. No panicking over heat-treated citrine, OK? If it worked for you before, it’s still going to continue to do so…unless you think it won’t.
Continue to enjoy your crystals and stones, heat-treated or not.
Ooodles of Crystal Blessings!
P.S. What do you think of heat-treated citrine? Like it, hate it, who cares? Let me know in the comments below!
My first piece of citrine looks exactly like your 5th pic down, and knowing that it has been “created” is disappointing, but doesn’t change the stone’s personal vibration or energy for my work with it. Have been lucky to find a reputable dealer where I found a really nice natural citrine cluster, so happy to know I have both & since I use them for different energy work, don’t feel the need for comparison. The only issue I would have is that it should be disclosed whether it has been treated, so that there is no dishonesty. I pick my stones based on their energy, so not blindly picking stones based on the name. Take care! Been following you/your site/comments and enjoy greatly. Crystal on! :0)
Hi do you mind me asking where you found your genuine citrine seller please? Thank you x
Yes please share. I have been looking around so hard. And on etsy they always say it’s natural even if it looks like heated amethyst.
ScentuallyYoursGems on Etsy sells natural Citrine (tumbled and raw) from Brazil and Zambia.
After reading this post I decided to do a little research of my own. I had several pieces of amethyst laying around my house that weren’t what you could call “good color”. I don’t have a kiln or torch or anything like that. But I have a self-cleaning oven and I decided to try it out for myself. I’m a little shocked that it worked. And am now trying it with a few other pieces that I have around here. The original pieces are back in the oven to see if they get any darker than they already are.
Here are my initial results – http://www.flickr.com/photos/alinashea/9087962338/
Wow Shayla!! I can’t believe it. First, let me applaud your inquiring mind! I really admire that in someone. I never tried this myself & have even told people that the temps in your oven wouldn’t go high enough but hadn’t thought about the self-cleaning setting. YOU GO GRRRRRRL! Can I use your photo here on the blog & in my class? I’m so uber-impressed by you. 🙂
Of course! I’m so very excited by the whole thing and am working on my second batch. I have figured out that I need to heat up the crystals a little more slowly before I put the oven on the cleaning mode. One of the small spheres that I put in cracked (at least I am pretty sure it was a sphere, the oven is still locked so I can’t see them clearly yet). My thought is that I’ll heat it up 100-deg at a time over the span of a couple hours, then turn on the cleaning mode. There is a small batch in there right now and I’m waiting to see how they turned out.
With summer coming up, I won’t be able to do this very much… but winter isn’t really that far away, right?
OMG!!! I feel like I’m there with you geo-GEEKING out!! Can you video tape this? Its like history in the making.
I will! My camera is small, but it’s pretty clear. I’ll be trying this again tomorrow, with the slow heating up. I can’t wait to test this out further!
Well thanks for testing those. I am going to try this tonight. I have a curio cabinet FULL of Amethyst. Can’t wait. Thanks.
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Well I have a tumbled citrine that looks like one in your video, and a ring that looks exactly like the cut jewel you have, which I am told was purchased by the former owner when she was on vacation in Italy, so heat treated or not, it’s still my special baby. =) I love the stone and I appreciate all the knowledge you have shared with us via your site & the videos. Thank you! =) You sure know your stuff!
Very educational article, which is exactly what I was looking for. I am trying to learn more and more about the different crystals and have been intrigued with citrine. At this point I don’t own any, but I’m going to be changing that soon.
Hi,
I think this is really useful for some of us that take everything literally that is said about crystal energies as it draws attention to the “whatever is working for you” and I think this is the most important thing to realise about crystals. Sometimes I buy a crystal purely from what is written about it and find I am sometimes disappointed with how I feel about it when I receive it and at other times I buy something purely on feeling an am never disappointed with that particular crystal. Self trust is a big issue in my life and I just wanted to say that this has helped me here. As for natural and heat treated Citrine, I have both and must say I prefer the natural to the heat treated, although I have recently bought a piece of heat treated Citrine purely for the way it makes me feel when I look at it and have it on my desk at work, so my conclusion would be that it is all a matter of how we feel about a particular crystal. Love the blogs and the science behind crystals too. Gail
I agree completely about how a crystal resonates with you is more important than how it became a certain colour!! That’s one of the reasons I like to be able to see/touch a crystal in the flesh (as it were!) to see how we respond to each other 🙂
Love reading your blogs,
Jude
My husband and I just bought 2 pieces of Citrine for pendants, 2 pieces of Amethysts, 2 Pieces of Tektite, and 6 very small pieces (nugget chips) of Load stone at The Jewelry and Mineral of Las Vegas shop in person… http://www.jewelryandmineraloflv.com/
My questions is I put these in my bra yesterday 1 piece of Amethyst, 1 Piece of Citrine, 1 Tektite stone, and 3 nuggets of Loadstone, I forgot about them when I woke up this morning my Citrine is Purple like the Amethyst and my Amethyst turned extremely dark??? Does anyone know what might have happened ??? I probably shouldn’t have mixed them all and put them in my bra I know! But I didn’t want to lose them and didn’t have pockets on my dress…. Any help would be greatly appreciated… Many Thanks…
I don’t know if you’ve seen this article, but I know what a “geek” you are! LOL!
http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/12.html
Enjoy!
Hello Hibiscus! I notice you never speak of INTENT! when using a stone with proper or healing intent, the stone’s spirit will respond in kind. We use intent a lot in our Reiki and it seems to make it more powerful. The objective is to use the Stone or Reiki for healing with the intention that the energy will be used at the highest possible level of good for that person. Just saying… I generally love working with the raw stone, and if it not the stone for me, I feel it and choose something else. Get your intuition working out there-she’s right!
That’s certainly one way to do it but I personally don’t subscribe to that with individual crystals. I feel the crystals have a very specific vibrational frequency of their own that we cannot alter. However, I do speak of intent when working with Crystal Grids and have written about that in my book. 🙂
If there is no effect to the healing qualities then I guess it just depends on what you prefer aaesthetically…. Kinda like the natural tho’!
Hi, thank you for this post.
I have a question, since you mention Congo Citrine quite a bit. Do you ensure that your stones are ethically sourced? Is that even possible?
I ask because there is such conflict due to mineral mining, especially in the Congo. Thank you
Thanks for this informative article.
I have a necklace i made with amethyst on it and its turned almost black! What could Have caused this,??? Someone with a negative energy wore it for a while (he stole it until my boyfriend noticed and got it back) ive smudged it since then. Any ideas if this happened from obsorbing negative energy?
I bought a citrine cluster today for chakra clearing at a very good price. Then I decided to google citrine and discovered I bought a heat treated amethyst. I wish the real citrine was more common. I might now seek some tumble stones of real citrine to compare the energy. I definitely feel differently about all my citrine but at least now I know what to look for in the future to avoid the fakes. Knowing that real citrine is quartz cooked in the earth is interesting. The cooks who bake ‘citrine’ overcook it almost to brown, plus the points are the wrong shape.
Does real citrine natural becomes from a amethyst?
Amethysts and Citrine both get their color from the Fe3+ isotope (a common impurity in quartz/silicon dioxide crystals), and the purple color is created when the crystal is subjected to certain amounts of radiation. So it is possible, but you can’t do it just by heating it. In fact, heating citrine often makes it clear. Amethysts and true citrine also don’t have the same dichroism, so the Amethyst can turn yellow when heated, but once the amethyst turns yellow, it is no longer dichroic like an authentic citrine is. I suspect this lack of dichroism is part of what makes the energy of heat-treated citrine not as powerful as natural citrine. Of course, this is me as an amateur geologist/chemist spitballing, so take that last sentence with a grain of salt.
Is it possible the citrine ring I bought at the fair yesterday is glass and not citrine at all? How can I tell?
Thanks!
If the tips posted here don’t help, you’ll need to bring it to someone to have a look at or find someone who can do some testing for you. Good luck!
If you’ve got a loupe or microscope, you can have a good look at it. Natural stones commonly have inclusions of some kind: a band of a slightly different color where the available chemistry changed as it was growing, foreign material that got caught in the matrix, random unevenness of color. These are difficult to deliberately create in glass, and when it is done, tends to be more regular and predictable in appearance. Fine bubbles, on the other hand, are common to glass, but virtually nonexistent (if air is included, it’s usually an irregular shape, not nice and round) in natural crystals.
Though a ring doesn’t give you much to look at. You might want to try looking at larger stones and broken bottles to train your eye first.
I appreciate your blog and view on this matter. I personally think the only thing that is effective after an amethyst has been baked is the color of the stone. I had a few heat treated citrines, courtesy of my daughter who is drawn to them. I then decided to purchase a real citrine point (much smaller, totally see through and light honey colored). I have to say the difference in energy is amazing in my opinion. The natural citrine has a strong but soothing vibration. Kind of like basking in the sun on a nice warm day. The treated citrine really has a *different* vibration. It doesn’t feel like amethyst OR natural citrine. The only credit I really have to give to the treated citrine is that it is definitely an eye catcher, and a pretty looking stone.
But obviously if someone feels drawn to it there is a reason. I just think it’s a little misleading to say they have the same vibration, is there any link or research done on the molecular changes when heating amethyst into citrine in a lab? Also the molecular difference between heat treated citrine and natural citrine? I’d be interested to see.
The article states the molecular composition of quartz, including amethyst and citrine, is still SiO2, and does not change with heat. Maybe it’s just in my mind, but I also feel differently about anything that is “treated.” I often enjoy the aesthetics, but don’t choose to purchase or use those types of crystals in intent grids or meditations.
There’s a lot of variation between different color variety of quartz that happen to be in trace amounts. Smoky citrine is a citrine that has aluminum impurities as well as iron, for example. But the biggest difference between a heat treated amethyst and a true citrine is that the heat-treated stone is not dichroic. Dichroism is when a crystal absorbs left circular polarized light differently than right circular polarized light, which I think has something to do with molecule chirality, iirc. So basically, the molecules are the same, but they are arranged differently in a natural citrine, and the natural citrine bends light in two ways, whereas the heat-treated stone does *not* do that. This is the best explanation I know of as to why true citrine has much more powerful energy, aside from the fact it is a clearer, far less occluded crystal.
I should say, the atoms in the molecules are arranged differently, not the molecules themselves being arranged differently.
Hello I really enjoyed your videos on this topic!!:) I always wear a tumbled citrine in my right side of my bra for luck and on the other side I wear a hemotie for grounding. I was told it would help me if I did this does this seem strange to you or is this a common practice for people??
I think a lot of crystal loving ladies tuck their crystals into their bras! For me it started with an outfit with no pockets 🙂
Thanks to your helpful guide, you saved me a good 15$!!! I was at a craft fair type place today, and let me say that this wonderful guide really helped me out. This woman was at a table selling a few crystal specimens and some crystal jewelry and it looked very nice. I saw a few of the ‘citrine’ pieces she had, they were white with little peaks of deep brown crystals at the top, very obviously they were some fake citrines. She starts talking to me and I ask her about the price of the citrine ppieces.
And she says, that is NATURAL citrine, putting emphasis on the word ‘natural’. It was 80% white matrix, shaped like an amethyst geode and that deep tea color. I said, “oh, thats cool” and walked away but on the inside I was thinking, “lady, I may look young, but I am not a fool!”. It was a nice specimen, but I passed it up, since well, I just don’t feel right buying from someone who would try to pass off artifical citrine as the real deal to a customer.
Hi!
I have collected and studied gems and minerals for over 30 years on and off. My main focus is Moldavite, but I encountered these two Congo Citrines that are simply amazing! They are from a page I posted them on called Crystal Journeys.
https://www.facebook.com/FansOfCrystalHealing/posts/929497917068415
Thanks for all the info on fake crystals..
Some details on how to differentiate between a real and a fake blue obsidian would help immensely please! Thanks..<3
Hello I run an online store and recently purchased some citrine and wanted to tell if it was real. I wanted to know if you bake natural citrine at 900-1050* F will it change color???
Also if it is natural citrine will it get darker when it is baked. It looks real but I want to be sure!
Sorry I typed that wrong
Hello I run an online store and recently purchased some citrine and wanted to tell if it was real. I wanted to know if you bake natural citrine at 900-1050* F will it change color???
Also if it is NOT natural citrine will it get darker when it is baked. It looks real but I want to be sure!
WHAT A LOAD OF TOSS! Do you even know anything you claim to? to start to bake Amethyst at the Temps shown is IMPOSSIBLE! Citrine if baked or natural is still CITRINE! you can not change the geology of a rock even if it is heat treated! Citrine can be found in many forms and exactly the same as heat treated Amethyst………………. Hence it is only Amethyst but hotter.. Stop trying to panic people into thinking they have a fake piece of Citrine this is impossible.
THE OVEN VIDEO IS FAKE!!!!
Leave her alone you ogar (Load of Toss). Just look at her. She’s a Citrine Goddess, and as far as I am concerned, she can tell me that if I rub poo on amethyst it will turn into wine. Get it? Water into wine. I didn’t think so. Rock on you Hibiscus cutie.
If an Amethyst is heated to look like citrine then obviously it’s not citrine! It’s heated Amethyst. Sellers should not lie about this, they should tell buyers that it is heated Amethyst that look like Citrine!
You cite geology but don’t actually know geology. Citrine is dichroic, heat-treated “citrine” is not.
Citrine and amethyst are both quartz BUT citrine is created by aluminum and lithium being in the quartz crystal lattice (and so is smoky quartz – but with different Li:Al ratios). Amethyst is created by iron being in the lattice – making them COMPLETELY DIFFERENT at a molecular level.
You are sooooo right Regina!! Natural citrine is in my opinion a rare variety of smoky quartz, and has nothing to do with amethyst. I’m happy I’m not the only one who thinks this way 🙂
Exactly right Regina. The heat treatment does not alter the chemical ELEMENTS of the coloration molecules (aluminum, lithium, iron), but it does alter their chemical bond geometries. Resulting in different light refraction properties. Details at this post:
https://www.mindat.org/min-1054.html
Hi. Would you be able to look at a “natural” citrine sphere I just bought on eBay ?
Perhaps I’m too judgmental, but I dislike heat or chemical treated crystals to change their color.
Even though it doesn’t always change the molecular structure, it seems to me that the heat would at least weaken them a bit.
Mother Earth has given us so many beautiful and powerful crystals, fossils and more, why change what is already perfection?
Sometimes I find myself annoyed with changing a piece by cutting, grinding and shaping it. Though I must admit that I do wear some items that have been cut and polished. 🙂
I like the crystals that are all-natural.
I’m ‘new’ to understanding how to use crystals and what they can do to help me, so maybe I’ll be less-critical of heat-treated, etc. when I learn more.
Thanks for being here!
well, that is life. Just find crystals that resonate with you well.
Thanks for this article.
I recently found out that there was such a thing as “heat treated” citrine.
I immediately decided to do some research and wonder why it would be necessary to do such a thing in the first place, but then I remembered the enterprising minds of some of us on this planet. On the other hand, it’s also more affordable.
The citrine I purchased called to me, so I will not reject it for not being “as advertised”. You are right. If something courses through your energy channels, ain’t nothing going to change that until you say so. I haven’t said so yet, so, I’ll put my citrine back in my pockets where they belong.
Thanks
Thank you for posting the article on “heat treated” Citrine. I recently purchased a smokey quartz crystal with some of the same characteristics. First of all its not smokey but black from the core to the tips and clear at the base. This crystal has ladders and small crystals attached some have rainbow qualities. I’m questioning what I actually bought. Are other crystals heat treated? Just how far are they altering crystals? I haven’t started to work with this crystal but strongly feel it has something to say… maybe Super Powers from being altered 🙂 Love to send a photo.
Oh Hibiscus Moon, what would I do without you!
Normally I wouldn’t care, but I am disappointed that I what I purchased from my local metaphysical store turns out to be heat treated citrine. I think it is wrong, especially for a business, to sell fake products. The crystal does have a completely different frequency when I hold it compared to my friend’s honey colored chunk of natural citrine. I think it is important to always research if unsure, that’s what I should have done. Thank you so very much! Love and light.
Among gemologists, “simulant,” “synthetic,” and “imitation” are NOT synonymous. A “simulant” is a real stone that happens to look like a different more valuable) one. A “synthetic” is chemically identical to a “natural” stone, but has gotten that way through the intervention of man. “Imitation” stones are fakes. Amethyst that has been heat treated is SYNTHETIC citrine, not “fake.” Unless someone at the store’s got a good sense for the energies of citrine vs. amethyst, distinguishing between natural and synthetic citrine requires expensive testing that is beyond the means of the average crystal retailer and most wholesalers.
I would think a heat-treated natural stone is still a natural stone. Not being born yesterday, in fact, I believe even before the word synthetic was in use, I know it to mean not created in naturee, but by man. Heat-treating simply alters a natural authentic gem created by mother nature, therefore it is still a genuine natural gemstone which has simply been heat-treated. In nature, sometimes a gemstone gets a “heat treatment” from mother nature. I would imagine there would be little to no way to tell if man or “the mother” did a heat treatment on a natural born stone, and that would be a big reason why even the most advanced methods may not be able to tell the difference either. I imagine Only the miner would know for sure.
Hello,
My Grandfather worked for Bell labs during the development of sonar and we have in our family a double terminated and elongated synthetic quartz crystal. It seems rare to me due to all the pyramid activity inside the crystal. I was wondering if you have ever seen anything like it or any info finding a similar one to compare or a possible replacement value. I did have a company do a appraisal and they came back with a very low quote citing that this is a common item being made today however I can find nothing like it with all the unique pyramid activity inside.
Height 3 inches Depth 3inches Length 14inche
If you might have any info on the availability of similar crystals or rareness or possible value any of that info would be of great help.
I would like to send you photos if possible
Kindest regards Byron
I would never knowingly buy a crystal that has been heat treated…I am working with crystals in order to focus and magnify specific energies, and to me, a crystal that has been altered is going to magnify that confused energy….I got plenty of my own confusion, thank you very much! I have a fired agate faceted pendant that is just beautiful and I was immediately attracted to it b/c it reminded me of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, but I’m not working with it as *medicine*. If I bought a crystal that was labelled natural and later found out it was somehow altered, I’d feel duped. also, on an intuitive level, I feel like crystals are beings and it’s wrong to turn them into something they’re not. where as tumbling, faceting and things like that seems to work *with* the crystal to bring out and potentize its highest potential. But that’s just me.
The idea that lab treated amethyst (and every other stone) has completely different energy than if the Earth naturally heats it definitely accurate. The conditions in which the stone was heated in will depend on the microbial and mycelial content. This article described the dusty conditions of the “labs” that the citrine is normally baked in, but there is a certain bacteria that forms in earths crustal layers that are extremely hot for long periods of time. That heat source is filtered through other solid rock, so it’s radiated as long wave heat source. The amethyst is driven yellow with a negative ionic charge and a certain bacterial biome.
When you use a kitchen with the oven’s exposed element or a gas heating source, the heat that’s emitted is more in the short wave spectrum. The amethyst is driven yellow, but it is positively charged. Instead of helping you relax, the lab citrine will rev you up. This can also happen in nature if the amethyst formed near a stone that emits heavy amounts of radiation, such as a member of the meta-ankoleite class of stones. the treatment will be much slower and more subtle, so it will still have a different energy than lab/kitchen made citrine.
Although gemologists have a different opinion, I see this is the same for heat treated sapphires, morganites and other precious and semiprecious stones.
Interesant you examples for minerals fakes.. Like you web site ♥
I’m not into crystal healing, but I wanted to point out something.
The fact that a heat-treated purple amethyst turns burnt orange should be a good indication that the structure of the crystal has indeed changed, but how?
Quartz is the most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust and comes in an amazing variety of forms, textures, but most important for this discussion…colors. How can this be when the chemical formula for all of it is simply SiO2? Everything would be clear, white, or off-white. Truth is that the rainbow of colors in nature results from impurities, sometimes in the form of microscopic inclusions of material, but also trace amounts of other elements or mineral compounds. In the case of amethyst, it’s iron, 10-40ppm, the atoms of which are naturally oriented in the crystal lattice in such a way as to absorb all colors that make up light except for purple, which is why we see purple.
Now, we don’t call this Si(Fe)O2 because the iron atoms are not bound TO or replacing any of the atoms that make up the silicon dioxide molecules. However, the iron atoms are ions with electrical charges, and so they arrange themselves around the quartz molecules in a distinct way in natural amethyst. It may be hard to imagine ions moving in a solid object but then we remember that even the most dense matter is made up mostly of space; space between nuclei and the orbiting electrons, and space between molecules that have bonds, but also keep their distance (good neighbors). Yes, dense, hard gems can even be porous, which is why it’s so easy to dye agate and “fake” amethysts can even be made by soaking clear crystals in a hot iron compound bath and then irradiating them or just irradiating smokey quartz or citrine, but this isn’t always a bi-directional or reversible process. It depends on a few factors such as heat intensity and duration.
When you heat treat amethyst, you are exciting the electrons, some of which jump off the tetravalent Fe4+ ions reducing their valence state to trivalent Fe3+ which causes them to reorient themselves within the crystal matrix, reflecting yellow wavelengths of light instead. The Fe3+ ions are now trapped within the crystal lattice in different relative positions than the Fe4+ ions were and cooling will not free them from their new traps.
Where does the electrical charge go? Actually, it balances with the SiO2 molecules in a process called charge transfer which is why the iron atoms reorient themselves around these molecules. This also partly explains why the same metallic impurity produces different colors in different minerals. It is an electrostatic attraction on a very small scale; no chemical bonds, covalent, ionic, or otherwise, are formed.
All of these processes do occur naturally, but a “true” citrine is colored by Al3+ ions in the presence of lithium and radioactivity (from smoky quartz to lemon quartz as the ratio of Al:Li goes up) and the heat treated iron variety’s toothy or stubby shape, burnt orange color, lack of dichroism (apparent difference in color hue when viewed from perpendicular angles), abundant goethite inclusions and crystal form will betray the fact that it has been smashed from a less desirably colored amethyst geode formation and heated to mimic scarcer citrine, which commands a higher price. It must be the labor and equipment involved in this process that justifies “fake” citrine having a substantially higher price than amethyst…
I would argue that if amethyst is supposed to be purple, maybe it is also supposed to be still sitting in it’s cozy crystal matrix…or maybe it was meant to be found. It all depends on how you feel about human intervention. This can be liberating, as you have been healing with “impure” crystals and probably man-made conversions all along and that’s a good thing because if all that was available was naturally occurring crystals of various minerals, it would be very expensive to own one and probably impossible to obtain a specimens on one’s own in many cases.
GREAT explanation Zach. This page also backs up what you are saying,
The heat treatment does not alter the chemical ELEMENTS of the coloration molecules (aluminum, lithium, iron), but it does alter their chemical bond geometries. Resulting in different light refraction properties. Details at this post:
https://www.mindat.org/min-1054.html
I have a stone I found in an antique market that I believe is heated citrine now. I’ve been using it that way without knowing it regardless.
I have a stone I found in an antique market that I believe is heated citrine now. I’ve been using it that way without knowing it regardless.
I bought a yellow citrine ring n earings paid quite a bit in Mexico the stone is yellow and in certain lighting it turns a deep pink. It is a fake please
The problem I have with heat treating amethyst so it looks like Citrine is that I need to acquire natural Citrine for a prosperity/abundance grid. It’s the Citrine itself that needs to really be Citrine. Amethyst heated to make it look like Citrine isn’t going to cut it. Because the treatment is not changing the Amethyst to an actual Citrine with the correct structure it will not work for what I’m trying to do. Very disheartening!
I think, that it should be rename for what it is. A similar name could be Fiery Citrine the energy is very similar to regular citrine. After “my adoption by them,” I meditated with them and they are great. Not surprising since Amethyst is a powerful stone. Amethyst, smoky quarts are first a mighty quartz, but is amazing what Sophia (Mother Earth) does.
Amethyst is planet saturn crystal
And citrine is planet jupiter crystals
By using saturn crystsls i start to get problems as my saturn not in good position in my birth chart
So i need to buy genuine Citrine do you sell genuine citrine ?
Thx
Hey Hibiscus! I’m new to this and it looks like my tumblrs may be heat treated! Where do you get your genuine citrine from? Do you have a trusted seller?
12-7-19….where should I buy crystals? Im so lost….and confused…I can’t afford anything rare for sure..but I don’t want junk either…help…
Hi there! I know this is an older video and blog post but thank you for the info! I have been looking for natural citrine that had been not “lab” treated and pulling my hair out wondering if I was getting duped or paying too much for something that wasn’t natural. I appreciate your opinion and it reassures me that even lab heated citrine is still healing. (I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist wanting to get things ‘exactly’ right) so I’m happy I stumbled upon your videos and am reassured that my “man made” citrine is still healing ♥️♥️♥️ Blessings to you!
I have a beautiful piece of what I believe to be real congo citrine. I would love for you to see.
Hi! I am curious about some rocks I found. I am new to rockhounding/gems/crystals, and the info online is leaving me a bit overwhelmed! I have a small number of pale yellow to light yellow-orange “beach stones” naturally rounded. They are translucent in most places, and similar ones that are broken show a crystal-like structure (as opposed to a smooth, waxy, fracture pattern).
Everything I’m finding says natural citrine is rare. These aren’t jasper, and don’t have strong color differences like an agate. They are pretty solidly ONE color, other than occasional hairline fractures with what I’m guessing is a bit of iron inclusion (darker orangy-brown?) Much lighter in color than the brighter orangey-red carnelian. When wet, they are very glassy (as opposed to shiny/shimmery like druzy quartz).
On a streak plate (ceramic), there is no color streak. On concrete, thete is a faint white streak. A metal icepick does not scratch it. IT scratches the icepick (silver streak appears on rock when I try to scratch it). So I know it’s definitely higher up on the Moh’s Scale, but as I said, I’m kind of a newbie to all of this and am at a total loss on what these stones could be.
Any thoughts? I can email pics if you’d like.
Thanks! Wendy (Omaha)
I’m sorry but i found this article confusing. Either a stone is citrine or i’ts something that was heated or treated to look like citrine, so how can i work like a genuine citrine? OK, so some people believe it’s all about intention, I get that, but I still think if you want citrine energy, you should be working with a real citrine, not a fake one. JMHO
I can’t seem to find the free guide to fake crystals. I’ve signed up for your blog and done a Google search, but keep getting “page not found.” I know I’m late to the party here….lol.
And I can’t wait to sign up for your CCP course next year!!!!
Thanks!!!!!
If the crystal has a chip on the pointy part of it, does that interfere with energy transmissions?
This was really helpful and put my heart at ease. My boyfriend has asked for a list of crystals I like so he could pick up some for me for Yuletide gift giving. When I said I like citrine I did not know I was referring to HT amethyst. Which, now that I’m aware of what actual citrine looks like, I find that I like the yellow/HT amethyst way more. I love that yellow golden hue. I happen to love amethyst too but am not into the color purple so the fact that what I have is just yellow amethyst makes my day. I’m not disappointed at all. (My boyfriend was tho. He had really wanted what he thought to be citrine to be the real thing. I’m happy it’s not.) Thanks for the great info!
Why do you call it “fake” in the title of this article and in the reading? Heated citrine is not “fake” it’s heated. It’s a gemstone. Many are heated. Sapphire, ruby, aquamarine, etc. There is also citrine being sold that looks like natural citrine, but it’s also heated. I just don’t agree with calling it fake. There’s a difference. You can go to gia.edu/citrine to learn about it. Also, “fire citrine” is even more valuable than yellow colored natural citrine.
The citrine I have is like the baked ones, but some of the clusters feel loose, is that still okay or something to be concerned about?
I am sure when given or giving any crystal with loving intent makes a difference to its energy too
Citrine: is known as the “success stone” because it promotes success, prosperity, and abundance. It particularly promotes success in business, earning it another nickname, “merchant’s stone”, and is said to bring business if put in the cashbox of a shop or carried. Citrine is a stone of good fortune, although it brings good fortune in sometimes unexpected ways. It is a stone of manifestation, helping manifest abundance in many ways. Along with prosperity and good fortune, citrine imparts generosity, to share the wealth, so to speak.Citrine dissipates negative energies of all kinds. It also does not absorb any negative energies from its surroundings, and thus never needs energentic clearing. Citrine can be used to clear unwanted energies from the environment. Family issues caused by negative energies can also be resolved and cleared with citrine. Since citrine eliminates negative energies, it helps generate stability in all areas, and is good for general protection.In the mental area, citrine enhances mental clarity, confidence, and will power. It also increases creativity and promotes honesty.Emotionally, citrine relieves depression, self-doubt, anger, and irrational mood swings. Citrine is a stone that brings happiness and cheer to one who carries or wears it. Citrine also reduces self-destructive tendencies. Citrine helps eliminate fears caused by others’ ideas and suggestions. It can help one overcome emotional traumas and grief. Sensuality and sexuality can also be heightened by citrine.In the psychic and spiritual realms, citrine is good for general psychic awareness and spiritual development. Citrine clears the aura of negative energies and influences. It is also very useful for meditation. Citrine is a stone of protection, removing or deflecting negative energies of all kinds. It is also excellent for dream recall and dream work.Physically, citrine is beneficial for the digestion, stomach, eliminating nightmares and other sleep disturbances, thyroid, general health, heart, kidney, liver, muscles, strength, endocrine system, circulatory system, tissue regeneration, urinary system, immune system, fibromyalgia. Citrine is also good for removing toxins, and overcoming addictions.Citrine is associated with the solar plexus chakra.
Citrine: is known as the “success stone” because it promotes success, prosperity, and abundance. It particularly promotes success in business, earning it another nickname, “merchant’s stone”, and is said to bring business if put in the cashbox of a shop or carried. Citrine is a stone of good fortune, although it brings good fortune in sometimes unexpected ways. It is a stone of manifestation, helping manifest abundance in many ways. Along with prosperity and good fortune, citrine imparts generosity, to share the wealth, so to speak.Citrine dissipates negative energies of all kinds. It also does not absorb any negative energies from its surroundings, and thus never needs energentic clearing. Citrine can be used to clear unwanted energies from the environment. Family issues caused by negative energies can also be resolved and cleared with citrine. Since citrine eliminates negative energies, it helps generate stability in all areas, and is good for general protection.In the mental area, citrine enhances mental clarity, confidence, and will power. It also increases creativity and promotes honesty.Emotionally, citrine relieves depression, self-doubt, anger, and irrational mood swings. Citrine is a stone that brings happiness and cheer to one who carries or wears it. Citrine also reduces self-destructive tendencies. Citrine helps eliminate fears caused by others’ ideas and suggestions. It can help one overcome emotional traumas and grief. Sensuality and sexuality can also be heightened by citrine.In the psychic and spiritual realms, citrine is good for general psychic awareness and spiritual development. Citrine clears the aura of negative energies and influences. It is also very useful for meditation. Citrine is a stone of protection, removing or deflecting negative energies of all kinds. It is also excellent for dream recall and dream work.Physically, citrine is beneficial for the digestion, stomach, eliminating nightmares and other sleep disturbances, thyroid, general health, heart, kidney, liver, muscles, strength, endocrine system, circulatory system, tissue regeneration, urinary system, immune system, fibromyalgia. Citrine is also good for removing toxins, and overcoming addictions.Citrine is associated with the solar plexus chakra.https://www.crystal-wizard.com
Madeira amethyst is pretty rare–most of the dark brown citrine is heat-treated. Another alternative is ametrine, which occurs fairly often in mines in Ontario, Canada. It is part Amethyst and part citrine, which are chemically the same, but you know the citrine is genuine because if it had been heat treated, the amethyst would also have turned into “citrine.”
HI!
Do you think this is real citrine?
https://mindfulsouls.com/products/raw-citrine-crystal-pendant-necklace
Thanks!
Coral