Citrine - Birthstone for November
21.11.16
Citrine is a proud member of prominent Quartz family. It takes its name from French word “citron”, meaning lemon. Traces of iron in Citrine structure causes the attractive pale yellow, orange, brown and golden colours. It is a birthstone for November, combining all the autumn hues in one stone. Also, it is decided to give a citrine for the thirteenth anniversary. For centuries people believed that citrine radiates positive energy and brings happiness. It was an absolute treasure for people who believed in gem healing.
Citrine is 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness, making it a great element for jewellers to utilise. Since ancient times, they have created a lot of incredible pieces with citrine, adding some sunny notes to the designs. A lot of Hollywood stars like Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Angelina Jolie made citrine as their signature jewellery. In today's market, the earthy brown and reddish orange hues of citrine considered being the most popular.
Usually Citrine comes loupe clean, but colour patches may be seen. The main source of yellow stones come from Brazil, Madagascar, Burma, USA and Namibia. However, nowadays the majority of Citrine come from the heat treatment of Amethysts or Smoky Quartz.
The world's largest faceted citrine is an oval-cut (20 x 15 x 10 centimetres with weight 20,200 carats (that’s 8.8 pounds). It carries the name of the host city "Malaga" and is displayed in “Special Exhibition Gems” section of Art Natura in Spain.
The new piece, named the “Jolie Citrine Necklace,” was donated to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Gem Collection.
The piece was designed by Angelina Jolie herself in collaboration with an American high jewellery designer, Robert Procop. The 18k yellow gold necklace features 64 cushion shaped citrine in the bezel setting, centred by a 177.11-carat pear-shaped citrine drop.
