Gold plated pendant – Citrine (heated Amethyst)

Citrine is the yellow variety of the mineral quartz. The yellow colour is caused by dispersed iron and aluminium ions. This yellow colour can also occur when Amethyst or Smoky Quartz is heat-treated. If one of those is heated to about 500 degrees Celsius, their purple or gray colour disappears and a light yellow to brownish red colour appears. It is the colour that gave the crystal its name. In Latin ‘citrina’ means yellow. Citrine was first discovered in Greece between 300 and 150 B.C. Natural Citrine is rare, but it is often easy to differentiate between Natural Citrine and heat-treated Amethyst or Smoky Quartz. If Amethyst is heated naturally, it is possible for Ametrine to from. Ametrine is a mix between Amethyst and Citrine, with some parts of the crystal yellow and some parts purple.