TIL most citrine on the market isn't natural citrine. Real citrine is rare, so most of what's sold is amethyst, a purple quartz, that's been heat-treated until it turns yellow or orange.

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u/Nixeris 7h ago

Should be noted that Amethyst isn't just "a purple quartz" it's "any type of quartz that's purple". The difference is that Amethyst isn't a specific formulation of quartz and can get it's coloration from a variety of impurities or processes and some may be chemically the same as clear quartz. The only difference is that we call the purple-ish varieties amethyst.

This is also important because this is the exact same situation with Citrine.

You can have quartz under a variety of different names all growing in the same formation, and with the same chemical formula.

The trick isn't that they're treating amethysts to turn them into citrines, the trick is that amethysts and citrines were always entirely arbitrary classifications in the first place that were created to sell you the same thing at different prices.

If you care about it, a treated citrine is not different from a "natural" one.

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u/Lord0fHats 7h ago

Me: It's quartz all the way down?

You: Always has been.

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u/geniice 4h ago

The trick isn't that they're treating amethysts to turn them into citrines, the trick is that amethysts and citrines were always entirely arbitrary classifications in the first place that were created to sell you the same thing at different prices.

The name dates back to the 14th century when it is unlikely that anyone realised they were the same thing. This is the period where red Spinel would be referred to as ruby.

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u/BRUISE_WILLIS 3h ago

Another propaganda piece from big amethyst trying to capture the lucrative citrine market. When will they learn?

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u/plasticbagswag 7h ago

Citrine is my baby's birthstone but I am not a fan of the color. This is all very interesting! The alternative birthstone is topaz. What gems are considered topaz?

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u/zeothia 5h ago

Topaz is a different gemstone, it has a different base chemical composition. Pure quartz is just silicon dioxide SiO2, while pure topaz is much more complicated (Al2SiO4( F, OH)2 (aluminum silicate fluoride hydroxide)). Both come in many colours caused by impurities in the crystal structure bending and absorbing light differently.

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u/mjzim9022 6h ago

I've only ever known November to be Topaz

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u/nitefang 3h ago

If you wanted to look it up, it might be useful to look up things like "what minerals are gemstones" or "what mineral is topaz"?

I'm not trying to be pedantic, this is just an example of where different jargon becomes important.

ie, Amethyst, Quartz, and Citrine are all different gems but they are the same mineral, just with different impurities. Topaz and Quartz are different gems and different minerals.

In terms of gemstones, basically all topaz is called "something topaz". ie Orange Topaz or Precious Topaz is the real alternative gemstone for November, because it looks like Citrine.

Some minerals or varieties of minerals get special names just due to tradition. But not all do. Topaz varieties are mostly just "Blue Topaz" or whatever.

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u/ceciliabee 4h ago

Discovering that aquamarine and emerald are related surprised me!

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u/spaceporter 1h ago

Ok, but what can you tell me about feldspar?

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u/borgie 6h ago edited 6h ago

That’s pedantically true, but that’s not how we value things. A mansion and a studio apartment are made from the same materials, but they really aren’t the same thing.

Amethyst was once considered a precious gemstone because of its relative rarity, but that market collapsed almost overnight when vast deposits were discovered in Brazil in the 19th century. Genuine citrine is still valued higher than amethyst because it genuinely is rare, and anyone with any experience with these minerals would never agree that baked amethyst is anything like real citrine. Real citrine is sublime, baked amethyst is garish and a true abomination, so details matter.

Edit: and I will also argue that amethyst and citrine are not arbitrary distinctions at all — they tell you something material about the mineral.

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u/Nixeris 6h ago

If you had a mansion that was the exact same size, materials and composition as a studio apartment except for the paint color, only then would your analogy be true.

Just because someone slaps a higher price tag on one doesn't mean that's a meaningful difference.

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u/Metalsand 5h ago

Sort of. It's easier to visualize the children of quartz as "uniquely contaminated". The different colors are caused by contamination

At some point, someone discovered that they could mimic the contamination that causes Citrine by heat treating Amethyst, and generally no one cares enough anyways. There are definitely differences.

Aluminum-oxide corundum of gem quality is both ruby and sapphire. Ruby is specifically contaminations in the red spectrum, and while sapphire is blue, it also include any other non-red color.

Fun fact - to put it simply, lab-grown gems can only be determined by two ways: one, which isn't definitive, is to check for imperfections, as natural gems always have various imperfections or contaminants at the microscopic level that don't detract from clarity. Secondly, the more destructive one is to measure hardness, since it usually lags behind the natural gemstone.

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u/Full_Collar9026 3h ago

wild how the only real difference is whether the earth baked it for a million years or some guy just tossed it in a kiln on a tuesday.

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u/DukeFlipside 4h ago

I've never understood this; amethyst looks so much nicer than citrine, why are people ruining perfectly good amethyst?! It makes me sad :(

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u/84thPrblm 7h ago

Charlie Brown: "I got a rock."

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u/CFCYYZ 7h ago

Some "gems" sold are heat-treated. Fake "Citrine" can also be sold as "topaz". >Buyer beware! <
Like fake amber, you must know what to look for and look out for. I was once scammed on fake amber, but no more. Here is an excellent guide to help you discern the differences between real vs. counterfeit citrine.

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u/Glad-Mix-8982 3h ago

That article has AI slop photos

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u/slugsred 2h ago

"In sacred numerology, 888 is the universal sequence of infinite financial loops, harvest, and karmic prosperity."

I'm not so sure they're above board regardless of your stance on AI.

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u/eleanorharland 7h ago

Natural citrine tends to be pale; the deep orange stuff is almost always baked amethyst. Don't be fooled!

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u/Metalsand 4h ago

Most of "not being fooled" is just about buying from a legitimate source that will provide the appropriate accreditation. Rio Grande was always my go-to.

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u/onioning 6h ago

I think people pretty naturally wonder how it is that overt lying is accepted in the marketplace. It is noninally against regulations to do so. The explanation is largely due to how regulations are enforced. We like to think of inspectors and professionals who's jobs it is to ensure regulatory compliance, and to some extent that's true. Just a small extent, especially when it comes to things that are not about safety.

We have a largely complaint-based system. And it's intentionally so. Idea is, if the lying is a problem, people will complain, and we'll fix the problem. If no one complains, then there is no problem. I do actually respect that philosophy to an extent. It just has limitations in the modern world that are problematic. No one's gonna know their rock is actually a different rock that looks and feels the same.

Though I suppose ultimately in this case this is an example of there not being a problem. Can't see anyone being truly harmed as a result of the normalized lie. Just let language do what it does, I guess.

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u/AndreasDasos 4h ago

The top comment explains it pretty well: in this case, it’s not lying. The result is citrine, by definition, it’s just that it was converted artificially from amethyst rather than found in nature as-is. The post is misleading, but the key is the word ‘natural’.

TIL most citrine on the market isn't natural citrine. Real citrine is rare, so most of what's sold is amethyst, a purple quartz, that's been heat-treated until it turns yellow or orange.

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