Citrine has many forms, but not all of the stones called by this name are truly Citrine. Amethyst in disguise is only the tip of the iceberg!
First of all, let's start with what Citrine IS. Citrine is a variety of Quartz, Silicon Dioxide, that has yellow, yellowish green, or yellowish brown coloring. Citrine is found in locations all over the world but is considered rare in its natural form, as seen here.
The most common way that false Citrine is created, is to heat Amethyst at high temperatures until it turns orange. All bright and dark orange Citrine is in fact heated Amethyst. Below is an Amethyst geode that has been cut in half, with the right side heated to produce orange Citrine. The orange can range from bright to dark, brownish orange but always orange. True Citrine is never this color, although sometimes Amethyst is heated to orange naturally.
Genuine Citrine will always have yellow based coloring. It can be pale yellow, yellowish brown, yellowish green, bright yellow, or even yellowish orange like this Citrine:
It can sometimes be so similar to light Smoky Quartz that it is impossible to discern between the two, in which case either name is correct. This rare Smoky Citrine here is from the Congo and often called Kundalini Quartz. This coloring can also be referred to as "honey" Citrine.
This one has dark, smoky phantoms in yellow Citrine, cut and polished into a point:
These are also natural Citrines that have been cut and polished into points. These ones are from Brazil:
There are other instances where crystals are mistakenly called Citrine due to their color, even though they are completely natural.
One example is when clear Quartz is coated in iron oxides that are yellow or orange in color. These naturally occurring coatings can be opaque or translucent, but some people mistake the overall orange or yellow coloring for being Citrine.
Spirit Quartz is another crystal that I see being called Citrine quite a bit. These crystals feature a Quartz or Amethyst crystal that has a second generation of smaller Quartz or Amethyst crystals formed along the sides.
They occur as Amethyst, or white Quartz, but never actual Citrine, or Ametrine, though both often have some orange or gold colored iron oxidation.
True Ametrine, the bicolor mix of Amethyst and Citrine, is very rare and only legitimately mined in Bolivia at the Anani Mine site. It is also called Bolivianite. Sometimes Amethyst has orange iron oxides in it and will appear similar to Ametrine, but you need to be very careful about location and identification.
This is a genuine, bicolored Ametrine from Bolivia that has been faceted for jewelry.
So keep in mind that there is much more to Citrine than just the color of the stone! And maybe keep a real one in your pocket or on your desk if you're looking to make better money ;)
