Most of the citrine for sale in the world started life as amethyst. Heat purple amethyst to several hundred degrees and it turns a toasted orange with a white base, and that is what fills the bins in most shops. Natural citrine is something else: quartz that was colored in the ground by traces of iron and natural heat, and it is quieter to look at, a pale champagne, honey, or smoky gold that runs evenly through the whole crystal. It is also much rarer, coming mainly from Zambia, the Congo, and Brazil. Neither kind is fake, both are real quartz, but if you want citrine the way the earth made it, this is the collection. It holds only the stone sold to us as natural, unheated citrine, as polished free forms sold by weight and as tumbled stones by the pound.
What You'll Find Here
Natural citrine free forms. Polished pieces from about a fifth to six-tenths of a pound, with the smoky-gold color and internal veils and rainbows that mark unheated stone. Each one is unique and suited to a desk, altar, or cash drawer.
Natural citrine tumbled stones. Sold by the pound, paler and more translucent than the orange heat-treated tumbles, for carrying and for prosperity grids.
How Do I Tell Natural Citrine From Heat-Treated Citrine?
Color is the first clue. Heat-treated citrine is orange to burnt amber, darkest at the tips, with an opaque white base, and it usually comes as clusters or points with the stubby shape of amethyst. Natural citrine is pale yellow to smoky honey, the color is even throughout, there is no white base, and it often grows as longer single crystals or is sold as polished rough. Natural citrine frequently has a smoky tint, because the same natural irradiation that makes smoky quartz is at work. It also costs more, often several times as much per ounce.
What Is Natural Citrine Used For?
Citrine is the merchant's stone, kept in tills and wallets for prosperity, and it is the solar plexus stone of confidence and personal power. Practitioners who work with natural citrine describe it as steadier and less buzzy than the heated kind: success that builds rather than flashes. It is one of the three stones that crystal lore says never needs cleansing, alongside kyanite and selenite. It is the birthstone for November.
As quartz it is 7 on the Mohs scale and safe in water. Keep it out of long direct sun, which can slowly pale natural citrine.
Explore Related Collections
See our full citrine range in citrine crystals. Natural citrine's closest relatives are smoky quartz, amethyst, and clear quartz. For prosperity work pair it with pyrite and green aventurine, and browse money crystals and prosperity and abundance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is natural citrine?
Natural citrine is yellow to smoky-gold quartz that got its color in the earth from iron impurities and natural heat or irradiation, with no treatment after mining. It comes mainly from Zambia, the Congo, Brazil, and Madagascar.
Is heat-treated citrine fake?
No. It is genuine quartz, amethyst that has been heated to change its color. It simply is not naturally yellow, and a good seller will tell you which kind you are buying.
How can I tell if my citrine is natural?
Look for a pale, even champagne or smoky honey color with no white base and no burnt-orange tips. Bright orange clusters with white bottoms are heat-treated amethyst.
What does citrine mean spiritually?
Prosperity, confidence, and optimism. It is a solar plexus stone and the traditional merchant's stone, kept wherever money is handled.
Does natural citrine work better than heat-treated citrine?
Crystal practitioners disagree. Some feel natural citrine is steadier and heat-treated citrine retains some amethyst quality; others notice no difference. It is a matter of preference and budget.
Can natural citrine go in water?
Yes. Quartz is hard and non-porous and is safe to rinse and soak.
