March 27, 2023

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Citrine is a fabulous, vibrant stone known to many because of its beautiful yellow hue & it’s incredible energy which invites in abundance, joy, creativity & prosperity.

However, what you may not know is roughly 95% of the Citrine you may have seen, is actually heat-treated Amethyst as natural Citrine is far rarer.

Now, this is just a little bit of education around Citrine, but rest assured, all of the Citrine we present is natural Citrine sourced from the Congo in Africa & it is all natural.

Now, how do they create this ‘Citrine’ you ask? Well…

Amethyst is heated to temperatures of 400° + & over time with this heat applied they transition from purple to a yellow to orange colour.

One reason we educate on this is because if you are new to crystals, it can be really challenging to know the difference, as a lot of heat-treated Citrine that is available, is not labeled as this. However, once you understand a few details, you’ll be able to identify the difference easily.

We actually have a few example pieces we show our customers in our gallery, so they can see a side by side comparison with natural Citrine. If you’d like to see a comparison in person, your welcome to come in & we’d be happy to show you.

Now, if your curious, here’s a few ways to identify the difference for yourself:

1) The predominant colour

Natural Citrine can range in colour from a green to yellow shade, like Congo Citrine (also known as Kundalini Citrine), to a stronger, frequently smokey yellow, like the Citrine from Zambia.

Although there are some exceptions, deep yellow to orange coloured Citrine is rarely found naturally. Instead, this colour is almost always Amethyst.

2) The base colour

Though there may be very slight colour variations within the crystal, most naturally occurring Citrine crystals are the same colour throughout. Due to the fact that heat-treated Citrine was originally Amethyst, it frequently contains opaque white colouring, usually at the base, which is a clear sign of a heated crystal.

3) The formation of the crystal

Natural Citrine almost never takes the shape of a geode or a cave. Instead, it usually grows as solitary crystals or small clusters of a few crystals. When you see a a formation like this, take a glance at an Amethyst geode or cave & you will instantly see the similarities & be able to identify the true nature of the crystal.

Yay, you just learnt something new today!

In saying all of the above however, we know that your connection to a crystal can be symbolic or perhaps the person who gifted it to you means an incredible amount to you. Don’t let this knowledge interfere with that beautiful connection. Heat treated or natural, there is a great depth to your connection with your Citrine crystal & that should be cherished no matter what.

Just take this knowledge as a reference for the future if your a obsessed lover of Citrine like we all are.

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