Natural Pair Certified Citrine: Gleaming Glory 8.02cts- CI02 (24)

Citrine is one of the few gemstones that can be produced synthetically and naturally, and the two varieties are virtually indistinguishable from each other.

Natural citrine gets its yellow to golden brown colors from trace amounts of iron within the quartz crystal structure. However, most commercial citrine on the market today is actually heat-treated amethyst or smoky quartz.

By carefully heating these other quartz varieties to specific temperatures, their color components are altered and transformed into the signature yellow, orange or brown shades of citrine. This heat treatment process does not affect the gemstone's chemical composition or mineral structure.

The ability to create "made" citrine from amethyst allows much of the supply to come from the major amethyst mining locations like Brazil and Uruguay. This heat treatment has been practiced since the 1800s to meet the demand for the golden citrine color.

While synthetically-produced citrine crystals do exist, the vast majority of citrine on the market started out as natural amethyst that was carefully heat-enhanced. This makes citrine a unique bridge between natural and treated gemstones.