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Citrine
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

Chemistry:  SiO₂

Prehistoric Discovery;   IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered).
The name Citrine is from the old French word for lemon citrin, also meaning yellow.

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Oxides

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

4/D.01-10

4 : Oxides & Hydroxides
D : Oxides with metal : oxygen = 1:2 (MO2 and related compounds)
01 : Quartz group

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Trigonal - Trapezohedral

Crystal Habit:

As enantimorphic prismatic crystals; may be morphologically complex, with over 500 forms noted, to 6 meters and 36 tons;
Crystalline - Coarse - Occurs as well-formed coarse sized crystals;
Crystalline - Fine - Occurs as well-formed fine sized crystals;

Twinning:

Very common, penetration twins on the Dauphiné law, about [0001], and the Brazil law, with [1120] as contact plane; contact twins on the Japan law, with [1122] as contact plane, may be repeated; and several other laws.

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

None or [0110] Indistinct

Fracture:

Conchoidal

Tenacity:

Brittle

Hardness (Mohs):

7.0

Density:

2.60 - 2.65 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

May be Triboluminescent; varies widely due to traces of impurities.

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Optical Properties

Color:

Pale Yellow, Yellow, Orangish Yellow, Orange

Transparency:

Transparent

Luster:

Vitreous to Greasy

Refractive Index:

1.544 - 1.553  Uniaxial (+)

Birefringence:

0.0090

Dispersion:

0.013 (low)

Pleochroism:

Weak

Occurances

Geological Setting:

In hydrothermal veins, epithermal to alpine; characteristic of granites and granite pegmatites; in sandstones and quartzites, less abundant in other rock types; in hydrothermal metal deposits. Common in carbonate rocks; a residual mineral in soils and sediments.

Type Locality:

n/a

Year Discovered:

Prehistoric

View mineral photos:

Citrine Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org  (Citrine)
Mindat.org  (Quartz)
Webmineral.com  (Quartz)

Citrine is the yellow variety of Quartz, one of the most common minerals on Earth. It is a member of the Quartz Group that also includes Amethyst and Ametrine. It comes in a variety of colors, from pale yellow to deep orange. The color is due to traces of ferric iron added to the basic Silicon Dioxide formula.
 

  
Citrine gems for sale:

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