Citrine check.

[stonecollector]

I am aware that yellow is created when naturally or man-made heated purple quartz to turn them yellow/golden color. Does that change the behavior of this crystal from one to another in the process?

Also, man-made heating is considered lesser one compared to natural heated and how to tell apart?

Cheers, stonecollector

[FruitLoop]

Heated citrine will often be very yellow, a mix of yellow/white or gold/white is something to look out for (yellow tip with a white base for example)

Natural citrines are lighter, some are more browny-tinted / smokey. Tendency to be a bit more even coloured over the whole crystal.

I have a heat-treated cluster, a couple of natural tumbles and a natural pointed citrine that is more smokey. I like them all :)

[Adrienne]

I had no idea one could heat a purple quartz and turn it yellow ! Wouldn't it still be considered a quartz crystal instead of a citrine ?

ps Nice to see you here again FruitLoop ! :smile:

[FruitLoop]

Thank you, nice to be back!

Citrine is also known as yellow quartz. Heat treating a crystal doesn't change the structure of it, so it is still ultimately a quartz... you've just changed the colour. Kind of, changing the colour vibrations of the crystal. The heat treatment can make the crystal more brittle though.

You can also use smokey quartz to create the yellow tones, but it's more common to use amethyst.

Natural smokey quartz is beautiful, but tends to be more grey/smokey and pale in colour. If you're buying a particularly dark smokey quartz there's a high change it has been irradiated. I have a gorgeous smokey quartz point (natural) but my irradiated one also has a certain charm to it. I think if a particular crystal is going to resonate with you, it will do it in any colour form. You're drawn to the essence of the crystal, rather than what's been done to it.

[Ravenspirit]

I knew some people who ran a mine and a little store where they sold all kinds of minerals. They used to routinely put amethysts in an oven to treat them and make them into citrine. It's very commonly done in South America, particularly in Brazil. Heated citrine goes dark, like cola dark, only it's still translucent. I've seen the before and after samples. It can be lighter depending upon how they do it, but usually it looks like a clear dark golden brown, because it's a bit tricky to get it done lighter. You really have to be watching the oven closely I'm told and even after you take it out the mineral can darken some more until it cools. The whole process can be a bit unpredictable.

Personally I don't care much for man made heat treated citrine. It feels very different to me from citrine naturally created over a long time by geothermal energy. It's often very pretty but metaphysically speaking it's dead compared to the real thing. The energy on those crystals it always feels very off to me. It's like wearing a man made stone vs the real thing. They may look the same but the lab created stones they just don't have the same feel to them.

[Adrienne]

Thank you FruitLoop and Ravenspirit, for the extra info ! Now I have to find my citrines and check them out. :smile:

I think if a particular crystal is going to resonate with you, it will do it in any colour form. You're drawn to the essence of the crystal, rather than what's been done to it.
I do agree with you on this FruitLoop :smile: