Citrine is one of two birthstones for November including Imperial topaz, is considered the gemstone of Virgo and is the official 13^th wedding anniversary gemstone to gift. Citrine which name has derived from the French name for lemon is one of the most affordable, yet durable of semi-precious gemstones on the market today.

Colours for Citrine range from gold, orange and brown shades of transparent quartz. Darker orange shades of Citrine which can be referred to as Maderia has generally been the most valuable colour which can work very nicely for mens jewellery pieces, while the brighter colours of Citrine are preferred for womans jewellery.

A lot of the Citrine on the market today is heat treated to obtain its attractive golden colour while natural Citrine is becoming increasingly rare and valuable being one of the few gemstones that will naturally occur in a yellow to orange colour. The colour from Citrine is thought to radiate positive energy and is known as the ‘success stone’ believed to promote prosperity and abundance, especially with situations involving business.

Because Citrine is easy to find with excellent transparency it is common to find eye-clean stones, leaving little reason to be purchasing stones with visible inclusions in them.

Brazil is the worlds leading supplier for Citrine with other sources ranging from Argentina, Bolivia, France, Madagascar, Burma, Namibia, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Uruguay and Zambia.

Tip : When buying coloured gemstones always purchase by size and not weight. Coloured gemstones may vary in size-to-weight ratio. Some stones are larger and others are smaller than diamond by weight in comparison.

Imperial Topaz is the birthstone of November along with Citrine; it is the stone representing Sagittarius and traditional gifting stone for the 23^rd anniversary.

Yellow, or pink to red-orange and is known as ‘Imperial Topaz’ or ‘Precious Topaz’, this is the rarest colour of Topaz and is the most sought after of all natural Topaz.

Imperial Topaz is very durable and qualifies for any types of jewellery, it has a perfect cleavage grade as does diamonds which means the force of a single blow could cause the stone to split/fracture or part. Because of this it is recommended using a bezel setting for this type of stone for everyday wear jewellery such as rings.

It was believed by the Egyptians that the colour of Imperial Topaz was given by the golden glow of the mighty sun god, Ra. Because of this Imperial Topaz became a powerful amulet used by the faithful to protect against harm.

The fine golden-yellow imperial Topaz is relatively scarce, the most important deposit was found in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Below are some example of blue Topaz which are stocked here at Jens Hansen Jewellers.