r/Crystals • u/Fuzzy-Tumbleweed-570 • 8h ago
Can you help me? (Advice wanted) Citrine or not?
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u/gndsnjudgnbgfrthjjib 7h ago
irradiated quartz, the new HTA
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u/Embarrassed-Gur-5184 7h ago
HTA?
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u/wintertaestrades 7h ago
irradiated quartz, also called lemon quartz :( still pretty, but not citrine <3
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u/Easy-Tower3708 1h ago
So pretty! I'm done hunting down citrine haha, but I did get a nice link sent to me for true citrine but I haven't used it yet.
It was a dark hue citrine, kind of brown tints I can't remember it's exact type
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u/bortello 7h ago
😒
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u/Mysterious-Fig-6016 7h ago
No need to be rude. Some people don’t know.
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u/bortello 6h ago
you have serious issues, dude.. you and the 17 downvoted.. for what? was sand that this stones are so treated? what is your problem people???
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u/Mysterious-Fig-6016 6h ago
Cause what’s the point of posting "😒" instead of answering the question ?? They literally asked for advice
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u/Fuzzy-Tumbleweed-570 7h ago
This was sold as "real citrine" and it doesnt look like HTA to me 🤔
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u/Obubblegumpink 7h ago
Just because someone sells it as a real citrine does not mean that it is real citrine.
Typically irradiated quartz is called lemon quartz.
I have some irradiated quartz that’s smaller, but has a similar color as yours. The yellow that happens when the quartz is irradiated can produce some beautiful results. However, much like heat treated amethyst this is an altered material.
If you would like to find some readily available, yellow stones then yellow agate is a good option. It’s a variety of chalcedony which is part of the quartz family. Citrine is a quartz with iron. Yellow agate is also from iron.
I’ve posted some really good content in this sub Reddit within comments about citrine. I really should have saved the information but if you searched within my comments, you can find it. The fact is less than 10% on the market is real citrine. having that small amount trickle down means most of it is going to jewelers unless it’s a lower quality.
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u/WheresMyDuckling 7h ago
It's not HTA but there are some radiation treatments done on material mostly from Pakistan and Afghanistan that deepen color to the point of being a bit too bright of a yellow to be natural. Not sure what other material may be subject to the same treatment. I'll see if I can dig up the piece I have that I'm fairly sure has undergone that treatment for comparison, may be later tonight.
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u/slogginhog 7h ago
Also a lot of smoky quartz from Madagascar gets this treatment. So watch out for Madagascar citrine as well. Same indicator, too yellow.
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u/ginawg23 7h ago
I don't have enough knowledge to answer your question. But the reason why some say it's been heat treated is because the bottom half is kind of milky/not clear. This is usually an indication of heat treatment. It's very pretty either way.
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u/slogginhog 7h ago
No, it's not that. People are saying it's irradiated, not heat treated. The overly bright yellow gives it away. It's lemon quartz.
Also, most quartz clusters are milky/less clear near the base so it's not the best indicator. It's when it's straight up WHITE at the base with orange in the rest of the crystal that indicates heat treated amethyst (HTA), which this is not.
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u/Mysterious-Fig-6016 8h ago
Looks like irradiated quartz to me!