Citrine or Lemon quartz

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi everyone,

Just need your advice. I want to make a necklace for my girlfriend
for christmas but am unsure what stone to use. I need rectangular
cushion cut lemon color citrine or lemon quartz beads (with the hole
drilled lengthwise). I talked to a vendor at a bead show in
Maryland. He had a really nice looking strand of lemony yellow
citrine and was asking $120. I also found some lemon quartz on ebay
about the same size and that vendor is asking $96.20

I was just wondering which would look nicer in the necklace. Both
beads that I’m looking at seem very clear and seem to be cut well.
The ebay stones look a little paler in color but this could be
because they aren’t strung with colored thread and the photography
may not be the best. Most citrines seem to be a warmer yellow color.
It doesn’t really matter to me whether the color is more “lemony” or
more of a warm golden yellow. I just don’t want a “washed out” grey
or almost colorless stone.

My questions aRe: if size, cut and color intensity are about the
same which stone would look better (sparklier?). Is citrine
generally a more expensive stone than lemon quartz? Do you have any
suggestions as to other suppliers?

If the necklace turns out well I hope to make a few more and try
selling them!

Any suggestions are welcome!

Thanks,

Dan
DanielBe Jewelry

2

Dan,

As it happens, citrine is a variety of quartz, typically a golden
color. “Lemon citrine” and “Lemon quartz” must be trade names, so
it’s difficult to know precisely where the dividing line is –
probably in the eye of the beholder. Because citrine is more readily
recognized as a gem (compared to quartz), I would expect stones
labeled citrine to be more costly. Personally, I would also expect
such stones to also be of a more saturated color and “warmer” more
citriny hue, but that isn’t a given, since what name is used may
depend more on the dealer and his sense of the market than on the
material itself.

Good quality quartz stones (including amethyst and citrine) should
be eye clean, although very minor natural inclusions are sometimes
considered desirable as evidence of natural origin. (There’s a lot of
synthetic quartz and citrine on the market.)

As for which you should use, I’d vote for whatever color you like
best. Unless someone is using a deceptive trade name, the color
should be the only real difference between lemon citrine and lemon
quartz. (Anyone out there run into problems with citrine that isn’t?)

Hope your girlfriend enjoys the necklace!

Suzanne Wade
writer/editor
Suzanne@rswade.net
http://www.rswade.net
Phone: (508) 339-7366
Fax: (928) 563-8255