Blog / Gemstones

November’s Topaz & Citrine

Sunday November 22, 2020
Stephen Sutton

November has nearly finished now, and as we see the golden brown leaves covering everywhere but the trees from which they fell – I always wonder if that is why the similarly coloured gemstones Topaz & Cirtine are the month’s birthstone. For those lucky enough to have these beautiful stones representing their birth, the bright yellow golden to orange shades perfectly represent the season.

Whilst Imperial Topaz is thought to bring about healing, Citrine is considered to be a gift from the sun.


Citrine

Citrine is so named after the french word Citrion meaning ‘lemon’ with its colours varying from a pale yellow to a rich wine colour. The most sought-after / prized are those described as Madeira Citrine, named after the colour of Madeira wine, and not the Atlantic island itself.

Citrine is found as many different gemstones in many different areas, but Brazil has perhaps the finest and most valuable. A member of the Quartz family and largely similar to Amethyst (they can sometimes be found in the same crystal structure, in the rare occurrence known as ‘Ametrine’ where half is yellow and half is purple), Citrine is also mined in France, Madagascar and the Ural mountains of Russia.

Citrine & Diamond Rubover Set Stud Earrings Multi Gemstone Drop Earrings Citrine & Diamond Three Stone Ring
Citrine & Diamond Rubover Set Stud Earrings Multi Gemstone Drop Earrings Citrine & Diamond Three Stone Ring
 £560  £350  £1485


Referred to as ‘The Merchants Stone’ or ‘Money Stone’, Citrine is thought to bring prosperity and wealth if placed on a table or till whilst making a deal. This, along with its bright orange colour representing the sun are some of the reasons that you see Citrine adorning many Scottish jewellery designs.

As well as representing November’s birthstone, Citrine is also the wedding anniversary gift for your 13th year of marriage.


Topaz

Topaz is a naturally hard gemstone measuring 8 on Mohs scales, in a family all of its own. Although most commonly found in jewellers in a sky-blue colour, this is very rarely its natural colour. Blue Topaz stones can be found naturally, but most are irradiated to add the colour to an otherwise colourless or slightly yellow stone.

The stone can also be found in many other colours, including:

  • Colourless
  • Yellow
  • Blue
  • Orange
  • Green
  • Reddish/Pink
  • Golden Topaz
  • Imperial Topaz

It is found in deposits around the world, including Topaz mountain in Utah USA, Ural mountains of Russia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Germany, Czech Republic, Japan, Norway, Italy and Brazil… to name but a few.

Large crystals are not uncommon, and perhaps the largest is the American Gold Topaz weighting in at 4.5kg! It has a total carat weight of 22,892 – one of the largest ever cut gemstones in the world, Mined, in Brazil and took 2 years to cut from an 11.8kg crystal, by Leon Agee in the late 1980s.

Along with representing November’s birthstone, Topaz is also the 4th Wedding Anniversary gemstone.


Golden Topaz & Diamond Cluster Ring
Golden Topaz & Diamond Cluster Ring
 £2,875


We at Cry for the Moon are proud to have some fabulous Imperial Topaz rings in stock, so please Get in touch if you’d like to book an appointment to try them on for yourself.

Stephen SuttonHead of Sales