Is heat treated citrine real?

Heat-treated citrine from Brazil is usually amethyst (sometimes smokey quartz) that’s been baked. This piece was broken off of a large amethyst geode then heated to get this tell-tale baked orange color at the tip with white bottom. This photo demos another common baked citrine formation, the druse.

Are heat treated gems less valuable?

Heat treatment is the most common treatment and without heat treatment the availability of fine gems would be significantly less. With less gems prices would be dramatically higher only available to the rich. This is the reason untreated gems often command 30% to 50% higher prices.

How can you tell the difference between citrine and heat-treated amethyst?

Natural citrine will very rarely ever grow in clusters like amethyst, so when you see a yellow, orange, or burnt orange-hued crystal in a cluster formation, it is most likely a form of heat-treated amethyst. Another way to tell is if the root of the crystal is white but the tip is an orange or yellow color.

Is baked amethyst citrine?

Is your citrine real or fake? It can be a bummer to discover that one of your precious crystals may be a fraud and citrine is namely easy to fake. Fortunately, it’s usually just a baked version of another crystal, usually Amethyst though sometimes it is forged from glass.

How can you tell if an amethyst is real?

An Amethyst gem that is one solid color is most likely fake. Real Amethyst stones will have color zoning including shades of white and blue along with purple. A real Amethyst gem won’t have any bubbles but may have threads and impurities beneath the surface. Amethyst is one of the most popular gemstones.

Why is my amethyst getting darker?

Amethysts are formed from an otherwise colorless mineral when iron is added to the crystal structure. However when the entire crystal is exposed to radiation and heat, the iron makes it turn purple. The more iron and radiation, the darker the purple color.