Rutilated Citrine Point
Measures Approximately: 1 7/8" x 1 1/8" x 1"
Weighs Approximately: 1.6 oz
So sweet. It's so hard to find natural citrine. Most sold on the market is heat treated amethyst and goes into a much more brassy orange color. Natural citrine has a much more gentle yellow color... like sunshine. This point is very lightly citrine. I had to place it on a white sheet of paper to identify it. The play of the citrine and the rutile together is magical.
Citrine is a yellow variety of quartz. According to current theories exposure to natural underground radiation causes trace amounts of trivalent iron (Fe3+) or aluminum (Al3+) to replace some of its silicon. This change in its crystal structure creates its color. The name comes from the Latin citrinus (“lemon colored”). Natural citrine is uniform like smoky quartz and often forms with it since both are colored by aluminum.
Rutile is a titanium oxide mineral (TiO2) that forms in golden or red colored needle shaped threads when it occurs within quartz. When it forms in other minerals, such as ruby or sapphire, it can create asterism that is the desirable "star" effect that plays across the surface of the gemstone when seen in direct light. The titanium oxide created by purifying and making a powder with rutile is used as a non-toxic white pigment for paints, cosmetics, food, and toothpaste.
