黑料老司机

November鈥檚 second birthstone, citrine, is a variety of quartz that ranges from pale yellow to a honey orange color. It takes its name from the citron fruit because of these lemon inspired shades.

The pale yellow color of citrine closely resembles topaz, which explains why November鈥檚 two birthstones have been so easily confused throughout history.

Citrine鈥檚 yellow hues are caused by traces of iron in quartz crystals. This occurs rarely in nature, so most citrine gems on the market are made by heat treating other varieties of quartz鈥攗sually the more common, less expensive purple amethyst and smoky quartz to produce golden gemstones.

Brazil is the largest supplier of citrine. Other sources include Spain, Bolivia, France, Russia, Madagascar and the U.S. (Colorado, North Carolina and California). Different geographies yield different shades of citrine.

With a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, citrine is very durable against scratches and everyday wear-and-tear鈥攎aking it a lovely option for large, wearable jewelry.