Citrine & Golden Topaz: November's Birthstones

November has two birthstones ... the golden honey colored stones citrine and topaz. These stones are often confused because their colors are so close. Also, each of these have sister stones that do not qualify as November birthstones. Citrine is a golden form of quartz, whose counterpart is the purple amethyst. (Amethyst is the February birthstone.) Topaz is a more expensive stone than citrine or amethyst whose primary color is a golden honey yellow. Its blue version is not a natural color, rather produced by heating clear stones to change the color to blue. (Blue topaz is an alternate birthstone for December.)

The Romans were thought to be the first to wear yellow quartz, crafting it into cabochons, highly polished but unfaceted cuts of stone set into jewelry.  Citrine became quite popular during the Romantic Period, when artisans often favored these warm colored gems to enhance gold jewelry. Citrine, like all forms of quartz, was believed to have magical powers and was worn as a talisman against evil thoughts and snake venom.

Topaz is associated with constancy, loyalty, faithfulness and friendship. The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all wore topaz for its special powers. During the Middle Ages topaz was thought to heal both physical and mental disorders and prevent death. Today, the golden yellow topaz, also called precious topaz, is considered a warm, beautiful gemstone that stands for fidelity.

Who first comes to this world below

With drear November's fog and snow

Should prize the topaz' amber hue

Emblem of friends and lovers true

The most famous topaz is actually a colorless topaz that was originally thought to be a diamond. It is a 1680 carat stone known as the "Braganza Diamond" and was set in the Portuguese Crown Jewels. Another beautiful topaz is in the Green Vault in Dresden which has one of the world's most important gem collections.

Here at Vintages we have several very nice citrine jewelry items. (We do not have any golden topaz pieces at this time.) Here is a gallery of our citrine jewelry. 

Sterling silver ring with citrine solitaire ($89)

Hand crafted sterling silver ring with citrine ($89)

Large citrine gemstone pendant ($69)

Fantastic rough cut citrine lariat necklace with keshi pearls and Australian rock opals ($195)

Brilliant 14K gold pendant with citrine, peridot, garnets and amethysts ($95)

While not a piece of jewelry, this distinctive Victorian citrine topped, gold-filled mechanical pencil is never-the-less a beautiful item.

Victorian era (c1870) gold-filled telescoping mechanical pencil with a citrine jewel embedded in the top ($79)