In the gem trade, lemon is an informal colour descriptor used to denote a bright, medium-saturated yellow with a slight green secondary - the hue of a ripe lemon's skin rather than the deeper, orangey yellow of a yolk or canary. It is a marketing and trade term, not a laboratory grade. The closest formal reference points are GIA's Munsell-derived colour grading, where lemon would correspond loosely to a hue around 5Y to 7.5Y at a medium tone and moderate-to-strong saturation.

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The label is most commonly applied to:

• Lemon quartz - heated and irradiated quartz showing a clean greenish yellow.
• Lemon citrine - imprecise; sometimes used by sellers for the lighter, more greenish examples of citrine, though strictly speaking the green cast is uncharacteristic of natural citrine.
• Lemon chrysoberyl - the pale greenish yellow end of the chrysoberyl colour range.
• Lemon topaz - typically irradiated or treated topaz; the term is unregulated and a buyer should ask for specifics.

Because the descriptor is unregulated, a stone sold as lemon may have been heated, irradiated or synthesised, and the same word covers material from several different species. Reputable dealers will identify the species, disclose treatment and, for finer goods, supply a laboratory report that records colour with reference to a controlled grading system rather than a fruit name.

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