Madeira citrine is the trade name for the deepest and most saturated grade of citrine, a yellow-to-orange variety of crystalline quartz. The name comes from the colour of Madeira wine, the fortified wine produced on the Portuguese island, and is reserved by trade convention for stones of a rich reddish-orange to brownish-orange tone, distinct from lighter citrine grades sold simply as citrine, golden citrine or pale citrine.

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Origin of the colour

The overwhelming majority of commercial citrine, including Madeira-grade material, is produced by heat treatment of amethyst or, less commonly, of smoky quartz. The treatment converts the iron-bearing colour centres of amethyst (which give the violet hue) to the iron-bearing centres responsible for citrine's yellow-to-orange palette. Naturally coloured citrine, in which the colour formed in the earth without subsequent heating, is genuinely uncommon and generally a paler, more lemon yellow; saturated reddish-orange Madeira-grade material is overwhelmingly heat-treated. The treatment is stable, irreversible and accepted across the trade, but disclosure that the colour is the product of heat is required under all major laboratory and trade-association guidelines.

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Sources

The principal source of Madeira citrine is Brazil, particularly the amethyst mines of Rio Grande do Sul and Bahia, where the rough is heated commercially. Uruguay, Bolivia and Zambia also contribute. The species' refractive indices, hardness (7 on the Mohs scale) and durability are those of any quartz, making it well-suited to ring, pendant and earring use.

Trade context

Madeira citrine is the most valuable grade of citrine but remains, by gem standards, an accessibly priced material. Faceted stones of ten carats and above are common, and clean rough is plentiful. The term is sometimes loosely applied to lighter orange material; serious dealers reserve it for the saturated reddish-orange grade reflecting the colour of the wine.

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