Please help with gemstone ID- Citrine or Yellow Topaz??

[MTswirls]

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to determine if this heart gemstone is a piece of citrine or yellow topaz. It is set in 14K yellow gold and stamped “SF”- I’m not sure what that hallmark represents. The white stones are diamonds. I tested the yellow gem with my heat conducting diamond tester. I set the level meter at level 6 as recommended by the directions for my device since the heart shaped gem is bigger than 0.6 cts. The level meter rose from a level 6 to a level 7. However, regardless of what level I set the meter at, the gem causes the meter to go up one level.

I would be surprised it if is citrine given that it is set in 14K gold and is embellished with diamonds. I’m not very familiar with citrine or topaz, so I hope someone can shed some light on this for me. I know there’s no way to be sure over the internet, but I would really appreciate any input!

 

[GliderPoss]

I'm no expert but gut feel purely judging by pics is it's citrine.

 

[MTswirls]

I'm no expert but gut feel purely judging by pics is it's citrine.

Ok, thank you!

 

[Bron357]

Yes, I’m going with Citrine. Topaz is doubly refractive, Citrine isnt.

 

[zeolite]

topaz- R.I.=1.609-1.643 doubly refractive at .008-.016

citrine R.I.=1.544-1.561 doubly refractive at .009

 

[MTswirls]

topaz- R.I.=1.609-1.643 doubly refractive at .008-.016

citrine R.I.=1.544-1.561 doubly refractive at .009

Could you briefly explain what you mean by the stones being doubly refractive at those numbers? I'm not familiar with those terms. Is this something I could examine just by looking at it? Thank you.

 

[zeolite]

When light passes from air into a gem, it bends, Some gem materials, such as garnet and diamond, bend the same amount no matter what direction that the light enters. Most gems, due to atomic arrangement, bend the light more when entering from one direction than another. The number .009 means that the refractive index of citrine is, for example, 1.550 in one direction, and 1.559 in another. Birefringence and doubly refractive are different words for the same thing. Yes, you can see a facet line doubling in a microscope.

 

[MTswirls]

When light passes from air into a gem, it bends, Some gem materials, such as garnet and diamond, bend the same amount no matter what direction that the light enters. Most gems, due to atomic arrangement, bend the light more when entering from one direction than another. The number .009 means that the refractive index of citrine is, for example, 1.550 in one direction, and 1.559 in another. Birefringence and doubly refractive are different words for the same thing. Yes, you can see a facet line doubling in a microscope.

Ok, now I understand. Thank you for the explanation! So is this something that could only be analyzed under a microscope with high magnification and not a 10x or 20x magnifine glass?

 

[zeolite]

Yes, you can see the doubling with a 10X loupe, but since both are doubly refractive, that doesn't separate them.

The double diamond prongs at the top of your heart gem, prevent you from measuring the mounted gem on a refractometer. If the stone was loose, a gemologist with test equipment could easily separate them. To measure on a refractometer, a facet must lie absolutely flat on the instrument, and you must place a drop of heavy liquid (methylene iodide) to make optical contact, to provide an accurate measurement.

Or just drop the loose gem in heavy liquid. Topaz (specific gravity 3.52) will sink in methylene iodide (specific gravity 3.32), while citrine (specific gravity 2.65) will float.

Large natural yellow to orange topaz is rare, while large colorless topaz (changed to blue by man-made radiation) is common. So your gem is probably citrine, but that is no better than a guess.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Judging from the azures beneath the diamonds, my money’s on citrine. Beautiful!

 

[MTswirls]

Yes, you can see the doubling with a 10X loupe, but since both are doubly refractive, that doesn't separate them.

The double diamond prongs at the top of your heart gem, prevent you from measuring the mounted gem on a refractometer. If the stone was loose, a gemologist with test equipment could easily separate them. To measure on a refractometer, a facet must lie absolutely flat on the instrument, and you must place a drop of heavy liquid (methylene iodide) to make optical contact, to provide an accurate measurement.

Or just drop the loose gem in heavy liquid. Topaz (specific gravity 3.52) will sink in methylene iodide (specific gravity 3.32), while citrine (specific gravity 2.65) will float.

Large natural yellow to orange topaz is rare, while large colorless topaz (changed to blue by man-made radiation) is common. So your gem is probably citrine, but that is no better than a guess.

Ok. Thank you so much for explaining!

 

[MTswirls]

Judging from the azures beneath the diamonds, my money’s on citrine. Beautiful!

Thank you! I'm auctioning it on Ebay, so if you are interested I can send the link.

 

[minousbijoux]

Thank you! I'm auctioning it on Ebay, so if you are interested I can send the link.

Nope, not allowed to link any sale items here, or even talk about them. There is a "Preloved" page of the PS Forum - you can start a thread there and include a link to ebay there. HTH.

 

[MTswirls]

Oh ok. I'm new to the site so I didn't know. Thank you for letting me know!

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

All I will add to that posted above is to be careful making assumptions about setting quality and the price of a stone. Short of a 5 ct flawless diamond set in Stirling, nothing would really surprise me. And heck, Lightbox isn't producing 5 cts now, but IS setting diamonds in Stirling now that I think about it!

 

[MTswirls]

All I will add to that posted above is to be careful making assumptions about setting quality and the price of a stone. Short of a 5 ct flawless diamond set in Stirling, nothing would really surprise me. And heck, Lightbox isn't producing 5 cts now, but IS setting diamonds in Stirling now that I think about it!

Thank you! I will keep this in mind.