The strong citrus tones of this gem type are an unusual quality in the Quartz family. While its sister Citrine enjoys the golden-orange, yellow tones of the sunset, Lemon Quartz has the fresh, vibrant nature of lemon groves in summer. This sensitive tone not only works well in female jewellery but also suits gents cufflinks.
The only difference between Citrine and Lemon Quartz is in the saturation and tone of their colour. Many gem dealers do not even separate the two and use the name Citrine for all yellow Quartz. The gem looks vibrant when set into yellow gold; however, it really steals the show when set into either silver or white gold.
Whilst the Quartz part of its name is derived from the Greek word for ice “krustallos”, the Lemon prefix is obviously English. Maybe subconsciously that’s one of the reasons that I personally favour the gem marginally over its sister of French derived origin Citrine!
Most of the Lemon Quartz we have at Coloured Rocks is cut and polished in our own facility in India. When we study the rough, if it has good clarity so as to maximise the gems incredible brilliance, we will often add a concave cut to the pavilion. However, as my wife is as equally passionate about this gemstone as I am, she will often request that larger pieces are cabochon cut, so that she can set them in her cocktail rings.
