One of the most impressive specimens of citrine that you might encounter is a large citrine geode from Brazil.  These are often offered for sale at major gem and mineral shows.  Gem hunters find these geodes in the Brazilian basalt fields, then clean and prepare them to stand as a crystal tower in your living room.  They can be two, or four, or six feet tall – or taller.

Surprisingly, they are not filled with orange to orangy brown citrine when they are found.  Instead, most are filled with purple amethyst crystals.  Somewhere between discovery and the consumer, a decision is made to heat the geodes in industrial ovens to convert the original purple amethyst into an orangy brown citrine.

Why convert a beautiful amethyst geode into a citrine geode?  Because many people who will not buy an amethyst geode will buy a citrine geode because they enjoy the orange color or because citrine is their birthstone.

Citrine Geode: Geodes of citrine and amethyst up to several feet tall are usually offered for sale at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show and other popular mineral shows. The photo above shows a citrine geode that has been cut and prepared to stand in your den or living room. Almost all citrine geodes are discovered with amethyst inside, but are heat treated to convert the purple amethyst into orangy brown citrine.