November Birthstone: Topaz & Citrine

What is the November birthstone?

November has two birthstones: topaz and citrine. Both appear on the modern birthstone list, and both lean warm and golden, so November is the month of amber and honey tones rather than a hard either-or between clashing colours. Citrine is the more affordable of the two and a very durable quartz; topaz spans a wider colour range and includes the familiar blue topaz. If you want to see how November fits the rest of the year, our birthstones guide covers all twelve months, and the notes below cover both stones honestly.

Citrine: colour and everyday wear

Citrine is the yellow-to-orange variety of quartz, running from pale lemon through rich Madeira orange. Its warmth is the whole appeal, and it is one of the most affordable golden gems, which means you can get a genuinely large, eye-catching stone for a sensible price. Most citrine on the market is heat-treated amethyst or smoky quartz, since natural citrine is uncommon; the treatment is stable and permanent, so it is not something to worry about, only something to know. For daily wear, citrine is a safe bet at 7 on the Mohs scale, the same hardness as amethyst and the wider quartz family. That is hard enough for a ring you wear often, though not as scratch-proof as sapphire, so a little care over the years keeps it bright. The IGS durability guide puts that 7 in context against tougher and softer stones.

The meaning and history of citrine

Citrine has long been associated with warmth, energy, and good cheer, which suits its sunny colour, and it has been used in jewellery since antiquity. It picked up the nickname "the merchant's stone" from a folk belief that it encouraged prosperity, though we file that under charming rather than proven. What is true is that its glow makes it a popular winter-birthday stone, arriving as it does just as the days shorten.

Topaz: November's second stone

Topaz is the other November stone, and it is more varied than most people realise. Natural topaz can be colourless, pale blue, pink, or the prized golden-orange "imperial" topaz, which is the rarest and most valuable. The bright blue topaz you see everywhere is almost always colourless topaz that has been irradiated and heat-treated to produce the blue; it is stable and widely accepted, but it is worth knowing the colour is not natural. Topaz sits around 8 on the Mohs scale, harder than citrine, but it has a perfect cleavage plane, meaning a sharp knock in the wrong direction can split it, so it wants a thoughtful setting rather than an exposed one. For the full picture on colour varieties, our gemstone guide is a good next stop.

Choosing a November piece

November's real gift is scale. Because both citrine and blue topaz are affordable even in large sizes, this is the month to go bold: a generous cushion-cut citrine cocktail ring, or a big blue topaz pendant, delivers presence that would cost a fortune in a rarer stone. For an everyday ring, citrine at 7 is the more forgiving choice; if you want topaz in a ring, we protect its cleavage with a setting that shields the edges. Earrings and pendants let you push the size up without worrying about knocks. We cut, set, and finish these pieces by hand in our Coquitlam workshop, so we can play to the stones' strengths, scaling up where the budget allows and building the mount around the individual gem. Citrine is also the traditional stone for a 4th wedding anniversary, so a November birthday piece can mark that year too, and several of our bespoke anniversary pieces began as exactly that kind of dual-purpose commission.

Frequently asked questions