RocksdayCitrine vs Libyan Desert Glass
How to tell them apart
Yellow to orange quartz. Natural citrine is pale and fairly rare; most citrine sold today is heat-treated amethyst.
Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
Pale yellow, almost pure silica glass scattered across the Sahara, likely formed by a meteorite impact or airburst about 29 million years ago.
Photo: H. Raab (User:Vesta), CC BY-SA 3.0
Key differences
- Citrine is crystalline quartz, harder and heavier.
Side by side
| Property | Citrine | Libyan Desert Glass |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Mineral | Mineraloid |
| Mohs hardness | 7 | 6 |
| Luster | Vitreous | Vitreous |
| Streak | White | — |
| Colors | Yellow, Orange | Yellow, Clear |
| Crystal system / structure | Trigonal | Amorphous (silica glass) |
| Specific gravity | 2.65 | 2.2 |
| Formula | SiO₂ | — |
| Found in | Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Madagascar | Great Sand Sea, Egypt and Libya |
Properties that are the same for both are grayed out.
How to identify citrine
- Pale lemon to honey-orange quartz, hardness 7.
- Heat-treated amethyst geodes turn burnt orange at the tips with white bases — a giveaway.
- Natural pieces have an even, soft yellow color.
Crystal system: Trigonal
Full Citrine guide →How to identify libyan desert glass
- Pale yellow to clear, sandblasted surface.
- Bubbles and dark wispy inclusions.
- Lighter than quartz.
Structure: Amorphous (silica glass)
Full Libyan Desert Glass guide →More comparisons
Could you tell them apart from a blurry close-up?
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