Topaz and Citrine: November's Golden Stones

November light comes in low and sideways, even in Arizona. In the late afternoon it falls across the kitchen table and turns everything it touches the color of honey. It is the month of long dinners and warm sweaters, evenings around the fire pit, and of counting what we are grateful for.

November has two birthstones, and for most of history nobody could tell them apart.

Two stones, one name

Until modern gem testing, almost any golden stone was simply called topaz. Merchants used the word, jewelers used it, and so did kings. Many of the "topaz" jewels in old European collections were found, much later, to be citrine. In candlelight the two look like sisters, but they are entirely different stones. Today each one has its own name back, and November is lucky enough to keep them both.

Topaz, the stone of strength

Topaz is one of the hardest gems in nature, harder than quartz, which is part of why it has been worn and treasured for thousands of years. Its name is often traced to Topazios, a small island in the Red Sea that the Roman writer Pliny wrote about, where a golden stone was gathered.

Topaz grows in honey gold, sherry, peach, soft pink, and clear as water. The rarest and most prized is imperial topaz, a warm pinkish orange found mainly in the hills around Ouro Preto in Brazil. The bright blue topaz so many of us love begins as clear or pale topaz and is given its blue by a permanent treatment, so the color will never fade.

The ancient Greeks believed topaz gave strength to the person who wore it, and in Renaissance Europe it was said to cool a hot temper and clear the mind. Today it is traditionally associated with honesty, steady calm and clear speech. Blue topaz is linked with the throat chakra, the center of expression, and golden topaz with the solar plexus, the center of confidence.

Citrine, the merchant's stone

Citrine is a golden quartz, and its name comes from citron, the French word for lemon. Its color runs from pale champagne to a deep amber, like tea held up to a window. Natural citrine is rare. Some turns golden from heat deep inside the earth, and much of the citrine we see today began as amethyst and was warmed until it changed color; a little alchemy that turns purple into gold.

For generations shopkeepers tucked a piece of citrine into the cash drawer, which is how it earned the name the merchant's stone. It is traditionally associated with abundance, joy and warmth, and with the solar plexus chakra; a little piece of sunlight to keep close as the days grow short.

Wearing November

Golden stones were made for late autumn layers. Citrine glows against cream knits, camel and deep forest green, and it sits beautifully with gold. Blue topaz is the cool note in a warm season; lovely against a white collar or tucked inside a soft scarf, where a flash of blue shows every time you turn your head. Choker lengths are perfect this time of year, because they stay visible above a sweater neckline.

If you would like a small practice for the month, try this. Each morning as you fasten your piece, hold the stones in your palm for one slow breath and name one thing you are grateful for. It can be very small: the first sip of coffee, a message from a friend, a good night's sleep. If you wear a mala, let each bead hold one thankful thought at the end of the day. The stone is not doing the work; it is simply there to remind you of what you noticed.

And if you are shopping for a November birthday, topaz and citrine both make a beautiful gift; one for steadiness and one for sunshine.

Three pieces to wear it in

Blue Topaz Choker Necklace with Carved Pink Opal Fish ~ $195. Faceted blue topaz, strung by hand end to end, catching light the way tropical water does. A carved pink opal fish with 18kt gold vermeil detail hangs from a gold filled sailor clasp worn at the front, and in nearly every culture that ever lived beside water, a fish means luck on its way. The fish unclips, so you can wear the topaz strand on its own. Sixteen inches.

Pearl Choker Necklace with Blue Lace Agate and Blue Topaz Pendant ~ $195. Softly irregular freshwater pearls with a small piece of sky at the center: a blue lace agate pendant banded like clouds, set with a faceted blue topaz in gold filled. At 16.5 inches it sits close and high on the neck, made for a November sweater.

The Personal Power Mala ~ $160. Faceted citrine, sunny yellow calcite and white agate, every bead knotted by hand. A carved mother of pearl hamsa rests on one side, and a faceted clear quartz guru bead sits at the center. Yellow stones are traditionally connected with the solar plexus and with confidence, which makes this a lovely companion for a November intention.

Caring for your stones

Topaz is hard, but a sharp knock can split it, so give it its own pouch rather than tossing it in with other pieces. Keep citrine off a sunny windowsill for long stretches; strong sun over time can soften its color. Pearls like to go on last and come off first, after perfume and lotion. A hand knotted mala is happiest kept dry, so take it off before a shower or a swim. A soft cloth is all any of them need.

Before you go

Each of these pieces is made by hand in my Scottsdale studio, and each would be a beautiful thing to open on a November birthday, or simply to give yourself as the year turns toward winter. There is no rush at all. I would love for one of them to go home with you. And if you are dreaming of a November piece in a different color or length, I would love to make one just for you.

However you spend this golden month, I hope it brings you plenty to be grateful for.

Namaste ~Lisa