Firefox Lemurians-Naturally Beautiful!

The Firefox Lemurians are a new find that surfaced in June and July of 2022. They came from a pocket in the Red Dreamcoat mine, very close to where the Pele Lemurians were mined, in Cristalina, Goiás, Brazil, near a waterfall in the Topaz Mountains. And here is a new tidbit!--my supplier has recently shared news of the "Little Fox" (Lycalopex vetulu), an endangered species that, along with the Firefoxes, also calls Serra Dos Topazios  home.  Stay tuned, there is a lot unfolding with the Little Foxes and the Firefox Lemurians. 

The Firefox Lemurians are incredibly beautiful, like a cross between a Red Dream Coat Lemurian and a Pele Lemurian ( I made a reel on Instagram (that I am very proud of) you can see here). The bright orange color positively glows in the sunlight, the amethyst tops are a juicy purple, and many have druze or drusy zippers with little amethyst tips.  The inner core Lemurian varies from a beautiful clear citrine to a dark smoky citrine, with every variation in between. The energy is the most balanced energy profile I have ever experienced, and they are so enchanting it is hard to pull my gaze away. It feels like I am suspended in a state of deep appreciation, I want to admire them forever!

I feel so grateful to have been offered this first small group.  Another group has recently followed, so if you have not seen your perfect crystal it may yet be coming! 

Naturally Beautiful

The Firefox Lemurians are completely natural and untreated in any way. I have seen them with the dirt still on (they are very hard to clean) and my supplier purchased them directly from the miner, who he knows very well. This has been a wonderful connection to have so that I can verify facts directly from the source. It is such a gift to be able to receive and confirm information from knowledgable and trusted individuals! The verifiable ethics and history of the collection matters in many ways-- It is part of the intentionality of my shop and how I work, and it serves as a way to provide solid education to share with all of you. As always, please feel free to contact me any time with questions about my offerings--my crystals are my favorite topic!

Recently there has been some concern about new methods of treating crystals on the market today, especially citrine. I am offering this blog as a quick overview of the methods and effects of treating citrine, smoky quartz, and amethyst. All of these materials part of the Firefox Lemurian's magical combination, and clarifying that these beauties have not been treated is an important part of their gift to us. Scientifically, it is simply not possible, and I invite you to read on to see why. Knowledge is power!

Smoky Quartz

 

Many people are under the impression that the color of smoky quartz can be artificially created by heat. In truth, the smoky color will actually fade in heat! The color of smoky quartz is caused by radiation from surrounding rocks in the earth, activating the color centers around aluminum within the quartz. 

While it is not possible to use heat to create the color of smoky quartz, it is possible to artificially irradiate quartz to produce this color. If done skillfully it can be hard to detect, but if overdone the effect will be very dark, almost black , and opaque. For reference, there is a beautiful natural dark smoky quartz called Morion, rare and expensive, and irradiated smoky quartz is neither rare nor expensive. In fact, it is extremely common.

Citrine

 

Citrine is another crystal that depends on radiation to produce its color, also due to aluminum within the quartz. There is (most likely) some citrine that is caused by the action of radiation on the color centers around iron as well. Citrine is a whole blog article by itself, the nuances and mysteries go deep, lol. I used to teach an in-depth class on a different crystal each month, and citrine was quite a trip! The source I used for this article (The Quartz Page) has some great info on the possible chemistry behind the different color intensities of citrine, and is worth a read if you are curious.

Typically, artificially created "citrine" is heated amethyst and it has a burnt orange color. Just as Morion is a very dark natural smoky, Maderia citrine is a very dark natural citrine. Natural Maderia citrine is an extremely rare and very expensive gemstone, but baked amethyst is abundant and inexpensive. 

Fun Fact: When heat is applied to smoky quartz is loses its color. 

This property has led to another method of obtaining citrine colored crystals that is becoming more and more prevalent.  It involves very carefully heating a smoky citrine to remove the smoky color and leave the citrine.  I have seen this being done and it is a quick and inexpensive process. This particular process does not enhance the citrine, as a matter of fact the citrine will lose its color if too much heat is applied. This process removes the smoky color so that the natural underlying citrine can be seen.  The color centers in citrine are more stable than those in smoky quartz (citrine can handle up to 392℉ before it loses color), so the citrine color remains and the smoky color is eliminated.  It is nearly impossible to tell if a citrine crystal has been treated in this way, since the smoky color is removed and the remaining citrine color was already present naturally. Possibly this is also why so many sellers do not have a problem calling this material "natural" (and also why there is some confusion around the idea of heating smoky quartz).  The only way to know for sure is to know your sources. Not all wholesalers disclose this treatment to the shops that buy from them, so long term trusted relationships are more important than ever to assure that the history is known and the pricing is fair. 

Amethyst

Amethyst gets its lovely purple color from the action of radiation on the color centers surrounding iron within the quartz. The more "impurities", the deeper the color.  

The color of amethyst can be lightened, darkened, or changed entirely  by various combinations of heat and irradiation. When heated to approximately 800-900℉, amethyst will turn a burnt orange color.  Here is another fun fact-The color of heated amethyst can be restored to purple by irradiating it!  This was suspected of Ametrine when it first came out and was initially proclaimed as fake. 

In Closing

• All three of these quartzes require basically the same components of chemistry and irradiation to achieve their colors-- in different combinations , durations, and intensities.  
• All three are weakly dichroic, a quality that is lost if they are altered, with the exception of citrine made from heated smoky citrine.
• All three will fade in sunlight, especially citrine. 

Putting it all together--if a Firefox Lemurian was heated, the smoky color would disappear, the citrine would fade, and the amethyst would either fade or turn orange, depending on the temperature. Furthermore--the exterior red "coat" would be significantly damaged as well. In short, there is nothing to be gained and everything to be lost by heating one of these precious  gifts from Mother Earth!

To confirm, my Brazilian supplier does not buy treated crystals, and I do not carry them in my shop. The idea of treated crystals is also why I do not carry aura quartz-- while I respect the fact that many people love these crystals, they are just not my thing for these reasons. However, if I suspect something I have has been treated, I will run it down and always inform you (such as the Brazilian purpurite/heterosite being acid washed).

Thank you very much for reading, I hope this was informative and easy to understand!  

 Sources

I love research, and I always encourage people to do their own research to be truly informed and find their own way with what resonates.  Sometimes it is necessary to dig a bit deeper than what is initially presented as fact from the myriad of sources at our disposal, and new information is constantly casting light on what we hold as true.

So if you enjoy a research, or just want to have some fun and geek out for a while , I have listed my main sources for this article below. The Quartz Page is by far my all time favorite reference for anything having to do with quartz. I devoured this page when I was learning about how Beta quartz was formed, and when I spoke to my geologist needing clarification, guess where he referred me? Yep. Right back where I started. Definitely a seal of approval. 

 

The Quartz Page -Home

mindat.org

Geology.com (lots of ads here, but good info)