Peridot



The Peridot is rich in green colors as the name is given to gem-quality specimens of the mineral olivine which is derived from its characteristic olive-green colors. These green colors depend on iron content and it can be bottled green or yellowish green. The stone is usually cut as a pendeloque to create a darker and more favored hue. Moreover, Peridot has a strong double refraction, which means that you can often see a doubling of the back facets. Peridot is the birthstone for August and 16th anniversary gem. It was probably called "emerald" in ancient accounts and Romans termed it "evening emerald." Peridot was one of the twelve stones in the the high priest's breastplate in the Biblical book of Exodus.

Peridot was mined for over 3,500 years on the volcanic island of Zebirget, or St. Johns Island, in the Red Sea, and the deposits rediscovered in 1900. It is also found in Myanmar (Burma), Arizona, New Mexico, and Hawaii, in the US, China, Pakistan, Norway, Brazil, Australia, Kenya, Mexico, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Tanzania. The United States is one of the largest producers of peridot.. In addition to being recovered from igneous basalt, gabbro, and peridotite, peridot also occurs in certain types of meteorites.

Magic & Myth

The Egyptians claimed that Peridots glowed by night but were invisible by day. They believed the Peridot had the power to dispel the darkness and terrors of the nights. This gem, in a powdered form, was to cure asthma and believed to lessen the effects of enchantment.