Peridot- August's Birthstone

To commend our current month, here is a little insight into August’s birthstone – Peridot.

What does the Peridot gemstone look like?

This gorgeous stone can either appear as a vivid lime green, or a paler olive colour. It is sometimes called “Evening Emerald”, as it keeps its shining colour during the day and night. Most peridot is ‘eye clean’, which means it is clear of black spots and inclusions to the naked eye. It can be cut in a wide variety of styles, including ovals, emerald cuts, and cushions. Despite this gemstone’s beauty, it is rather fragile and cannot withstand extreme temperature changes. Therefore, if you own peridot or are thinking of pursuing it as a gemstone of choice for your jewellery, we do recommend taking extra care of it.

How is it formed?

Peridot has a very interesting origin. Aside from diamond, it is the only gem that is formed in molten rock and brought to the surface by volcanoes and earthquakes. Although too rare and too small to be used as gemstones, other crystals of peridot also have extra-terrestrial origins, found in rare meteorites formed around 4.5 billion years ago. For this reason, early civilisations believed that peridot was ejected to Earth by a sun’s explosion and therefore carried its healing power! It gradually became strongly well-known for its protective powers against evil.

Where does it come from?

The history of peridot roots back to the Egyptian island of St. John in the Red Sea, which was one of the only ancient sources of the gem. It can no longer be found there, but has been rediscovered in other areas since the 1990s. Large and nearly flawless peridot crystals have now been discovered in Burma, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The most significant producer of peridot, however, remains the San Carlos Reservation of Arizona.