Peridot is a gemstone in the Olivine mineral family. It exhibits a range of vibrant greens from yellow-green to olive green to brownish green. On the Mohs’ scale of hardness, peridot is 6.5-7. It displays a vitreous and oily luster and the primary sources include Burma (Myanmar), Australia (Queensland), Brazil (Minas Gerais), China, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, and Arizona.
Color
Once called the “gem of the sun,” this yellow-green stone glitters like golden light reflecting across the ripples of green sea water. Peridot’s vibrant color has caught the eye of many fashion designers, appearing in a variety of fashionable clothing and jewelry designs.
History
Forged in fire, brilliant of peridot is literally created by volcanoes and has even been found in meteors falling to the earth. Peridot is still treasured by native Hawaiians as the tears of Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. The island of Oahu even has beaches made of olivine, but these grains are far too small to cut into peridot.
Cherished by the Egyptian Pharaohs, ancient papyri record peridot mining as early as 1500 B.C. Large deposits of peridot were found off the coast of Egypt on Zebirget (St. John’s Island). Supposedly the miners went out in the evening looking for the brilliant reflections from the stone, and then marking the spot, they would return to mine the area the next day.
Crusaders discovered peridot on their incursions into Egypt. Thinking they had discovered emeralds, they brought home these beautiful stones, and to this day some of the stones in the church collections labeled emeralds are actually peridot. Europeans loved the peridot and during the Baroque period it became one of the most popular stones.
Lore
In the 10th century, Andreas, Bishop of Caesarea, wrote a treatise connecting the stones of Revelation with the 12 apostles. He suggested that “The chryrsolite (peridot), gleaming with the splendor of gold, may symbolize Barthlomew, since he was illustrious for his divine preaching and his store of virtues.” (from Gems in Myth, Legend and Lore by Bruce G. Knuth, Jewelers Press: Thornton, CO, 1999, page 140.)
Over the years, peridot has been considered a healing stone that could help lungs, heart, spleen, stomach ulcers, intestines and even eyesight. Associated with the sun, peridot supposedly had the power to drive away all darkness and evil spirits.
Burma and Egypt were once the primary places to find peridot due to the large size and condition of the stones. In 1994, a deposit of peridot was discovered in Pakistan. Located in the Himalayan Mountains, this mine has produced some outstanding stones in size and quality. While some consider Burma, Egypt and Pakistan to provide the best quality stones, Arizona has become the main source for peridot. These stones are smaller and lighter but very popular among designers. Other deposits have been found in Afghanistan, Brazil (Minais Gerais), China, Kenya, Mexico, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, Norway and Australia (Queensland).
Other stones can scratch or even break peridot, so be sure to store them separately.
As with all gemstones, avoid scratches from contact with harder substances by keeping the stone in a soft cloth bag away from harder substances such as other jewelry.
Maintain their beauty by cleaning your gems.
On peridot, you can normally use sudsy water and brushes.
Avoid extreme conditions.
You should not expose peridot to sudden temperature changes, ultrasonic cleaners, or harsh chemicals.
Avoid wearing gems during strenuous exercise.
A well-placed blow could damage the beauty of stone, so it is safest to store them while engaging in any activity where they might be subject to high impact.
Do not handle jewelry by the stone.
You don’t want to loosen a stone from the mount and take a chance of eventually losing it.
Store gemstones separately.
Some stones are harder than others, and a hard stone can actually scratch a softer stone.
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