August Birthstone: Pretty Peridot
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Often called the evening emerald because of its light green colour, peridot is known as a symbol of strength. The mellow lime green stone of August is associated with peace, good fortune, prosperity and happiness as well as the famous poem, "Wear a Peridot or for thee, No conjugal fidelity, The August born without this stone,`Tis said, must live unloved alone”.
A rare-gem quality of variety of olivine, peridot is lustrous yellowish-green stone, also known as Chrysolite. Igneous in origin, peridot is formed deep inside the earth's mantle and surfaced through volcanic activity, measuring a hardness of 6.5-7 on the Mohs scale.
Peridot is also strongly linked with the tears of Pele in Hawaii; the volcanic goddess of fire due to its yellowish-tinge.
The signature shades of pale green, olive-green and lime comes from the composition of the mineral itself, rather than from trace impurities, dependent upon how much iron is present. An idiochromatic gem, peridot is one of the very few gems that only exhibits in different shades of one green colour with hints of yellow; rather than multitude of shades.
Sparkling lime-green peridot without traces of brown or yellow hues demand the highest indsutry value. Owing to its numerous qualities, peridot has become an increasingly popular choice of stone in modern silver jewellery.
The healing powers associated with this stone has caused a high demand for peridot in anyone's collection and its gentle-lime soft glow has placed peridot as one of the fastest selling stones in today's gem market.
The August birthstone is known to be rejuvinating by promoting clarity, healing body ailments and alleviating wearers of negative emotions such as depression, anger and jealousy.
Whilst olivine is a commonly found stone, peridot itself remains to be rare. The majority of its supply comes from the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona. Other sources include Egypt, Nevada, Hawaii, Kenya, China, Brazil and South Africa to name just a few.
One of the oldest gemstones in the industry, Peridot was commonly used as a way of warding off evil spirits as well as helping to protect wearers from nightmares. Ancient Egyptians crafted beads from this elegant gemstone whilst other ancient cultures like the Greek and the Romans commonly used this stone in rings, inlays and pendants.
Rich in history, rich in symbolism and rich in popularity, peridot makes for one truly stunning and eye-catching piece.
Image and source credits: Pinterest, gemrockauctions, birthzonezodiac, americangemsociety
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