Peridot the August birthstone and a new twist on an old style makes it a great choice for a unique eternity ring or anniversary gift.
Peridot is one of the few stones that only occurs in one colour – an olive green. Some sources suggest that the name comes from the Arabic word faridat, meaning ‘gem’. However, others suggest that it comes from classical Latin word of paederot – a kind of opal.
Peridot is largely found in Australia, Brazil, China, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Tanzania. Historically it was mined for over 3500 years in Zabargad, east of Aswan in Egypt. However, it was forgotten for many centuries and rediscovered only around 1900.
In the Middle Ages, peridot was brought to central Europe by the crusaders and was often used for ecclesiastical purposes. The largest cut peridot ever found weighs 310 carats and was found in Zabargad – it’s now housed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. In Russia there are some cut peridots which came out of a meteorite that fell in 1749 in eastern Siberia – truly out of this world!
Ms Gingham says: My birthstone!! Love the peridot!
About Pascale: Pascale Helyar-Moray, Founder and Director of StyleRocks has fourteen years of financial services experience as a marketing and communications professional working with blue chip companies in Australia and the UK. Maternity leave forced her to re-examine her career options and in looking for a business she could run from home, created StyleRocks in order to harness her lifelong passion for jewellery.
Ahh this is one of favourite stones just for the colour alone – I have a yellow gold ring with this stone – hope you keep going with the birthstones for each month – fascinating!
Wow, this article is nice, my younger sister is analyzing these kinds of
things, so I am going to tell her.