The August Birthstone – Peridot

Revered by ancient civilisations and modern jewellers alike, the peridot is a truly treasured and timeless gemstone. At times called the evening emerald for its light green colour, it was once believed in Hawaii that this stone were the tears of the volcano goddess, Pele, and when set in gold, the peridot would protect the wearer from nightmares.

The peridot is one of just a handful of gemstones that exist in only a single colour: green. Varying from bright, acid green to more subdued, earthy tones, the gemstone can also be characterised by its size as peridots rarely reach more than 3 carats in weight.

The stone’s recent revival in contemporary jewellery can be related to the discovery of a huge deposit in Kashmir in the late 1990s, which brought to the market an unusually large supply of high quality, high carat weight peridots. Today, peridots can be found to occur in a number of locations, most notably Burma, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, America, Afghanistan and Tanzania.

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