Gems TV

PERIDOT

Shining with a bright green glow even at night, Peridot was called the “gem of the sun” by the ancient Egyptians and the “evening emerald” by Romans. Peridot was a favourite gemstone of Cleopatra and was historically mistaken for Emerald. The pronunciation of this popular gem is often confused and should be pronounced “Pair-ee-doh” as opposed to “Pair-ee-dot”.

Peridot’s name origin is uncertain, but several theories exist. Some sources speculate that it comes from the 13th century Middle English word “peridote”, meaning “bright spot” or “bright button”, an apt description for this gem given its brilliance. Other sources attribute it to the French “peritot”, meaning “unclear”, probably due to its silky appearance. While some sources suggest the word Peridot comes from the Greek “peridona”, indicating plentiful, this seems unlikely as this gem was scarce even in classical times. Given the ancient source of Peridot, the most likely candidate is the Arabic word “faridat”, which simply means “gem”.

Legends and lore

Popular in early Greek and Roman jewellery, Peridot has been coveted since 1500 BC when the Egyptians started mining it on Zeberget Island, later known as St. John’s Island, about 80 kilometres off the Egyptian coast in the Red Sea. Interestingly, “zabargad” is the Arabic word for Peridot.

Peridot mining was traditionally done at night when the gem’s natural glow made it easier to spot. The ancient Egyptians even believed that Peridot became invisible under the sun’s rays. They also believed that Peridot was coloured by the golden glow of their sun god Ra, and was thus a powerful protector from harm.

Hawaiians believe Peridot is the goddess Pele’s tears, while it is mentioned in the Bible (using its old name Chrysolite, meaning “golden stone” in Greek) as being one of the “stones of fire” (Ezekiel 28:13-16) that were given to Moses and set in the breastplate of Aaron (Exodus 28:15-30). Peridot is also one of the twelve gemstones set in the foundations of the city walls of Jerusalem (Revelations 21:19) and associated with the Apostle Bartholomew.

While Cleopatra reportedly had a fine collection of “Emerald” jewellery, it was in reality predominantly Peridot.

The Ottoman Sultans gathered the largest collection of Peridot during their 600-year reign from 1300-1918, with an impressive array of both loose gemstones as well as earrings, rings and other jewellery.

Powdered Peridot has been used to cure asthma and a Peridot placed under the tongue of someone in the grip of a fever was believed to lessen their thirst. Legend has it that drinking from a Peridot goblet can increase the potency of medicines.

Pirates believed Peridot had the power to drive away evil spirits (and the night’s terrors), especially if set in gold. But as protection from evil spirits they believed it must be pierced, strung on donkey hair and worn on the left arm.

Possibly the most unusual Peridot is that which comes from meteorites called Pallasites, after their 1772 discoverer, a German scientist called Peter Simon Pallas. Some have even been faceted and set in jewellery, one of the few extraterrestrial gemstones known to man. In 2003 Peridot was discovered on Mars, making it the first gemstone to be discovered on another planet.

Just the facts

Peridot is the gem variety of Olivine and exhibits colours ranging from golden lime greens to rich grass greens. Traditionally, the most coveted colour hues have been the rich grass greens. However, many Peridots with slight yellowish hues still exhibit attractive colours that are extremely popular. This once again demonstrates that your individual preference should always be the primary factor when collecting coloured gemstones.

The elements that give gemstones their colour are termed “idiochromatic” or “self coloured” if they are an intrinsic ingredient of the gem (meaning the colour results from a colouring element that is always incorporated into the crystal structure of the mineral) and “allochromatic” or “other coloured” if they are trace elements (small amounts of an element that is not part of the normal crystal causes the colour). In many gems, the major element in the chemical composition is colourless in a pure state such as Topaz or Sapphires. If these “allochromatic” gems occur in a variety of colours such as Ruby or Sapphire, then it is usually the result of trace elements. In the case of an “idiochromatic” gem like Peridot, the colouring element iron is actually part of the crystal, meaning the gem is always the same colour (Peridot is always green).

Because of the way Peridot splits and bends light, it has an attractive velvety, silky appearance with a shining rich glow.

While the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, US has the world’s largest gem quality Peridot deposit, China has recently become a major producer. In 1994, an exciting new deposit was discovered in Pakistan, producing some of the finest Peridot ever seen. The new mine is located 4,572 metres above sea level in the Nanga Parbat region in the far west of the Himalayan Mountains in the Pakistani part of Kashmir.