Ancient astronomers referred to Peridot as Chrysolite, a more scientific name. Other birthstones associated with the month of August include Onyx, Rubies, Jade, Diamonds, or Sardonyx.
“Gem quality peridot comes from the ancient source of Zagbargad (Zebirget) Island in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt. The Myanmar, Pakistani and Egyptian gems are rarer and of better quality and thus quite valuable approaching the per carat values of top gemstones.” Historically, a majority of the peridot in the world came from Egypt and Myanmar.
Peridot is said to have been mined for over 4,000 years, even having some mention in the bible under the hebrew name Pitdah. It was said to have been included in the fabled breastplates of the Jewish high priests that have yet to be found.
As a stone, it is still questionable whether the origin of peridot, Olivine, is even a mineral: this has been up for discussion forever. The smaller Olivine stones that are found are generally more clear, while the larger stones tend to be cloudy with a number
of inclusions.
Olivine is one of the most commonly occuring elements in the world, being the general composition of the Earth’s Mantle. When some volcanos erupt, they’re said to produce sands of transparent green grains of peridot. In Hawaii, these grains appear to be black except on the Southernmost tip of the largest island.
“Peridot is a beautiful gemstone in its own right and is widely popular. Its popularity is said to be increasing yearly and with new finds in Pakistan producing exceptionally well crystallized specimens, peridot can be fun to collect for years to come.”
