The vivid, slightly golden shimmering green of Peridot is
the ideal gemstone color to complement a light summertime outfit. This is no
surprise – Peridot, after all, is assigned to the summer month of August.
Peridot is an ancient and yet currently very popular gemstone. It is so old
that it can be found even in Egyptian jewelry from the early second millennium
BC. The stones used in those days came from an occurrence on a little volcanic
island in the Red Sea, about 70 km off the Egyptian coast, off Assuan, which
was rediscovered only around 1900 and has been completely exploited since.
Peridot, however, is also a very modern stone, for only a few years ago
Peridot occurrences were discovered in the Kashmir region, and the stones from
there show a unique beauty of color and transparency, so that the image of the
stone, which was somewhat dulled over the ages, has received an efficient
polishing.
The ancient Romans were already quite fond of the gemstone and coveted the
brilliant green sparkle, which does not change either in artificial light.
They already named the stone “Evening Emerald”. Peridot is found in Europe in
many medieval churches decorating several treasures, like, for example, in the
Cologne Cathedral. In the era of Baroque the deep green gemstone experienced
another short flourishing, before it became forgotten.
Spectacular “Kashmir
Peridot”
But suddenly, around the middle of the 1990s, Peridot was the
great sensation on the Gemstone Trade Fairs all around the world. The reason:
In Pakistan there had been found a sensationally rich occurrence of finest
Peridot on a rough mountainside, in about 4,000 m height. The extremely hard
climatic conditions only allowed mining to go on through the summer months,
and yet the unusually large and fine crystals and rocks were brought down into
the valley. These stones were of finer quality than anything else ever seen
before, and the occurrence proved so rich that the high demand can be met
without problems at present.
In order to underline the outstanding quality of such Peridot from Pakistan
the stones have been termed “Kashmir-Peridot”, reminding of the fine Kashmir
Sapphires. Creative gemstone cutters have in fact succeeded to create
fascinating and beautiful unique stones of over 100 karats from some of the
larger and fine crystals in a deep and breathtakingly beautiful green.
The depth of green
depends on iron
The gemstone is actually known under three names: Peridot,
Chrysolith (derived from the Greek word “goldstone”) and Olivin, because
Peridot is the gemstone variety of the Olivin mineral. In the gemstone trade
it is generally called Peridot, a name derived from the Greek “peridona”,
meaning something like “giving plenty”.
Peridot is one of the few gemstones which exist only in one color. Finest
traces of iron account for the deep green color with a slight golden hue.
Chemically Peridot is just an iron-magnesium-silicate, and the intensity of
color depends on the amount of iron contained. The color as such can come in
any variation from yellow-green and olive to brownish green. Peridot is not
especially hard – it only achieves about 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs´ scale – and yet
it is easy to care for and quite robust. Very rare treasures indeed, however,
are Peridot-Cat’s Eye and Star-Peridot.
The most beautiful stones come from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.
Peridot as gemstone does also exist in Myanmar, China, the USA, Africa and
Australia. Stones from East Burma, today’s Myanmar, show a vivid green with
fine silky inclusions. Peridot from the American state of Arizona, where it is
quite popular in Native Indian jewelry, often shows a yellowish to golden
brown shade.
Uncomplicated – but not
for the cutter
Peridot is cut according to its crystal structure, usually in
classical table and facetted cuts, round, antique, octagonal or oval shaped.
Smaller crystals are cut as calibrated stones, larger ones are shaped by
gemstone designers to fancy unique specimen stones. The material which is rich
in inclusions is worked as cabochons, because this shape will provide the best
effect for the fine silky inclusions.
Gemstone cutters know that this stone is not easy to process. The rough
crystals can be devious and are easy to break. The tensions existing inside
the crystal are often quite considerable. When the cutter has removed the most
disturbing inclusions, however, Peridot is a jewelry stone which is
excellently suited to daily wear, without requiring special care.
Ideal summer stone
Peridot is a gain for the green gemstone’ color palette. There
is trend to use it not only as individual stone, but also in jewelry series.
And since the world of fashion has just discovered a preference for the color
green, the popularity of this deep green gemstone has increased accordingly.
And the rich occurrences in Pakistan and Afghanistan have provided the market
with sufficient raw material, so that the individual taste and each budget can
be met. But if the “right” stone for you is a large and transparent one,
intensely colored, be prepared: they are quite rare and valuable. Peridot is a
gemstone which one should definitely get to know. Its fine pistachio green or
olive green ideally compliments a light summertime outfit.