10 Fun n' Nerdy Facts about Peridot
- Aside from being the birthstone for August, peridot has some other fun facts.
- Peridot is the gem form of the mineral olivine.
- Olivine is not itself an official mineral, but is composed of two minerals; fayalite and forsterite.
- The history of peridot is intrinsically tied to the tiny Egyptian island of St. John (Zabargad) in the Red Sea, which was one of the only ancient sources of the gem peridot. This deposit has been totally exhausted.
- Now the main sources of peridot are in Pakistan, Burma, Afghanistan, China, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and the United States (Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico).
- In Hawaii, the stone is part of ancient folklore and is said to symbolize the tears of the Goddess Pele, the goddess of volcanoes and fire.
- Peridot is one of only a few gemstones that exists in only one color. While all peridots are green, it is found in different shades spanning from pale green, olive-green to even bright lime.
- The intensity of color depends on the amount of iron; the more iron it contains, the deeper green it will be.
- Peridot is difficult to polish and easy to scratch. It is often step-cut or cut in a variety of ways to improve its color and reduce the risk of the stone cracking (its hardness on the Mohs scale is 6.5-7).
- Peridot crystals have been found in certain types of meteorites. Although extremely rare, in that these crystals are usually very small, some extraterrestrial crystals can be large enough be cut as gemstones.
- The Egyptians called peridot the “gem of the Sun” and believed it had special healing powers.
