As lush and green as the warm summer month it represents, peridot is a spectacular colored gemstone. From the mineral family, olivine, peridot’s primary color is a lovely olive green. Many peridots have more yellow in them creating spectacular chartreuse green hues.

Peridot - the Evening Emerald

Very fashion forward! Peridot has been called the “evening emerald” because it’s lighter shades of green come alive in the evening fire light. More than 3,500 years ago, peridot was mined by the ancient Egyptians on the island of Zebargad in the Red Sea. Peridots have been found in the ancient Egyptian ruins. Cleopatra, Egypt’s fashionista, was a fan of fine peridots. Many of her famed “emeralds” were actually magnificent peridots.

Peridot Away Your Fears

Folklore tells that peridots were thought to bring the wearer love, good luck, peace, and success. Having trouble sleeping? Girl, get yourself a peridot…they are said to sooth nerves and ward off nightmares (evil spirits too!).

In Hawaii, peridots are said to be the tears of the lovely goddess Pele. Tiny granular peridots (too small for commercial use) are found on the beaches.

Do you feel somehow connected to the universe? Then peridot may be the gemstone for you … samples of this spectacular gem have been discovered in meteors that have fallen to earth! How fun for the girls of August to have such a celestial birthstone.

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Tags: Cleopatra, emeralds, fashionista, gem, gemstone, goddess Pele, mineral, olivine, peridot, Red Sea

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 27th, 2008 at 8:58 pm and is filed under Birthstones. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.