Peridot is the birthstone for August and the gemstone for the 15th anniversary. The peridot
color range is from Brown-Green to Yellowish -Green, to Pure Green and it is a 6.5 to 7 on
the Mohs hardness scale. Peridot is an irregular nodule found in some lava flows in the
United States, China and Vietnam.
Peridot means "gem" and comes from the Arabic "faidat". The stone is formed deep inside
the earth and comes to the earths surface by volcanoes, some peridot come from meterites
these are very rare. The Egyptians called the peridot "gem of the sun". The peridot was
mined on the Red Sea Island of Zabargad, also known as St. John's Island. Some believed
that the peridot would protect the owner form "terrors of the night", especially if set in gold.
Some would string peridot on donkey hair then tie around left art to keep evil spirits away.
People of the medieval times would often confuse peridot with emerald. For many years
it was thought that the 200 carat peridot adorning the Three Holy Kings Shrine in Germany's
Calogne Cathedral was emerald.
