Peridot Gemstone Overview

What is a Peridot?

Peridot, belonging to the olivine group, consists of isomorphic olivine, silicate, magnesium and iron. Most of Peridot is formed from extreme pressure and heat and is most commonly found in lava and deep in the earth's mantle. With its shining green hue, Peridot continues to captivate people's hearts and minds. Embark on a journey through millennia, where the "Gem of Sun" has been revered for its protective power and mysterious beauty.

Peridot Types

Most of natural the Peridot is formed from extreme pressure and heat and is most commonly found in lava and deep in the earth's mantle. However, high-quality natural Peridot is not produced in large quantities. Currently, lab-created peridot is not available, but the gemstone can be imitated using glass, cubic zirconia and synthetic corundum. While actual lab-created peridots may still have no general commercial availability or economically viable jewelry use, you can find many peridot lookalikes or simulants on the market. In our LUO Jewelry, all the Peridot jewelry is made of natural Peridot.

Peridot Meaning

Peridot is the August Birthstone and the 16th-anniversary gemstone, which can bring good fortune to Leo and Virgo born in August. Peridot is not just a gemstone, it also carries rich cultural symbolism. This fresh green gem has been given multiple meanings in different cultures and is often seen as:

Luck and protection: Ancient people believed that Peridot brought good luck and protection from evil forces；
Emotion and harmony: It is believed to help balance emotions, relieve stress, and enhance relationship harmony；
Summer and Life: As the jewel of August, peridot symbolizes the fullness and beginning of summer and life.
These symbols make peridot jewelry not only popular in jewelry, but also loved and respected by people.

Peridot Properties

Refractive index: 1.65 to 1.69
Specific gravity: 3.34
Mohs hardness: 6.5 to 7
Density: 3.275

Peridot Optical Effects

Birefringence （0.035 - 0.038） is a special property of Peridot, which means that the light entering the gemstone would change into two rays. Due to the high double refraction, you can see two of each pavilion facet when you look closely. However, this property of bending light makes the cutting of Peridot more difficult. It is difficult to see this property with naked eyes. If you have a 10-power loupe, you can easily observe this phenomenon, which is an important feature to identify whether olivine is real.

Price of Peridot

As a common semi-precious stone, the price of Peridot is much cheaper than the Emerald, which has a similar color. The price of a Peridot is closely related to its carat weight and clarity, and the unit price of a Peridot of five carats and good clarity may be several times that of a Peridot with the same clarity of about 2 carats. The color of Peridot is particularly important as well, especially its hue, saturation, and tone. The finest Peridot is usually the cleanest, but tiny black spots in Peridot are common under magnification. In our LUO Jewelry stores, we all choose transparent Peridot with no small black spots as much as possible to make Peridot jewelry.

Peridot Care Tips

To clean your Peridot, warm soapy water is the perfect choice. A soft cloth or toothbrush can help scrub the surface of the gemstone.
After washing, just let it air dry and avoid using any drying equipment.
In the whole process, please avoid excessive water temperature, because the gas-liquid inclusion in Peridot may expand and crack.
Any harsh chemicals or cleaners, large temperature changes, ultrasonic cleaners, and steam cleaners should be avoided as well, which may damage your Peridot permanently.
To store your Peridot, a soft cloth, pouch, or box is necessary for each piece of gemstone, which can prevent your Peridot jewelry from being scratched by other harder jewelry, such as Topaz, Sapphires, Diamonds, etc.
It should be placed in a safe and dry place, and avoid being placed in direct sunlight.
When you wearing Peridot, lotions or perfumes should be avoided direct contact with your gemstone, which may dull its lustrous surface.

Origins

After being discovered in ancient Egypt around 2000 BC, the superior-quality Peridot has been mined almost exclusively from Egypt. Later, there are also many high-quality Peridots being discovered and mined in Burma, America, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, and China. Mineral deposits of gem-grade Peridot also exist in Jiaohe City, Jilin Province, China and North Korea. Due to excessive mining and China's current environmental protection policies, the former mining is limited, so the Peridot on the market today is mainly mined from North Korea.

Peridot facts

Peridot is also discovered in comet dust and pallasite meteorites, which makes this gemstone more mysterious. The Peridot and its inclusion may hold the secret to the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.
As the only known extra-terrestrial gemstone, Peridot is found on the Moon and Mars as well.
Because of its dazzling green hue, Peridot is also given the name "Evening Emerald". For a long time, Peridot was mistaken for Emerald due to their similar color.
Inclusion is very usual in Peridot, which is another special property of this gemstone. Lily pad like inclusion is a kind of special inclusion in Peridot, which is a combination of an inclusion and a stress fracture.