The semiprecious stone Peridot is essentially an object composed of magnesium silicate material called Olivine formed inside the Earth’s mantle during its infancy. When two plates of the Earth’s crust on the surface of the Red sea converged, an island came into being in the Egyptian Red Sea, along with rocks in the lower crust on the surface of the island. Included among these rocks were three masses of Peridot, the first one of which was mined by Egyptian slaves for their Pharaoh kings. It is also known to be worn by Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen.
The island came to be called Topazios island since the ancient name of Peridot was “topazios” in Greek, and a large deposit of Peridot was first discovered from this island. The name of this island was later changed to St.John’s Island and Zabargad Island, an Arabic term for Olivine or Peridot. Now Peridot is mined mainly from Arizona.
Palladot is a form of Peridot found in the Pallistic meteorites that landed on Earth. Typically, excellent quality Peridot gems weigh 10 Carats or more, have eye clear clarity, are of vivid saturation, appear green without a tint of brown or yellow and are mined from the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The stones mined from Myanmar are light to moderate green in hue with vivid saturation. The most encountered ones are yellowish-green in colour with low levels of saturation, weighing between one to five Carats, as the ones landed from Arizona. No heat treatment has been discovered to improve the colour or clarity of Peridot gems. Palladot is brownish yellow-green, comparatively smaller and weighs less than a Carat.
Peridot is the birthstone for people born in August and has promising effects on couples celebrating their sixteenth wedding anniversary. Peridot is also said to possess colour based, physical, emotional and spiritual healing energies associated with it. It combines the yellow hues of sunlight with the green hues of growth and influences the developmental process of an individual enhancing his or her receptiveness to new ideas. It has been known to influence the adrenal glands and thereby influence the overall physical well-being of a human being as well.
Furthermore, it is believed to bring psychological clarity and emotional equilibrium by activating the heart chakra, the solar plexus chakra and the chakra of relationships. It helps us recognise and honour God’s love and activates the third and fourth chakras used in prayers and meditation.
Peridot is beautifully crafted into pendants, studs, bangles and bracelets these days and is available in loose form as well. It goes great with spring or summer outfits and is an excellent representative of nature’s green colour.