This month’s birthstone is the peridot

Coleman Douglas Pearls believe that it is perfect stone for August with its green-yellowy colour just screaming summer. The name peridot has two possible origins either from the Arabic “Faridat” meaning gem or from the Anglo-Norman “pedoretes” meaning “a kind of opal”. Peridot is found in volcanic rocks as it is gem quality olivine with the most valuable hue being a dark olive green.

Gem of the sun

Peridot is usually associated with light with the ancient Egyptians referring to its as the “gem of the sun” and has also been use as protection for nightmares. These nightmares are most likely from the island where the Egyptians were mining as legend has it that it was snake infested! Peridot’s have historically been confused with many different gems commonly topaz and emerald. It is possible that Cleopatra’s famed emerald collection could have actually been peridot. The 200ct gems in the shrine of the Three Holy Kings in Cologne Cathedral were believed to be emeralds for centuries until it was discovered they were actually peridots.

Peridot with pearls

Peridots have a hardness of 6.5-7 on the Moh’s scale of hardness meaning that although they are by no means the hardest of gemstones it is durable enough for jewellery and the perfect partner for pearls! We have a good selection of peridot jewellery in our pearl jewellery store as well as our “Fruits of the Forest” range online.

Our pearl team can also create the perfect peridot creation for you with our bespoke design service. Either we can re-work a piece of your old jewellery or can try and bring your imagined design to life. We are open Monday to Saturday from 11am-7pm.

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