Birthstone of August: the Peridot

The peridot stands for

• Protection against negative influences
• Self-reflection
• Letting go of negative feelings
• Love attraction
• A positive effect on metabolism
• Relaxing and healing effect

The peridot protects and removes negative influences from the people around you. It makes the wearer independent, assertive and helps him or her to find their way. The peridot provides self-awareness and lets you take a critical look at yourself about how to change for the better. This also affects how you perceive yourself and your feelings of guilt, remorse and obsessive behavior. It also makes it easier to let go of bottled up feelings such as anger and jealousy. The peridot stimulates the metabolism. It activates the operation of the liver, has a healing effect on the heart, the respiratory system and the eyes.

The origin

The name peridot probably originates from the old Greek word peridona. This means ‘give enough’. This is most likely because the peridot always has been associated with welfare and happiness. The peridot is a rare transparent variety of the common mineral olivine.

Finding places

Peridot forms deep inside the crust of the earth and surfaces when a volcano erupts. However, the gem is also found in meteorites and it’s even spotted on Mars. On earth, you can find peridots in North America (including Hawaii), Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Kenia, Mexico, Burma, Norway, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.

Myths and stories about the peridot

It's easy to mistake peridotes for emeralds and other green gemstones like tourmaline. Many old treasures have green gemstones in them. Though people often assumed these were emeralds, they are actually peridots. An example is the jewelry collection of Cleopatra. For a long time, people thought these were emeralds. But in fact, they were peridots. Another great example is the relics of the three kings in the Cologne cathedral. According to various gemologists, the green decorative stones are not emeralds but peridots instead.

Other uses

Besides the birthstone of August, the peridot is also the stone for the sign Libra. It is also the appropriate gemstone to give for a 16-year marriage anniversary.

As a talisman

Many healing powers are attributed to the peridot. In alternative medicine, people who can't come out of a negative spiral are sometimes advised to wear peridot. When set in gold, a peridot can serve as a talisman to ward off nightmares and other night terrors.

In jewelry

Nowadays, peridots are still often used in gold jewelry. This is not because of the healing powers of the gem, but simply because it is a beautiful stone. The green color goes very well with both white and yellow gold. Learn more about gemstones and diamonds during a tour through our diamond polishing factory.

Are you looking for a more sparkling (August) gift? Take a look at our Birthstone Collection to get inspired or come to see all our items in real life.