Gem Profile 5:    Peridot
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History and Name
Color
Qualities
Enhancement
Care and Cleaning
Pricing

History and Name:

   Peridot's history begins on a small desert island 50 miles or so off the southeast coast of Egypt in the Red Sea.  The name of the island has changed many times over recorded history.  Ancient literature calls the island Topazion, sometimes referred to as Topazos, but it now goes by two names-- its most recent label, Zabargad, and its immediate past name of St. John's.  "Zabargad" is the Arabic word for peridot, although the English word "peridot" is said to have com from "Faridat," the Arabic word for gem.  Coming from "faridat" could account for the American Southwest's pronunciation of peridot as "PEAR-a-dot," instead of the more common pronunciation (taken from the French), "PEAR-a-doe."
    The isle of Zabargad is not a vacation destination, uless you're a scuba diver.  The island measures about three square miles, is littered with mine dumps, and has no vegetation.
    According to most gemological texts, peridot was mined on the island beginning in 1500 B.C. and as recently as World War II.  But even with that much history, by 1896, peridot was still unheard of in American jewelry.  Chrysolites, as they were called, were tiny grains of minerals, most notably found in Arizona, according to Max Bauer, a renowned gemologist of the time.  The gem crystals seen in jewelry must have been found in older pieces from "unknown sources, long forgotten," he wrote.  Or maybe the older peridots were still mistakenly identified as topaz, taking the name from Zabargad's former Topazos name. 
    But never mind Bauer.  Large amounts of peridot were mined from the tiny island, and famous museum and royal gems originated there.  Mining has been virtually nonexistent since World War II, mainly because of the island's location.
    Today, there are four major sources of peridot.  Large saturated gem crystals come from Burma and --some say more importantly-- from Pakistan, with smaller, more moderately colored gems originating in Arizona and New Mexico as well as China.  Gem peridot too small to use in jewelry can be found all over the world.  Most peridots come from small basaltic volcanoes and lava flows.  The green sand beaches of the Hawaiian Islands are fun examples of tiny gem volcanic peridot.

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Color:

    Found typically in medium to light yellowish-green, peridots can come close to being pure and vivid green.  They also can fade into brown or yellow primary hues with secondary greenish overtones.  (The mineralogical name for peridot is olivine, stemming from peridot's common "olive" color.)  The more saturated and pure the green, the more desirable it is.

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Qualities:

    Peridot can be relatively eye-clean.  Especially for the smaller gems, this is expected.  Color is most important.  One interesting feature of peridot is its strong double refraction, splitting light in two and creating double images of everything inside the gem.  This gives all peridot what's described as a "sleepy" appearance.  Double refraction becomes more prominent as the gem becomes larger. 

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Enhancement:

    There are no common enhancements know to date.  Some of the more highly fractured material may be fracture-filled with oil or epoxies, similar to processed emeralds.  However, given the availability of gems with good clarity, most peridots are enhancement free.

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Care and Cleaning:

    Peridots are somewhat durable, but probably can't take hard wear.  Because they have a hardness of just under 7, dust should be washed off before wiping with a soft cloth to prevent scratching and dulling the surface polish.

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Pricing:

    Peridot is relatively inexpensive.  In fact, it's probably one of the most affordable green gems in the jeweler's showcase.  The larger, more saturated gems from Pakistan have caught the eye of many designers and sometimes end up being carved.  The more common lighter colors might be concave faceted, shaped into briolettes, or formed into other styles of beads, all of which drive prices a bit higher.  Typical 5-ct to 10-ct.  peridot of fine quality, in normal faceted shapes, can be priced anywhere from $60 per ct. to $120 per ct.  For the larger peridots (10ct. to 20ct.), prices range from $170 per ct. to $300 per ct.  Values start to decrease for gems over 50cts. 

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