I will be honest with you. As an August baby myself, I long hated Peridot. The cheap glass birthstone rings at the drug store were a pukey hospital green, and I was consumed with jealousy towards those lucky February babies who got Amethyst purples for their colour. It wasn’t until I started working with Silver Street Jewellers and saw real, high-quality Peridot that I began to love my birthstone.

Semi-Precious Peridot is a gorgeous, fresh, bright, green tone that catches everyone’s eye!

Peridot is a Silicate Mineral. The green colour is caused by the iron present in the gem. It is a rare, semi-precious stone. While the majority of gemstones are found in the Earth's Crust, Peridot is found primarily in the upper mantle. It is found to break apart in the movement upwards from the Mantle to the Crust. Thusly, Peridot is found in small pieces; large pieces of this gemstone are incredibly rare. Peridot has a hardness of 6.5-7.

Peridot was mined in Egypt on St. John’s Island in the Red Sea, from as early as 300 B.C. It has long been considered especially precious in Egypt and was considered the “stone of the sun.” It is now the official National Gemstone of Egypt. The origin of the name is in question, possibly coming from the French ‘peritot’ meaning Gold, the Anglo-Norman ‘pedoretes’ meaning a type of Opal, or the Arabic ‘faridat’ meaning Gem.

Peridot is said to help with sleeping restfully, inspiring creativity, and increasing positivity. Peridot’s association with the Sun makes it a fantastic stone for repelling negative energy and increasing energy. Peridot is also an abundance stone, it attracts love, wealth, and happiness.