Carré Jewellery DK

Peridot is August's birthstone and is also the birthstones for the zodiacs Leo & Virgo. Each month has its own unique gemstone to represent it. Carrying your birthstone is said to bring good luck. You can carry your birthstone as a good luck amulet, or your loved ones’ birthstone as a symbol of love.

Find your birthstone here

Peridot is also known as the gemstone of compassion and is said to bring good health, restful sleep and peace to relationships by balancing the emotions and mind. Peridot is connected to the heart chakra and is said to open your heart to love, and clear out hurt feelings, anxiety and jealousy, while it is said to help work on admitting mistakes and forgiving yourself and others in order to move forward healthy in life.

Extraction of the peridot can be traced all the way back to the year 1500 BC. To the ancient Egyptians, peridot was known as the "gemstone of the sun" and was often used as pearls. Allegedly, the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra was also said to have held this gemstone particularly dear. Large quantities of peridot were brought to Europe during the Crusades and can therefore be found in numerous religious objects, while jewellery set with peridot became particularly popular in the late 19th century.

Peridot is formed from the mineral olivine, which often occurs as a result of volcanic activity. It is mined mainly in Vietnam, China, USA, at Zabargard in Egypt, Myanmar, Pakistan and Finland. Peridot's color varies from light golden green to dark green. Its color is determined by the temperatures and elements that affect the gemstone when it is formed underground. When measuring the hardness of a gemstone, you use the Mohs Hardness Scale. The scale varies from 1-10, where 10 is the hardest - here lies the diamond, which is the hardest gemstone. Peridot is 6.5-7 on the Mohs Hardness Scale.