The American Association of Jewelry has adopted the beautiful gemstone peridot as the official August birthstone. Also the birthstone for the Libra sun sign, there are a lot of people who think that it also covers the Virgo sun sign. This tussle can be imagined considering the zodiac, spectacular and mystical properties that are exhibited by the stone. Peridot has also been used as the anniversary stone for those who are celebrating their sixteenth year of marriage. However, because of its mysterious potent powers, the stone is mostly gifted at times other than the aforementioned.
Measuring seven on the hardness scale, this is an olivine variety of gemstone and provides a number of benefits to the wearer. Those who have experienced it say that they feel blessed with increased eye strength, calm nerves which dispel negativity and gloom, aiding the work of cupid therefore bringing love in the life, increased health, power, good luck, peace and success. Because of these benefits, Cleopatra is considered to call it her favorite and gave preference to peridot when wanting to charm power over admirers and also to exercise greater power. This feature can also very well make this stone a perfect valentine gift.
The color of the peridot ranges from intense bright green to the light yellow green and some variations are also seen to feature the fresh spring green grass. The stone features a slight greased look and features a richly glowing velvety texture. The price of the stone depends on its clarity and the value of peridot decreases by the presence of brownish flaws. If there aren’t any olives and browns in the heart of the stone then the peridot being acquired is seen to be as the best quality one.
This gemstone has been continuously mined from the area around Red Sea for almost thirty five centuries. The ancient Egyptians recognized the popularity of the stone by making this the stone of Ra, the Egyptian Sun God. The crusaders are believed to have brought the stone to European countries and from there the stone traveled into Byzantium and other central Asian countries. There are several biblical references to the stone and it is believed that Jewish priests used to wear this gem on their breast plates and the stone was named Pitdah in their native language. The Greek Romans referred to this stone as the Topazins but that was changed once it was found that topaz meant yellow golden gem.
Source: legenddiamond.com
