August Birthstone

August Gemstone: Peridot, Sardonyx
August Birthstone Color: Pale Green 

Peridot
Peridot is a gem-quality transparent variety of olivine, a mineral composed of magnesium-iron silicates. The color of olivine ranges from olive to lime green, sometimes with a brownish tinge. The green color is due to the presence of iron, while the brownish tinge indicates a higher iron content.
Some of the finest peridot stones are called “evening emeralds” because they appear greener under artificial light.
An island in the Red Sea – named Zabargad, which means olivine in Arabic-has been mined for peridot since ancient times. It is a small desolate island – nothing grows, there is no fresh water, and it is scorchingly hot all year round except the middle of winter. In some locations on the island, fissures are lined with gem crystals ranging from millimeters to several centimeters. Beaches near the deposits have a greenish hue due to tiny green peridot crystals.
Peridot crystals are also found in the Mogok district of Burma, Norway, Brazil, China, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Australia, and Mexico. In the United States, small stones can be found in the San Carlos Indian Reservation in Arizona. Peridot has also been found in some meteorites.
Peridot is among the oldest known gemstones. The “topaz” on the breastplate of Aaron, High Priest of the Hebrews in the Old Testament, was believed to actually be peridot. Ancient Egyptians, around 1580 B.C. to 1350 B.C., created beads from peridot. For Greeks and Romans, peridot was in popular use as intaglios, rings, inlays, and pendants.
The peridot was regarded since ancient times as the symbol of the sun. The Greeks believed that it brought royal dignity upon its wearer. During the Middle Ages, peridot was pierced, then strung on the hair of an ass and attached to the left arm to ward off evil spirits. The Crusaders thought that peridots were emeralds, and brought them back to Europe where they were featured as ornaments in churches.
Peridots were a prized gem late in the Ottoman empire (1300-1918). Turkish Sultans collected what is believed to be the world’s largest collection. The gold throne in Istanbul’s Topkapi museum is decorated with 955 peridot cabochons (gems or beads cut in convex form and highly polished) up to 1 inch across, and there are also peridots used as turban ornaments and on jeweled boxes. The largest stone is believed to be a 310 carat gem that belongs to the Smithsonian. A 192 carat stone of fine clear olive-green is part of the Russian crown jewels, in the Kremlin.

Alternate August Birthstones Sardonyx

Not everyone likes Peridot because of its pale yellow-green colour. For some August babies, hope still lies in the traditional birthstone choices of Sardonyx and Carnelian.

Onyx is commonly found containing white, black, and tan, but it can contain every colour except for blue and purple. Sardonyx, however, is named such because of its bands of Sard, a yellow or brownish-red variety of Chalcedony (a form of silica), mixed in with the Onyx. The result is a beautiful series of bands, even within a small stone. Purely black Onyx is still common, but not as common as Onyx with bands.
Another alternative to Peridot is another form of quartz, Aventurine. The most common colour of the stone is green, but it may also be orange, brown, yellow, blue or grey. The Feldspar variety of Aventurine, or Sunstone, and has appeared in red-oranges and light purples, but it is not common.