Peridot
Olivine from the mantle and from meteorites, in one shade of green.
- Family
- Olivine
- Formula
- (Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄
- Mohs
- 6.5 to 7
- System
- Orthorhombic
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Science
Peridot is gem olivine, the main mineral of the upper mantle. Its colour comes from iron in the structure itself, not a trace impurity, so peridot is only ever green. It reaches the surface in basalt and in pallasite meteorites, the only gem known to arrive from space in cuttable quality.
- Mineral
- Olivine
- Formula
- (Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Mohs hardness
- 6.5 to 7
- Specific gravity
- 3.34
- Refractive index
- 1.654 to 1.690
- Lustre
- Vitreous
- Colours
- Yellow-green, Olive
- Birthstone
- August
Composition
(Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄. Made of Magnesium, Iron, Silicon, Oxygen.
Origin
- PakistanKohistan
- MyanmarMogok
- United StatesSan Carlos, Arizona
- China
- EgyptZabargad island, historic
- Vietnam
- Tanzania
Filled dots are primary sources
Rarity
Small stones are common; clean peridot over ten carats is scarce and mostly from Pakistan and Myanmar.
- 1 Abundant
- 2 Common
- 3 Uncommon
- 4 Rare
- 5 Exceptional
Hardness
Peridot sits at 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale. It will scratch glass and holds a polish in daily wear.
Energy
Associations from crystal-healing tradition, recorded here as folklore. They are not medical claims.
Chakras
- Heart
- Solar Plexus
Element
- Earth
Zodiac
- Leo
- Virgo
- Libra
Planets
- Sun
- Venus
Properties
- Renewal
- Abundance
- Release of envy
- Warmth
Lore
Egyptians mined it on Zabargad in the Red Sea from 1500 BCE and called it the gem of the sun; some of Cleopatra's 'emeralds' were probably peridot. The 200-carat stones in the Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne were long thought to be emerald.
Hawaiian tradition calls the green sand of Papakōlea the tears of Pele.
- MeteoritePallasites contain gem peridot from the core-mantle boundary of a shattered asteroid.
- DoublingHigh birefringence makes back facets appear doubled through the stone.