August ~ Peridot

Peridot is an ancient and yet currently very popular gemstone. It is so old that it can be found even in Egyptian jewelry from the early second millennium BC. The stones used in those days came from an occurrence on a little volcanic island in the Red Sea, about 70 km off the Egyptian coast, off Assuan, which was rediscovered only around 1900 and has been completely exploited since. Peridot, however, is also a very modern stone, for only a few years ago Peridot occurrences were discovered in the Kashmir region, and the stones from there show a unique beauty of colour and transparency, so that the image of the stone, which was somewhat dulled over the ages, has received an efficient polishing.

The ancient Romans were already quite fond of the gemstone and coveted the brilliant green sparkle, which does not change either in artificial light. They already named the stone "Evening Emerald". Peridot is found in Europe in many medieval churches decorating several treasures, like, for example, in the Cologne Cathedral. In the era of Baroque the deep green gemstone experienced another short flourishing, before it became forgotten.