Peridot is the rare gem-quality variety of the common mineral olivine, which forms deep inside the earth's upper mantle, then brought to the surface by volcanoes. In Hawaii, the gemstone symbolizes the tears of Pele, the volcano goddess of fire who controls the flow of lava.
The gemstone has always been associated with light. In the Egyptian times they called the gemstone the "gem of the sun". Although the finest peridot is a pure grass green, most peridot is yellowish-green. Lower quality is brownish in color. Peridot is cut in a variety of shapes and sizes, from oval, emerald as well as cushion.
Fine peridot is eye clean, yet under magnification one might see tiny black spots, which are tiny minute mineral crystals. My favorite mineral inclusion that I loved finding when at GIA studying for my GG were the "lily pads". Lily pads are just that the shape of a lily pad inside the gemstone, which is a natural inclusion and beautiful in my eyes. See below a photograph of the "lily pad" discoids from the inside of a peridot gemstone. Please do come to see me at Provident Jewelry and I will show you this natural inclusion through the microscope, I would love to show you!
MS Jewelry Design
