August Birthstone

Peridot (correctly pronounced Per-i-dot, although some still pronounce it per-i-doe) is the birthstone for the month of August. Peridot is also the gemstone for the 16th year of marriage anniversary. Peridot has been regarded since ancient times as the symbol of the sun.  During the middle ages, Periodt was worn to ward off evil spirits.

Peridot is a gem variety of olivine and ranges between 6.5 and 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness (Diamond is a 10).  Peridot naturally comes from Norway, Islands in the Red Sea, Hawaii and is sometimes found in meteorites.

Peridot color 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 higher iron content.

Its been mined for years as a gemstone and is mentioned in the Bible under the name of Chrysolite.  Legend says that peridot was one of the favorite gemstones of Cleopatra and that some of the “emeralds” worn by her, were actually Peridots!

It is thought to bring the wearer Good Luck, Peace and Success.  Its powers include health, protection, and sleep.  The advantages of peridot are to attract love and calm anger while also soothing nerves and dispelling negative emotions.

Today many women wear Peridot’s on their charm bracelets, such as birthstone baby shoe charms, pacifier charms, birthstone kid charms and even birthstone charms! Many women wear charms to signify the birth of a child or birthday of their children. We carry many Peridot charms, featuring Charming Kids, Rona K Kids, Birthstone Baby Shoe charm and much more – visit us online today to see the entire collection of birthstone charms for the month of August!

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 at 5:58 pm and is filed under Birthstones. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.