Peridot Facts and Buying Guide

The lovely and vibrant colored gemstones offer a lot apart from their beauty and allure. One such gift they give us in abundance is the various historical facts, lore, healing powers and astrological significance that they each possess. It is interesting to note the various facts that are associated with particular gemstones. The lush green peridots too apart from being pretty and charming are rich in facts that enhance their popularity all the more.

It is said that in ancient Egypt sailors had landed in a small island that had no trees and the sun shone strongly upon them. The parched land did not offer any food or water but was strewn with olive colored stones that lay glittering on the ground. Some explorers collected a few of these stones and in due course of time this came to the notice of the Egyptian royalty who immediately ordered collection of these stones and also had them cut and polished. Soon miners were engaged to tap the resources of these magnificent stones.

Peridots continue to be one of the most sought after gemstones and a lot of jewelry lovers enjoy their unique color and shimmer. However if you intend to buy peridots there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. Like in case of all other gemstones for peridots also you need to pay special attention to the four C’s namely color, clarity, cut and carat.

Since color is the most important factor to consider in case of all colored gemstones peridots too are no exception to this rule. Peridots are one of the few gemstones that exist in a single color and the basic color of these stones happens to be light green with a golden yellow touch. The green color varies due to the presence of iron in the chemical composition and more the iron the darker is a peridot. The best peridots are those that have an intense as well as even distribution of color throughout the stone.

The clarity of peridots is fairly good as compared to most other gemstones and the number of inclusions present in these stones is comparatively less. However some small marks may be occasionally present in peridots but overall they have decent clarity.

It is only after any gemstone is cut that its look and beauty is discerned and in case of peridots too cut makes a lot of difference to the loveliness of these gemstones. Carat is the unit of measurement for all gemstones including peridots and more the carat weight of these stones the more is their price.

A lot of fake peridots are also available in the market for prices that are pretty attractive so one has to be careful of these imitations and look for only the authentic peridots.