Peridot is treasured in Hawaii as the goddess Pele's tears. The island of Oahu even has
beaches made out of tiny grains of peridot. Although Hawaii's volcanoes
have produced some peridot large enough to be cut into gemstones,
virtually all peridot sold in Hawaii today is from Arizona,
another state with extreme geology.

The fresh lime green of peridot is its distinctive signature. Its spring green color
also is ideal with sky blue.

Today most peridot is mined, often by hand, by Native Americans on the San Carlos Reservation in
Arizona. Peridot found here is beautiful in color but relatively small in size. Faceted peridot
from Arizona is rare in sized above five carats. Fine large peridot are found in Burma
and large quantities of peridot are also mined in China. In 1994, an exciting
new deposit of fine peridot was discovered in Pakistan, 15,000 feet
above sea level in the far west of the Himalaya Mountains
in the Pakistanian part of Kashmir.

Peridot, the birthstone for August, is harder than metal but softer than many gemstones. Store peridot
jewelry with care to avoid scratches and protect from blows. Because peridot is sensitive to
rapid changes in temperature, never have it steam cleaned and avoid ultrasonics.
Clean with mild dish soap: use a toothbrush to scrub behind the stone
where dust can collect.



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