August birthstone peridot

The three birthstones for August are peridot, spinel, and sardonyx.

Peridot and the meteorite

According to the ancient Egyptians, peridot glowed at night and was invisible during the day. Thousands of years later, we can be glad that peridot is also visible during the day.

• Peridot is the only stone discovered in a meteorite to date.
• Peridot can form in 2 ways:

1. 1. often under extreme conditions, it is found in hardened lava — it comes up from deep within the earth's mantle.
   2. But it can also come to Earth via a meteorite.

Cleopatra's jewels

Cleopatra had many magnificent jewels. Her jewelry collection also included a beautiful parure with emerald-green gemstones. But the big question is whether these gemstones are emerald or peridot. Due to a lack of equipment, and thus knowledge, peridot was often mistaken for emerald in the Middle Ages. Fortunately, today we have gemological equipment to quickly determine or identify peridot and emerald.

Peridot chakra

Peridot belongs to the 4th chakra (heart chakra).

Peridot birthstone and the stars

Birthstone month: August

Peridot suits the zodiac signs: Virgo, Leo, Scorpio, and Sagittarius.