Known as the “Evening Emerald”, peridot is one of the few colored gemstones that maintains its color under natural and artificial lighting. In the past, when gemstones were identified mainly by color, peridot was sometimes mistaken for emerald, another green gemstone. One of the most famous instances of misidentification is the Shrine of the Three Holy Kings in Germany’s Cologne Cathedral. This shrine is decorated with 200 carats of green gems long believed to be emeralds, gems which turned out to be August’s birthstone, peridot instead. There has also been speculation by some historians that Cleopatra’s famous emerald collection may have actually been comprised of peridot.

Ancient Egyptians called peridot the “gem of the sun”, possibly because peridot maintains its bright green color after the sun has set. The Egyptians also believed it harnessed the power of nature and protected its wearer from the terrors of the night. In addition, peridot has also long been believed to ensure peace and happiness.

Peridot is the only gemstone comprised of the mineral “olivine”. Olivine is actually a combination of both iron and magnesium, named after the olive-green color of the combined minerals. Though fairly common on earth, olivine has also been found in stony-iron meteorites known as pallasites.