The peridot
The peridot
Nicknamed "golden stone" or "sun gemBy the ancient Egyptians because of its golden reflections, the peridot is one of the rare stones to be declined in a single dominant color: green. Going from pure green via the Vert-Citron or the Green-Olive, it can be more or less tinged with yellow or brown.
The peridot, gemme of the sun
THE peridot At a long time confused with the topaz or the emerald, the peridot is now rightly appreciated, as an affordable green gem and untreated.Philippe Tournaire likes to integrate it into his Original jewelry creations, the green of the peridot being so naturally sparkling!
Identity card of a gold gem: the peridot
Attributed to August, the peridot is a silicate composed of iron and magnesium. Its hardness oscillates between 6.5 and 7, thus approaching quartz. It forms in basalts, volcanic rocks rich in iron and magnesium. Its crystalline structure is similar to prisms with vertical streaks.
This gem has a particularity of optical character: with the naked eye, we can often distinguish a duplication of the edges of the interior facets, especially in the large caliber stones. This characteristic sign constitutes a real way to identify the peridot,
Just like zircon or calcite, stones which make it possible to observe the same phenomenon, due to the way in which the ray of light enters their crystal.
The peridot is often devoid of inclusions or shows elements once again very distinctive: inclusions in the form of water lilies, more present in commercial quality peridots rather than jewelry. Also, many good quality peridots have tiny chromite crystals forming small black dots, invisible to the naked eye and in no way shadow the beauty of the gem.
The color of the gold stone: the peridot
Its green is recognizable among the others: the emerald is green " garden ", tsavorite is sometimes slightly tinged with blue or yellow, while the peridot is more like a green qualified as"Green Prairie", with colors either golden or slightly brown or simply, a pure light but lively green devoid of any shade. The more peridotContains iron, the more intense its green-dorw color. This gem is also named"Chrysolite", term once designating the stones of similar color, or"Olivine"Due to its tendency to be green, a sometimes oily appearance. Anyway, the color of the peridot is fascinating by its golden reflections and its ability to dazzle us ... This gem is married very well with a tourmaline,a sapphire,a ruby,a diamond, in colored harmonies that to compose Philippe Tournaire through his jewelry creations.
Legends and provenances of the Sun Gemme
There Solei gemHe knew the same fate as the spinel: for decades these two stones remained in the shadows! In the same way as the "ruby" of Timour weighing 361 carats was actually a spinelle, the 200 carats of peridots adorning the sumptuous tomb of the three kings located in the Cologne cathedral were taken for emeralds for centuries ...
Like amethyst, this gem has been associated with the Christian religion for decades and is mentioned in sacred manuscripts, due to the beliefs it has aroused. Many representatives of the Church considered it as a symbol of purity and morality.
In Antiquity, it was compared to the renewal of Lady Nature in the spring, because of its radiant green. So we see that the peridot is steeped in history and that as a gem of the sun, it deserved to be highlighted! Etymologically, the term "peridot" comes from Arabic "flidat", meaning precious stone. It’s ancient Egypt, the cradle of peridot, which gave him the title of gem of the sun, because of the sparkling reflections which emerged from the stone in front of the desert sun.
Historically speaking, the volcanic island of Zebirget located in the Red Sea east of Assouan has been the most important deposit of peridots for three thousand five hundred years. These mines are abandoned today.
The main sources of peridots are now Myanmar and Pakistan, known to provide remarkable quality gems. Then comes Arizona. It is in the San Carlos reserve in Arizona, that the Apaches - Indian tribes of North America - exploit a considerable amount of peridots. We also find it in Vietnam, Mexico, Australia, Ethiopia, Norway ... A native of various countries of the world, first usurped in its identity and then recognized at its fair value, the peridot has its place among the most beautiful Jewelers. Surrounded by diamonds in a Marguerite pendant, central stone of an ion necklace or even sublimated on a ring Villeroy… So many jewelry creations signed Tournaire, which give meaning to the name "Sun Gem" !
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