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| Color |
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lime to grass green |
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| Gem Family |
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Peridot is the gem form
of the mineral olivine. |
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| Source |
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Peridot is extracted
by Apache miners from the summit and sides of Peridot
Mesa in the San Carlos Reservation. The gem material
is embedded in a basalt flow from 10 to 100 feet
thick, which must be broken up with sledgehammers
or dynamite to free the gems. This tends to shatter
the crystals so that only small sized gems can be
cut. |
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| Clarity |
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Transparent with good
clarity. Arizona peridot may have black inclusions
that look like pepper. Peridot from Burma may have
a soft hazy texture. |
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| Size Range |
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0.5 carat to 3 carats.
Larger sizes are mined in Pakistan and Burma. |
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| Shapes Available |
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Ovals, trillions, cushions,
rounds, barions and emerald brilliant cuts are available. |
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| Enhancement |
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Peridot is not treated:
the color is natural, exactly as it is found in
the earth. |
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| Lore & History |
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Peridot is the extreme
gem, found in the rocks created by volcanoes and
even in meteors that fall to earth. A few samples
of extraterrestrial peridot have even been faceted
into gems. Although peridot is treasured in Hawaii
as the goddess Pele's tears, almost all of the peridot
sold in Hawaii today is from Arizona. But peridot
is produced by Hawaii's volcanoes: the island of
Oahu has beaches made out of olivine grains but
unfortunately they are much too small to cut into
gems. |
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| Toughness &
Hardness |
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The hardness of peridot
is 6.5 on the Mohs scale, and it is quite tough. |
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| Care & Cleaning |
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Peridot is durable but,
like diamond, it has a tendency to cleave, or part,
along a plane when hit with a sharp blow in one
specific direction. Try not to expose your peridot
to impact. Store peridot jewelry with care to avoid
scratches. Clean with a mild dish soap: use a toothbrush
to scrub behind the stone where dust can collect. |
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| Price Range |
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$15 to $90 per carat |
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| Special Characteristics |
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Because the iron which
creates its color is an integral part of its structure,
peridot is found only in green, ranging from a summery
light yellowish green to a 7-up bottle green. |
