Gems & Gifts

August Birthstone: Peridot Meaning, History & Buying Guide

By DreamExplained · Updated October 18, 2026 · 7 min read

A vivid lime-green peridot gemstone glowing under a starry night sky with volcanic light

Quick answer: Peridot, August's birthstone, is the lime-green "gem of the sun" — born in volcanic fire and once reserved for Egyptian pharaohs. It symbolizes warmth, protection, and joy, and it is one of the few birthstones that has literally fallen from space.

August's birthstone is peridot — and it is unlike any other birthstone in the calendar. Most gems owe their color to trace impurities: a whisper of chromium turns a ruby red, a breath of vanadium turns an emerald green. Peridot needs no impurities. Its green comes from iron built into the very crystal itself, so every peridot on Earth is some shade of green, from pale olive to electric lime. It cannot be blue, pink, or yellow. It is, simply and honestly, green — and that green refuses to fade. Unlike most gems, which look best in particular light, peridot glows in sunlight and lamplight alike, which is why the Romans called it the "evening emerald."

Peridot's origins read like mythology. It crystallizes in Earth's upper mantle — deeper than any other birthstone forms — and reaches the surface only through volcanic eruptions that tear fragments of the mantle loose. And peridot has another address entirely: it is found inside pallasite meteorites, fragments of shattered asteroids, which means some peridot began its journey in outer space. The ancient Egyptians called it the "gem of the sun," believing it captured daylight itself. For August babies, this is a birthstone of warmth, light, and very old fire.

Peridot Meaning and Symbolism

Peridot's symbolism is written in its color: joy, warmth, and living light. Where dark green gems can feel solemn, peridot's lime brightness feels like laughter — and ancient lore agrees. The Egyptians believed peridot warded off the terrors of the night, and wore it set in gold as protection against evil spirits and nightmares. Medieval Europeans carried peridot as a shield against enchantment and dark magic, and some traditions held that wearing it sharpened the mind and opened it to new understanding.

Hawaii gives peridot its most poetic story: peridot crystals found in the islands' volcanic sands are called Pele's tears, after the volcano goddess whose tears of green glass fall when lava meets the sea. Modern crystal traditions associate peridot with compassion, good cheer, and the release of old burdens — the stone of new mornings, traditionally given to mark fresh beginnings. Dream dictionaries sometimes read a glowing green gem in a dream as the mind signaling growth, renewal, or a burden about to lift. Whether you take the metaphysical view or simply love what the color represents, peridot's message is a bright one: stay warm, stay bright, let the light in.

A Brief History of Peridot

The peridot story begins on Zabargad Island (also called St. John's Island) in the Red Sea, where Egyptians mined the gem as early as 1500 BC. Legend says the island was so shrouded in fog that miners worked it at night, guided by the stones' own glow — a tale that may explain the "gem of the sun" name. Egypt's pharaohs prized it, and historians believe some of Cleopatra's celebrated emeralds may actually have been peridot. The Roman naturalist Pliny recorded the stone, and Romans wore it as the "evening emerald" because its color stayed vivid by lamplight.

Crusaders carried peridot back to medieval Europe, where it was set into church treasures — including the shrine of the Three Holy Kings in Germany's Cologne Cathedral, which holds peridots over 200 carats in size. The Ottoman Empire collected it lavishly, and Napoleon famously gave his wife Josephine peridot jewelry to symbolize his devotion (she reportedly never wore diamonds, preferring colored stones). Zabargad's location was lost for centuries and rediscovered around 1905; soon after, deposits in Arizona — on the San Carlos Apache reservation, still a world source today — made peridot widely available. In 1912, when the official American birthstone list was drawn up, peridot took its place as August's stone — and in 2016 it gained a companion when spinel was added as August's second birthstone.

Where Peridot Comes From: Volcanoes and Meteorites

Peridot is the gem variety of olivine, a mineral that crystallizes in Earth's upper mantle, tens of miles below the surface. No mine can reach it there. Instead, violent volcanic eruptions rip up chunks of mantle rock and carry them skyward in basalt lava — and when those rocks cool, peridot waits inside. This is why the finest sources cluster around volcanic terrain: Myanmar (Burma), whose deep-green stones are the market's most prized; Pakistan's Kashmir region, famous for superb color; Arizona's San Carlos fields, source of most commercial peridot; and China.

Then there is the celestial source. Pallasite meteorites — fragments of asteroids torn apart billions of years ago — contain translucent olive-green peridot crystals embedded in iron-nickel metal, literal gems from the wreckage of young worlds. A few tiny peridot crystals have even been found in samples returned from comet Wild 2 by NASA's Stardust mission. Cut peridot from Myanmar has exceeded 300 carats, and museum specimens from Zabargad remain among the largest fine crystals ever found. No other birthstone travels so far to reach you: from the mantle, from volcanoes, and in rare cases, from the stars.

Color and Quality: How to Choose a Great Peridot

With peridot, color is everything — and happily, peridot is one of the gem world's most honest stones. It is virtually never heat-treated or enhanced, so what you see is what nature made:

Color: The prize is a pure, saturated grass-green — medium to medium-dark, with no brown or yellow cast. Olive tones are common and pretty; vivid lime-green is the collector's target. More iron means deeper green, but too much iron turns the stone dark and muddy.
Size: Peridot is abundant in small sizes, but fine color in large stones is rare. Prices stay gentle through about 3 carats, then climb steeply past 5 carats for top color — a 10-carat vivid peridot is a genuine rarity.
Clarity: Small peridots are usually eye-clean; larger ones may show tiny "lily pad" inclusions (round stress cracks with disc-like halos) — characteristic of the stone and usually invisible to the eye.
Cut: Good proportions matter as much as color. Peridot has strong double refraction, which can blur facet edges in poorly cut stones — a precise cut keeps the gem crisp and lively.

The expert formula: buy the purest green you can find, medium-dark in tone, eye-clean, and well cut — and remember that at most sizes, peridot delivers fine color for a fraction of what emerald or tsavorite would cost.

August's Other Birthstones: Spinel and Sardonyx

Peridot is August's traditional stone, but it shares the month. In 2016, the American Gem Trade Association and Jewelers of America added spinel as August's second birthstone — a brilliant, durable gem (8 on the Mohs scale) that comes in vivid reds, pinks, lavenders, and blues, and was famously mistaken for ruby in crown jewels for centuries. Older traditional lists name sardonyx — a banded brown, red, and white onyx used for carved cameos since ancient Rome — as August's stone. If peridot's lime green isn't your shade, August still has you covered.

Peridot in Jewelry: Styles and Settings

Peridot ranks 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs hardness scale — softer than quartz, far softer than sapphire — which shapes how it should be worn. It is superb for earrings and pendants, which take almost no knocks, and fine for rings if you choose wisely: bezel or halo settings that shield the stone's edges, worn for occasions rather than every single day. Because peridot's green glows in all light, it flatters beautifully in yellow gold, which deepens its warmth; white gold and platinum give it a crisper, cooler look. Popular styles include halo pendants, simple studs, and three-stone rings pairing peridot with diamonds. For a daily-wear ring with an August connection and maximum toughness, consider spinel — but for pure summery glow, nothing beats peridot.

Who Should Wear Peridot?

Beyond August birthdays — spanning Leo and Virgo — peridot is the traditional gift for the 15th and 16th wedding anniversaries. Its lore of joy and new beginnings makes it a natural gift for graduations, new jobs, and fresh starts of every kind: tradition frames it as the stone of new mornings. Green-gem lovers who find emerald too serious and jade too quiet tend to fall for peridot's brightness instantly. And for August babies, the "gem of the sun" arrives exactly when the sun is at its height — a birthstone that matches its season.

Caring for Your Peridot

Peridot is easy to care for if you respect its softness. Clean it by washing in warm water with mild soap and a soft cloth, then rinsing and patting dry — that is all it needs to regain its glow. Three things to avoid: ultrasonic and steam cleaners, whose vibrations can crack the stone; harsh chemicals like bleach and strong acids, which can etch the surface; and sudden hard knocks — remove peridot rings for sports, heavy chores, and anything involving tools. Store peridot pieces separately from harder gems like diamond and sapphire so they are not scratched. Treated gently, peridot's unfading green keeps its summer light for generations.

From the mines of pharaohs to the tears of a volcano goddess to crystals that fell from the sky, peridot has traveled further than any gem has a right to — all to arrive in August, the sunniest month, wearing the color of late-summer light. It is affordable, honestly untreated, steeped in 3,500 years of story, and it glows at midnight as happily as at noon. For August babies, the gem of the sun is theirs by ancient tradition — and it is a birthstone that brings the sunshine with it.

Frequently asked questions

What is August's birthstone?

Peridot is the traditional birthstone for August. In 2016, the American Gem Trade Association and Jewelers of America added spinel as a second August birthstone, and sardonyx appears on older August lists as a traditional alternative.

What color is peridot?

Peridot is always some shade of green — from yellowish olive to vivid lime — because its color comes from iron built into its crystal structure, not trace impurities. The most prized peridots are a pure, saturated grass-green with no brown or yellow cast.

Is peridot expensive?

Peridot is one of the most affordable birthstones: small stones cost very little, and even fine-colored stones are gentle on budgets. Prices rise steeply only for large stones over 5 carats with top saturated color. Peridot is virtually never heat-treated, so buyers get natural color at every price point.

How hard is peridot?

Peridot ranks 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs hardness scale — softer than quartz and far softer than sapphire or diamond. It is excellent for earrings and pendants, which take little wear, and fine for rings in protective settings if removed for rough work.

How do I clean peridot jewelry?

Wash peridot jewelry in warm water with mild soap and a soft cloth, then rinse and pat dry. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners, steam cleaners, and harsh chemicals, which can damage the stone, and store peridot separately from harder gems so it does not get scratched.