The origin of the term “Peridot” comes from the word “Peridot” in French, which means “gold” because its shades are similar to those of gold. It is one of the beautiful and famous stones that are gifted to others, especially that the peridot is a wonderful example of celebrating the sixteenth year of marriage in the traditions of some peoples, in addition to being the jewel of August, which is given to the birth of this month. The history of this stone enjoys a great degree of appreciation and a long history and is distinguished by a rich historical record. The ancient Egyptian papyri recorded the method of extracting this stone as early as 1500 BC.
Egypt was the centre and main source of peridot stones in the ancient world, as it was extracted from the island of “Topaz” (which is now called Peridot Island or St. John’s Island) in the Red Sea in Egypt. Peridot stones were used in ancient times in carved talismans, as the inhabitants of that island had to collect precious stones for the pharaoh’s treasury. Legend has it that zealous watchers ordering a death sentence for the aggressors guarded the entire island.
The story continues by saying that the workers were working day and night because the peridot stones could not be found until after dark due to the stone’s radiance. The miners marked where the peridot stones were located and returned to them the next day to extract them.
In the 19th century, the island produced many aquamarine stones worth millions of dollars. After 1905, peridot gem production peaked but fell to a nadir in the late 1930s. The situation remained the same until 1958, when the mines were nationalized. Although some aquamarine pieces from that island are still sometimes found in the markets, it is unknown whether they are new or old pieces, and most assume that they are old.