Common in early Greek and Roman jewelry, peridot has been popular since 1500 BC when the Egyptians started mining it on Zeberget, later known as St. John s Island, about 50 miles off the Egyptian coast in the Red Sea. It was a dangerous business back then as the island was infested with poisonous serpents, which a later Pharaoh had driven into the sea. Peridot mining was traditionally done at night when the stone s natural glow is easier to see, the ancient Egyptians even believed that peridots became invisible under the sun s rays. Hawaiian natives believe peridot is the goddess Pele's tears, while biblical references to the stone include the high priest's breastplate studded with a stone for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, one being peridot. Powdered peridot has been used to cure asthma and a peridot placed under the tongue of someone in the grip of a fever will lessen their thirst.
Legend has it that drinking from a peridot goblet can increase the potency of medicines.
But as protection from evil spirits it must be pierced, strung on donkey hair and worn on the left arm. Possibly the most unusual peridot is that which comes from meteorites called pallasites . Some have even been facetted and set in jewelry, the only extraterrestrial gemstones known to man. Peridot ranges in color from light yellow-green to the intense bright green of new grass to olive. The purer green a peridot is, the higher the value.