Peridot

The August birthstone: Peridot

August's birthstone is peridot, a gem of a colour all its own — a warm, golden olive green, like sunlight through leaves at the end of summer. Unlike the cool green of emerald, peridot leans yellow and bright, which earned it the old name 'the evening emerald' because it kept its glow by lamplight. It's one of the few gems that comes in only one colour; you're really just choosing how deep and pure that green is.

Peridot has been mined for over three and a half thousand years, much of it from a single volcanic island in the Red Sea, Zabargad, where the Egyptians dug it by torchlight and called it the gem of the sun. They believed it warded off the terrors of the night and, set in gold, protected against evil. Some of the 'emeralds' Cleopatra was famous for may in fact have been peridot. Across history it's been a stone of light and protection — the gem you wear to keep the dark at bay.

Peridot is gem-quality olivine, and unusually its green doesn't come from an added trace element but from the iron that's part of the mineral itself — so the colour is built in, never enhanced. It forms deep in the Earth's mantle and even arrives in some meteorites. Fine peridot comes today from Pakistan, Myanmar, China, and Arizona, where it's mined on Apache tribal land.

August birthstones: modern, traditional & mystical

Different traditions assign August different stones. The modern list — set by the American jewellery trade in 1912 and the one most charts use today — sits alongside the older traditional list and the centuries-old Tibetan “mystical” list.

Meaning & symbolism

Peridot is a stone of light against the dark. The Egyptians mined it by torchlight on the Red Sea island of Zabargad and called it the gem of the sun, believing it warded off the terrors of the night and, set in gold, protected against evil. That's the thread that runs through its history — the gem you wear to keep the dark at bay, fitting for the golden, abundant tail of summer.

Properties & benefits believed

Peridot is a stone of light, warmth, and renewal. It's said to lift the spirits, dispel gloom and envy, and draw good fortune and abundance to its wearer. A protective gem against the dark and against negativity, it carries associations with confidence, fresh starts, and the easy, sunlit optimism of high summer.

These are traditional and folkloric associations — the meanings cultures have attached to peridot over centuries, not medical claims. Worn as a birthstone, it's above all a way of carrying your month with you.

Color & origin

Peridot is prized for its olive green colour. Historically from Zabargad island in the Red Sea; today fine peridot comes from Pakistan, Myanmar, China, and Arizona.

Who Peridot suits

Peridot suits the sunny and the open-hearted — warm, confident people who carry their own light. Born in golden, abundant August, they tend toward generosity, vitality, and an instinct for lifting a room. If you're the one who keeps the dark at bay for others, this is your stone.

The zodiac signs of August

August spans two zodiac signs, depending on where in the month you were born. Read your sign to see how its story lines up with your stone.