August Birthstone

With origins dating back as far as the second millennium BC, the Peridot was once mined by the Ancient Egyptians on a snake-infested island on the Red Sea known as St John's Island. The Egyptians valued the stone so much that they even kept the location of the smoke-shrouded volcanos a closely guarded secret. Many Egyptian priests at the time also believed that these mystical stones harboured the power of nature and would use Peridot encrusted goblets to converse with their nature gods. The stones were also used by the Ancient Egyptians as carved talismans. Some historians even believe that Cleopatra's famed emerald collection was peridot. But the peridot stone's association with emerald wouldn't stop there, in Ancient Rome the stone was even dubbed the evening emerald'.

The world's fascination with these enchanting green stones would continue throughout Medieval times where a whopping 200-carat's worth of peridot was discovered embedded into a solid gold shrine within Germany's Cologne Cathedral. These stones were also believed to be emeralds at one stage. In the early 1500s, German occult leader Heinrich Cornelius believed that if you held peridot up the sun a golden star would appear that would heal you from any respiratory problems. It was because of this that Apothecary shops kept the gemstone in powdered form to help with ailments such as insomnia, bleeding and madness. Some even used the stone to help aid childbirth and improve memory.

The stone has seen somewhat of a resurgence since the 1990s when new deposits of the stone were discovered in Pakistan. Referred to as Kashmir Peridot', these were some of the finest gemstones ever discovered with some even measuring up to 100 carats.

Forget walking like an Egyptian, try dressing like one instead with our range of peridot jewellery. From peridot earrings to peridot pendants, peridot necklaces and peridot rings, check out some of our favourite picks below!

With a history that dates back some 4500 years, carnelian stones have long been lauded by ancient communities and civilisations. Often appearing in antique jewellery, the Ancient Egyptians and Sumerians fashioned the stone into body ornaments while the Ancient Romans and Greeks would adorn the stone in stylish gold signet rings. In 5,500 BC, Bulgarian tribes would wear the stones in long, red bead necklaces. Evidence discovered at the ancient burial site, Varna Necropolis even suggests that not only did the tribes wear this stone but they also faceted them,  with each stone containing around 16 facets. 

In the Middle Ages, alchemists used carnelian to boil other quartz-like stones as they believed it would help activate their energies. During the Renaissance period, carnelian was engraved with an image of a warrior or a sword and was placed into homes to protect it from storms and other natural disasters. The gem was also carried around by people to protect them from ailments such as nosebleeds, skin diseases, blood diseases and insanity. They also kept it near as they slept to prevent nightmares and night terrors. Napoleon, the Emperor of France was known to sport a good luck charm that featured the stone, while German writer and scientist Wolfgang von Goethe also wore carnelian jewellery-believing it would bring luck and offer protection from evil.

Deposits of the carnelian stone are predominantly found in Russia (Siberia), Germany, the United States, Uruguay, Brazil, India and Indonesia. The world's biggest exporter of carnelian is India, where a majority of these mighty red-orange stones are found.