Forsterite var: Peridot (gemmy crystal)

Item Description

Peridot is one of the great old historic gem minerals. The ancient Egyptians mined Peridot stones on a small volcanic island in the Red Sea called which was known historically as Topazios, (also known as Zabargad or St. John's Island) dating as far back as 1500 BCE. Peridot was referred to as the “gem of the sun,” by the Egyptians, as they believed the stone protected its wearer from terrors of the night. Interestingly, there is no definitive origin of the world Peridot, as the entry on Wikipedia states, "The origin of the name Peridot is uncertain. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests an alteration of Anglo–Norman pedoretés (classical Latin pæderot-), a kind of opal, rather than the Arabic word faridat, meaning "gem".
Here we have a lovely thumbnail sized specimen from Sapat Gali, Pakistan. These are some of the most well-known Peridot crystals in the world. We started seeing them on the market in the early 1990s, and it's safe to say that no world locality has produced the quality and quantity of euhedral Peridot crystals like Sapat Gali. This piece is a very gemmy, beautiful vibrant green color single crystal with elegant etching patterns on the surface, creating a one-of-a-kind appearance. The majority of the crystal is virtually transparent when backlit (I would say it's bordering on gem quality), and it just GLOWS with color. A nice example of these classic Peridot crystals. Specimen weight is 6.79 grams