Peridot (rare locality gem)

Item Description

Peridot is an ancient gem, certainly one of the oldest known stones through history. It has been documented that the ancient Egyptians mined Peridot stones on a small volcanic island in the Red Sea called which was known historically as Topazios (or Zabargad), but it's called 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. Today, Peridot is the traditional birthstone for August, but supply has always been limited in terms of places where gem quality material was found. The amount of gem grade Peridot on the market received a serious boost about 25 years ago when the first great gem Peridot crystals started coming out of Pakistan. These stones are some of the finest color I've seen for Peridot and the sheer size of some of the gems that have come out is amazing. This stone has a fantastic lively green color, no brown overtones. In fact, you rarely see Peridot gems with a color like this, they're usually much more pale. It's a decent sized stone from this area, combined with the fact that it is only very slightly included, makes it a nice gem for collectors or for someone who wants a stone for a gorgeous piece of jewelry. The cut on the stone is an "Elongated Step Octagon" cut.
This stone is from the estate of former Phoenix area dealer Marvin Rockey. Rockey's Gems was a significant business in the early days of Arizona lapidary material, and he was a prominent dealer and buyer in the Arizona area of local lapidary and carving material from throughout the state, including Bisbee, the Ray Mine, Miami mines, and the Peridot finds on Indian lands in the 1950s-1970s. This stone was kept back from the retail stock for its quality and beauty, in a tray of special material, and was found in his estate (sold to us recently). Today, these are not only rarely seen but of a highly desirable old quality, and sought after by collectors and gem / jewelry enthusiasts alike.