Although the mineral olivine is plentiful everywhere, including Mars, its transparent gem assortment peridot, birthstone for August, is relatively rare. In ancient times it was mined in Egypt. This parrot green stone has been valued by many cultures. Data from NASA´s Mars Odyssey spacecrafts revealed that the planet’s surface contains amazingly large quantities of olivine-rich bedrock. Olivine has also been detected in meteorites, the moon, in comets, and in dust rings around young stars. The transparent gem variety of olivine is called peridot, and it is birthstone for August.
Olivine is used in aluminium foundries to cast objects, and current research anticipates the use of olivine to produce electricity. Olivine is plentiful but the gem quality peridot is relatively rare. However it is mined in several states and countries like North Carolina, Hawaii, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Kenya, China, Norway, Myanmar, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, and in ancient times it was mined in Egypt.
In Bible, peridot was referred to as chrysolite. It has been mined for at least 3500 years, and became popular in Europe after it was brought in Europe by the Crusaders. Many cultures have valued this stone, including the Hawaiians who believed it to be the tears of the volcano goddess Pele. Its color is described as lime green and as pistachio green. The most attractive stones are a deep, intense green. Peridot represents the sun and is said to relieve night terrors. It is also said to look better in daylight than in artificial light.
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