Catalog Search Guide
You can search our catalog using different mineral attributes. For example, you can search by color such as green, yellow or purple, or by chemical elements such as uranium, calcium or iron, or by mineral groups such as phosphate, silicate or carbonate. You can also filter by crystal habit like crystal, geode or crystal on matrix, by specimen size such as thumbnail, small, medium or cabinet, and by features such as radioactive or fluorescent minerals.
Peridot
Peridot is the gem-quality variety of olivine, a magnesium-iron silicate ([Mg,Fe]₂SiO₄) forming a solid-solution series between forsterite and fayalite. Prized for its signature bright lime-to-olive green color — with no need for treatment or enhancement — peridot forms deep in the Earth's mantle and reaches the surface through volcanic eruptions, tectonic uplift, or even arrives via pallasite meteorites carrying olivine crystals in a metallic matrix.
The ancient type locality is Zabargad Island in Egypt's Red Sea, mined since antiquity and famed for large, gemmy yellowish-green crystals that supplied virtually all historic European peridot. Today's finest material comes from Sapat Gali in Pakistan's Kaghan Valley, celebrated for intensely colored, doubly-terminated crystals of exceptional clarity, and from Mogok, Myanmar. In the United States, the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona is the largest peridot source in the Western Hemisphere, while Kilbourne Hole, New Mexico, yields peridot-bearing basalt nodules popular with collectors.
Collectors seek peridot for its rarity in large, transparent, well-formed crystals — true gem-grade specimens are surprisingly uncommon compared to other classic species. Fine peridot combines historical significance, striking color saturation, and diverse worldwide localities, making it a cornerstone species for both gemological and mineralogical collections.
