Jewel HowPeridot is a type of ancient gemstone made of the mineral olivine. This boasts a captivating pure green hue that sets it apart from other gemstones. Peridot is reputed to evoke creativity and eloquence that brings delight regardless of the type of jewelry where it is used.
There are various styles of cut peridot, with every stone having its unique value and appearance, and some of these are the following:
- Burmese peridot
- Changbai peridot
- Green peridot
- Hebel peridot
- Vietnamese peridot
An important determining factor when buying peridot is the green color’s purity. The stone is more valuable if the green color is purer. The appearance of facet edges must also be taken into consideration. A stone handled for some time often shows evidence of abrasions or wear along its facet edges. Repolishing is essential for peridot to be in top saleable condition, and the price of this process affects the cost of the stone.
Factors to Consider when Buying Peridot
The prices of peridot can range from $50 to $80 per carat for well-cut gems in 1 to 2-carat sizes. These can go as high as $400 to $450 per carat for bigger top color fine gems.
When buying peridot, choose an eye-clean stone without visible inclusions with small black spots, which are minute mineral crystals, observed under magnification. Some other common inclusions in peridot are disk-shaped reflective inclusions known as lily pads.
Peridot is most common in sizes that range from melee to the faceted stones of 10 carats or higher. The fine faceted stones of over 30 carats are popular but are quite rare.
Considering that the peridot is not that expensive, the shapes of stone are limitless. An important tip here is to stay away from badly shaped and native cut peridots. Choose fine proportion cuts instead because the gem is already relatively affordable.
Colors
The color of the peridot is the key element that sets the overall value of this stone. Peridot stones can be rich grass green, yellow-green, or brown-green. You can also find peridot in various shades of green but never in other colors.
There shouldn’t be any overtones in a peridot stone so choose a gemstone with equally distributed color without brown-green tones. Peridot of brown-green color is the lower quality of these stones, while the highest quality peridots are those of rich grass green color.
The peridot’s value is dependent on the gemstone’s iron content. The most valuable peridots are of dark olive green color with an iron content of lower than 15%. The peridot stone will have a darker green color that is more intense if it has lower iron content.
Top-quality peridots come with an intense grass green color with no hints of yellow or brown. If you are planning to buy a peridot stone with a darker green color, it is recommended to choose a larger stone that weighs 10 carats or higher.
Pure grass green peridots are very rare, and these are typically found in bigger gemstones. It makes them more valuable, and thus more expensive, unlike gems in yellow-green color.
Clarity
The best quality of peridot has the so-called eye-clean clarity, which is considered the standard form of this stone.
Any clearly visible inclusions like black spots will reduce the stone’s value. The lily pads, or the reflection inclusions shaped like a disk, are yet another quite common peridot inclusion that can lower the value of the stone if these are clearly visible.
The peridot’s double refraction of 0.036 to 0.038 can give a sleepy appearance to this gem, which is most outlined in larger peridots of more than 10 carats.
Cut
Since peridots are relatively affordable because of their availability and popularity all over the world, these stones can be cut into various shapes. Thanks to the cheap prices of this stone, a good tip to remember is to choose finely proportioned cuts and avoid those with poorly shaped native cuts.
Cabochon and oval cuts are the most common peridot cuts. You can also find trillion, princess, baguette, emerald, cushion, and round cut peridot jewelry.
Carat Weight
Peridot with more carats will obviously be more valuable. A 1-carat peridot stone can be priced as low as $25. But if the stone is a large one with high-quality color, a peridot’s price per carat can go as high as $500 per carat.
The jump in price is because larger peridot stones are somewhat rare, with the value per carat of peridot thus being greater. If the stone is bigger, the price per carat of peridot will also be more expensive.
Setting
The colors of peridot are more stunning in romantic settings such as candlelight, which is why this is known as the evening emerald.
You can opt to pair it with yellow gold instead of white metals. Peridot’s color looks particularly gorgeous next to rose or yellow gold, which makes either of these two a great option for peridot rings as well as other pieces of jewelry.
It is recommended to choose one of the two metals rather than white gold because white gold and other types of rhodium-coated metals may result in pits in peridot. You also need to clean and plate these metals every several years.
For peridot rings, you can consider those with halo or pave diamonds. Halo or pave diamonds can dramatically improve a peridot ring’s appearance. This can add a touch of extra brilliance to the ring and give it a more eye-catching appearance.
Conclusion
When buying peridot, be sure to choose a stone with grass green to yellow-green color. It must also have eye-clean clarity. As for shapes, rounds and ovals are the most common choices for peridots with well-proportioned cuts with overall brilliance.
It is also important to balance your set budget with the gemstone’s quality. If you have a limited budget, you might want to choose beautiful peridot in the yellow-green color of lower than 10 carats. Pick between the numerous creative shapes and cuts and choose cuts that have fine proportions.
If money is not an issue, you can choose the bigger grass-green peridots. Determine the iron content and go for one with lower than 15% iron content.
