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PERIDOT
 Peridot
has enjoyed a recent rise in popularity. Fortunately,
this increase in demand has been offset by increased
production, especially from the fertile mesa of
the San Carlos Apache reservation.
Peridot is a clean stone,
the darker the green the better the stone. Some
peridot can be very light and almost lime green,
and thus is not highly regarded. And while peridot
most always has an olive tone -- it's the gem
variety of the mineral olivine -- look for stones
that aren't overwhelmingly olivey. And as with
all faceted gemstones, the cut should produce
an even fire -- no large dark patches when you
look directly down on the table. You should also
ask to observe the stone in both incandescent
and fluorescent lighting to get an idea of how
the color and fire will change when you wear your
jewelry under those lighting sources. Don't expect
to find much large material from Arizona, most
of the San Carlos production is under 3 carats.
Chinese material is large but the color is usually
inferior to specimens from Pakistan -- which currently
produces the finest large quantities of peridot.
Burma still produces incredibly stunning, large
(30 carats and up) stones, but these are mainly
collector's items as production is unreliable
and accessible to a handful of connected gem traders.
Peridot is occasionally
treated with colorless oil, wax, natural and synthetic
unhardened resins into voids to improve appearance.
Surface fractures are sometimes filled with a
colorless hardened substance. These treatments
should be stable if done properly.
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