Egypt — Peridot Bracelet, Zabargad Green

The Egyptians called it the gem of the sun. They were mining it two thousand years before Rome existed.

Peridot (Mg,Fe₂SiO₄) is one of the few gemstones that occurs in only one colour — green — with the specific shade determined by the iron content of the crystal. The finest historical peridot came from Zabargad Island (also called St. John’s Island) in the Egyptian Red Sea, mined from at least 1500 BC through the medieval period. The island was so closely guarded that workers were not permitted to leave. The stone reached Rome, Byzantium, and medieval Europe as one of the most valued gems in the ancient world. The Zabargad mines are now exhausted.

Egypt’s relationship with peridot is the longest documented human relationship with any gemstone. The stone appears in pharaonic jewellery, in medieval church treasuries (where it was often mistaken for emerald), and in the breastplate of the High Priest described in Exodus. The colour — a warm, slightly golden green — does not exist in any other natural material at the same intensity.

These beads are cut from natural peridot — the warm olive-green characteristic of the species, with the slight golden undertone that distinguishes peridot from other green stones. The surface has a vitreous lustre. The colour shifts between yellow-green and pure green depending on the light source.

Origin: Red Sea coast, Egypt · Zabargad Island tradition
Material: Natural peridot
Type: Bracelet
One piece only. What you see is what ships.