Peridot 24k Gold Plated Stud Earrings

Peridot belongs to the moment we are ready to set something heavy down and let the light back in: an old resentment, a guilt carried too long, a hurt that has stayed past its season. Its green is unmistakable, a bright olive with a glint of gold, like lime cordial held up to the sun. It is born deep inside the earth and carried up by volcanoes, and it has even reached us from space, inside rare meteorites, so it feels like a stone that has travelled a long way to find us. The ancient Egyptians mined it on Zabargad, a sun-baked island off their Red Sea coast, and old lapidaries held that peridot set in gold and worn close would drive away the terrors of the night, and kept it as a charm for luck.

Prized for thousands of years before anyone gave it a chakra, peridot is placed by today's crystal practice, drawing on the Hindu and Vedic chakra system, at two centres: the Heart Chakra, where love and forgiveness live, and the Solar Plexus Chakra, the seat of confidence and will.

As a stone of letting go and renewal, peridot is known for clearing away jealousy, resentment and the weight of guilt, so that warmth has room to return and a heart we had closed can open again. The tradition links it to the digestive system, the liver and the gallbladder.

Hold a faceted peridot up to a window and it seems to glow from the inside, a fresh lime-and-olive green with a warm gold edge, like sunlight through a vine leaf. It is one of the happiest greens in the gem world, and it suits almost every skin tone and every age. The stones tend to be small and lively, and on a bright day they almost fizz with light. A flash of that green at the ear or on the hand can lift a grey morning all on its own.

A small peridot ring or a pair of studs is often the first thing on in the morning and then all but forgotten, which suits a stone associated with keeping an open heart through ordinary days. Many of us wear it while we work at letting go of jealousy or resentment, or at forgiving ourselves for something carried too long. As the traditional birthstone for August it is a favourite birthday gift, and some give it to a friend at a turning point, as a wish for warmer, kinder times ahead.

Peridot (Mohs 6.5-7) is happy to be worn every day but can chip with a hard knock. Running water, sound, moonlight, or smoke all cleanse it well. Keep it away from acids, steam, ultrasonic cleaners and sudden temperature changes, and give it its own spot in the jewellery box.