olivine! - emporia state universityacademic.emporia.edu/abersusa/go340/students/price.pdf ·...
TRANSCRIPT
Olive the info you need to know about
Olivine!
by Philip Price
ES 567 Gemstones of the World
Image from JR Jewelers
Image from P. Price
Table of Contents
Essential facts about olivine
Chemical Characteristics
History and folklore
Olivine as a gem stone
Sources of Olivine Image from Lavinsky, 2010
Essential Facts About Olivine
Olivine is…
a mineral named after a green olive due to its color.
an abundant mineral subsurface in our planet because
it is a major component of igneous rock.
a gemstone known as peridot (pear-uh-doe).
6.5 on the hardness scale with a conchoidal fracture,
clear streak, and vitreous luster Friedman, 1997-2012
Chemical Characteristics
Olivine has…
a chemical formula of (Fe, Mg)SiO4.
a series of minerals and generic formula, M2SiO4
where M= Ca, Fe, Mn, Ni, and/or Mg.
is a silicate with primary end members fosterite
(Mg2SiO4 ) and fayalite (Fe2SiO4).
a basaltic rock host and first mineral to crystallize
out of the mafic-rich magma.
Schumann, 2009
Chemical Characteristics Olivine is a nesosilicate with an
orthorhombic crystal structure.
It is found in vesicular basalt
Images from Wikimedia Commons, 2004
Image from The Wiccan Gecko, 2012 (above); image from Alden, 2009 (right).
History &Folklore
Information from
USGS/NPS Geology in the Parks, 2002
Essence-of-mineral-makeup, 2008-2012
AllAboutGemstones.com, 2012
Glimmerdream, 2003-2012
Historically peridot was… mined on Zagbargad, St. John’s island, in the Red Sea over 3,500 years
ago according to Greek historian Pliny the Elder (below, left) in his book
Naturalis Historia (Natural History) in AD 70.
Historically mined in Pakistan, Burma, Brazil, US-AZ & Hawaii
known as evening emerald and historians suggest Cleopatra wore peridot
instead of emeralds
Found in eastern
Siberia, 1749,
in a meteorite fall.
Zagbargad, Egypt; image from Allaboutgemstones, n.d.
History &Folklore Peridot folklore states that… For centuries, dating back to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks,
Olivine has been regarded as a stone of the sun… stone of lightness
and beauty.
Olivine dispels nightmares and evil spirits if the gem is set in gold.
Powers do not work to protect against evil spirits unless tied to the
tail of a donkey and worn around the left arm
Olivine is the birthstone of August & assigned to planet Saturn.
Information from
Gem Select, 2005-2012
Schumann, 2009
JJKent, Inc, 2004 Image from Emily’s Gems, n.d.
Olivine as Gemstone
• Found as both faceted and tumbled gems, cut in step, oval, brilliant, rose
• Predominately found in small crystals but 319 ct from Zabargad, Egypt is
housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum
• Peridot is a idiochromatic gem which means it gets its color from the Fe or Mg
in its fundamental chemical makeup and not from inclusions
• Characteristic inclusion is the lily pad
Images from GIA a & b, 2002-2012
Olivine as Gemstone
Treatments are not used to enhance the quality of the gem
Price per carat for Peridot can range greatly depending on the depth of color,
cut, and clarity.
Information from:
Gem Select, 2005-2012
Schumann, 2009
Images from: GIA c, 2002-2012 HealingCrystals.com, 2012 Etsy.com, 2012
Sources of Olivine Historically famous Red Sea island but today, number one in abundance is
Arizona, which produces between 80-90% of the world’s peridot.
Famous in high quality peridot is both Burma (Myanmar) and Pakistan
Found in Wyoming (The Gem Hunter, 2012), New Mexico and Hawaii
in the US, and also China, Norway, Brazil, Australia, Kenya, Mexico,
Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Tanzania
& for a map see mindat.org (Ralph, J., 2011)
Image from <<The Brazilian Connection And Arizona Skies Meteorites >>
Amethyst Galleries, 1995-2012. The mineral olivine. Retrieved from
http://www.galleries.com/Olivine
Arizona Skies Meteorites, 2003-2012. Pallasides and mesosiderites.
Retrieved from http://www.arizonaskiesmeteorites.com/AZ_Skies
_Links/Stony_Irons/index.html
Arizona-Peridot.com , 2008-2011. Arizona peridot. Retrieved from
http://www.arizona-peridot.com/Loose_Peridot/
Alden, A., 2009. Olivine phenocrysts in basalt: Hawaii. Geology About.com.
Retrieved from http://geology.about.com/od/more_igrocks/ig/phenocrysts/
phenocryst-olivine.htm
References & Links
AllAboutGemstones.com, 2012. Gemstones: Peridot. Retrieved from
http://www.allaboutgemstones.com/gemstones_peridot.html
Anne97432, 2008. Olivine. Wikipedia Commons. Retrieved from
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olivine.jpg
Barthelmy, D., 1997-2010. Forsterite mineral data. Mineralogy
Database. Retrieved from http://webmineral.com/data/Forsterite.shtml
Emily’s Gems, n.d. Peridot chips. Retrieved from http://crystal-
cure.com/peridot-gem.html
Essence-of,-mineral-makeup. 2008-2012. Peridot-(Olivine, Chrysolite.
Retrieved from http://www.essence-of-mineral-makeup.com/peridot.html
References& Links
References & Links
Etsy.com, 2012. Rose cut peridot ring. Retrieved from
http://www.etsy.com/listing/104771642/rose-cut-peridot-ring-18k-gold-and
Friedman, H., 1997-2012. The olivine mineral series. The Mineral &
Gemstone Kingdom. Retrieved from
http://www.minerals.net/mineral/olivine.aspx
Gem Select, 2005-2012. Peridot. Retrieved from www.gemselect.com/gem-
info/peridot/peridot-info.php
GIA a 2002-2012. Lily pad inclusion. Retrieved from
http://www.gia.edu/image_resources/educational/lilypad-inclusion-in-
peridot.jpg
GIA b 2002-2012. Oval cut peridot. Retrieved from
http://www.gia.edu/image_resources/educational/peridot.jpg-
GIA c 2002-2012. Peridot ring. Retrieved from
http://www.gia.edu/research-resources/library/featured-
gemstones/peridot/index.html
Glimmerdream, 2003-2012. Peridot: Emerald of the crusaders. Retrieved from
http://glimmerdream.com/gemjourneys/peridot/history
HealingCrystals.com, 2012. Tumbled peridot chip necklace. Retrieved from
http://www.healingcrystals.com/Crystal_Necklaces_-
_Peridot_Tumbled_Chips_Necklace.html
References & Links
References & Links
JJKent, Inc., 2004. The history and folklore surrounding chrysolites.
Retrieved from http://www.jjkent.com/articles/history-folklore-chrysolites.htm J. R. Jewelry, 2004-2010. August birthstone: Peridot. Retrieved from
http://www.jrjewelersblog.com/
Lavinsky, R. 2010. Forsterite-Olivine. Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forsterite-Olivine-4jg58b.jpg
Nelson, S. A., 2012. Magma and igneous rocks. EENS 1110 Physical
Geology lecture, Tuland University. Retrieved from
http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens1110/igneous.htm
Ralph, J., 2011. Olivine source map. Mindat.org. Retrieved from
http://www.mindat.org/min-2983.html
References & Links
Schumann, W., 2009. Gemstones of the world. NY: Sterling Publishing
Company.
The Gem Hunter, 2012. Peridot gemtones & geology and TheLeucite Hills,
Wyoming (2011). Peridot Blog. Retrieved from
http://peridot1.blogspot.com/ and http://leucitehills.blogspot.com/
The Brazilian Connection, n.d., Peridot. Retrieved from
http://www.thebrazilianconnection.com/miscperidot.html The Wiccan Gecko , 2012. Peridot and the Goddess Pele: Peridot green sands
of Hawaii. Earthegy Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.earthegy.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/01/greenbeach.jpg
References & Links
USGS/NPS, 2002. Olivine-peridotite – harzburgite and dunite.
Retrieved from
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/VolcanicPast/Notes/olivine.html
Weller, R., 2011. Peridot photos. Cochise College. Conchise County,
Arizona. Retrieved from
http://skywalker.cochise.edu/wellerr/mingem/gemtp/peridot/peridotL.htm
Wikimedia Commons, 2004. Atomic structure of olivine. Retrieved from
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atomic_structure_of_olivine_1.png
Tivol, T. ,2012. Peridot: August birthstone . Tom Tivol Fine Jewelry.
Retrieved from http://www.tomtivoljewels.com/peridot-august-birthstone/
Tivol, T. ,2012. Peridot: August birthstone . Tom Tivol Fine Jewelry.
Retrieved from http://www.tomtivoljewels.com/peridot-august-birthstone/