The ninth Foundation Stone of New Jerusalem.

Peridot is the modern name for chrysolite, which is a lovely, transparent gem from the mineral olivine. It’s color, which ranges from yellow-green to a deep bottle green comes from the presence of iron. Peridot (or chrysolite) has been known since Biblical times with the earliest source being St. John’s Island in the Red Sea off the Egyptian Coast. It is mentioned in the Bible under the Hebrew name of ‘pitdah’. From here the identification of Bible stones gets very interesting. It appears that the identity of two stones, the chrysolite (or peridot) and the topaz have completely switched. According to Pliny (AD 23-69), the topaz (Greek ‘topazion’) was a stone found and mined on the island of Topazios (today called St. John’s Island off the coast of Egypt). This is the world’s principle source for the peridot (chrysolite). No topaz as we understand it today has been found there. So the term ‘topaz’ of Bible times was actually the peridot (or chrysolite) of today. Conversely the term ‘chrysolite’ in the Greek is actually the topaz of today. According to the Smithsonian, the gem we know as peridot happily existed as ‘topazion’ or shortened to ‘topaz’, a reference to its place of origin, for about 2,000 years before the name ‘topaz’ was hijacked. For reasons that still remain unclear, during the 18th century ‘topaz’ was assigned to the gem we call topaz today, and the vibrant yellowish-green stone was given a new name — peridot, derived from “faridat,” the Arabic word for gem. To this day, topaz continues to be the oddball namesake of an island that never produced topaz. Peridot has been mined as a gemstone for an estimated four thousand years or better, and can be found on five continents. Some historians believe that Cleopatra’s famous emerald collection might actually have been peridot. People in medieval times continued to confuse peridot with emerald. For centuries, people believed the fabulous 200-ct. gems adorning the shrine of the Three Holy Kings in Germany’s Cologne Cathedral were emeralds. They are, in fact, peridots.

Peridot has always been associated with light. In fact, the Egyptians called it the “gem of the sun.” Some believed that it protected its owner from “terrors of the night,” especially when it was set in gold. Others strung the gems on donkey hair and tied them around their left arms to ward off evil spirits. Also known as the ‘evening emerald’, peridot is born of fire and brought to light. Peridot is one of two gems formed deep inside the earth in the mantle, the other being diamonds, and is delivered to the surface by volcanoes. Some also come to earth in meteorites, but this extraterrestrial peridot is extremely rare, and not likely to be seen in a retail jewelry store. Peridot is a jewel of growth and carries the gift of inner radiance and powerful healing. It is also used as a talisman for manifesting abundance in all areas of one’s life.

One of the earliest writers to associate with the apostles the symbolism of the gems given in Revelations is by Andreas, bishop of Caesurae. He gives a brief description of the stones, which is recounted in George F. Kunz's book ‘The Curious Lore of Precious Stones’ (1913). The ‘topaz’, which is of a ruddy color, resembling somewhat the carbuncle, denotes Matthew.