Peridot Mining History

Zabargad Island

Peridot – The Name

Peridot is named after the French word peritot, meaning gold.  Some variations of the stone are indeed more gold than green.  Peridot is the birthstone for the month of August and is the stone given for a sixteenth anniversary.

First mining

Peridot has a long written history.  Ancient papyri record the mining of these stones as early as 1500 BC. The main source of peridot in the ancient world was Topazo Island (now Zabargad or St. John’s Island) in the Red Sea.  

Slavery

It is thought that the mining occurred at night because the gems were difficult to see during the day.  The raw gems were virtually transparent and were hard to find unless it was dark enough for the rock’s reflection to be seen easily.

In ancient times, peridot stones were used as carved talismans.  Island dwellers were forced into slavery to collect the gems for the Pharaoh’s treasury.  Legend says that soldiers guarding the island had orders to kill any trespassers on sight. 

Gem of the Sun

Peridot is the official national gem of Egypt.  In Ancient Egypt it was known as “the gem of the sun.” Peridot was mined for over 3,500 years on St Johns Island. As late as the 19th Century, Egypt had a monopoly on the mines. For a time, the island’s exact whereabouts became a mystery.   It was rediscovered in 1905. 

From the Color Encyclopedia of Gemstones 2nd Edition:
“Zabargad is an island in the Red Sea that is often shrouded in fog, making it difficult for ancient navigators to find. The location has been lost in fact, for centuries, and was rediscovered in about 1905. The island is located 35 miles of the Egyptian coastal port of Berenica.”

In the 19th Century, the mines on Zabargad Island produced millions of dollars worth of peridot. After 1905, production of the gems peaked, but by the late 1930’s it tapered off to practically nothing and reached a virtual standstill in 1958, when the mines were nationalized.