Precious Peridot & The Story of Pansy
Peridot is one of the few gemstones that exists in only one colour; a distinctive signature lime green.
In ancient times it was believed that Peridot was a gift of Mother Nature to celebrate the annual creation of a new world. When presented as a gift, Peridot is said to bring the wearer magical powers and healing properties to protect against nightmares. It is also said to instil power, and influence through the wearing of the gemstone.
Today, most Peridot comes from Arizona. In fact, it is so renowned for the stones, there is even a town called Peridot.
One of our suppliers, Two Skies, tell us all a story about their director, Adam and his trip to the town named after the gem.
“While traveling in the area making contacts with turquoise miners, Adam’s bedtime reading was a book called ‘Buried Treasure’, which told him that a nearby Native American reservation was the world’s largest deposit of peridot gemstones. The book contained the story of Pansy, an Apache elder who spends her days in the desert digging and gathering stones at the age of 85!
It didn’t take long to travel to the reservation and track down Pansy in person. She never knew she had been written about in a book and wept when she heard the passage (she had experienced a very hard life being forced off her native land). Happily, Adam and Pansy did some deals and Two Skies secured a good supply of her peridot to make into creations. We’ve also sent Pansy a lovely pendant – she has never owned a finished piece of her own stone – plus a copy of ‘Buried Treasue’.”
