August Birthstone

If you were born in August, your birthstone is peridot: a bright lime green with a touch of gold in it, quite unlike any other stone. It is the most summery gem on the calendar, which suits its month, and it has the rare distinction of coming in only one colour.

It also has one of the best origin stories in jewellery. Peridot forms far deeper in the earth than almost any other gem, and some of it has arrived here on meteorites. This guide covers how to wear an August birthstone, how to style that green with the gold you already own, what to look for when buying, and how to care for it. For every month and stone, see our birthstones by month chart.

Three ways to wear an August birthstone

As a piece in its own right. A peridot pendant on a fine gold chain is the easiest way in. Peridot's green is bright but warm rather than cold, so it lifts a plain gold look without dominating it, and it is one of the few coloured stones that genuinely reads well in summer and winter alike.

Set small into something personalised. A peridot set into an engraved tag, beside an initial on a pendant, or hung as a small charm from a bracelet. The stone becomes a detail rather than the headline: your month, tucked into a piece that is already personal to you. It is also the natural way to mark more than one person, a stone each for your children along a single bar or tag.

Layered and stacked. Because peridot has gold undertones, it sits with yellow gold more naturally than most green stones do, so it layers beautifully rather than fighting for attention. Wear a peridot pendant slightly shorter or longer than your everyday chain so the colour has its own space.

Styling peridot with your everyday gold

Yellow gold is peridot's natural home, and there is a reason for it beyond taste. Peridot is a yellowish green rather than a blue-green, so it shares an undertone with yellow gold and the two settle together rather than clashing. If you wear yellow gold daily, peridot will feel like it was always part of the collection.

Rose gold is the more unexpected pairing and worth considering: pink and green sit opposite each other, so the contrast makes the stone look brighter and more deliberate. It is the choice if you want your birthstone to be noticed.

White gold cools everything down and pushes peridot toward a crisper, more modern look, though it can also make the yellow in the stone read slightly stronger. Of the three, yellow gold is the one we would recommend first.

The good news about buying peridot

Peridot is one of the few coloured gemstones that is almost never treated. Where sapphires are routinely heated, emeralds oiled and turquoise stabilised, the peridot you buy is essentially always exactly what nature made. That is unusual, and it is worth knowing, because it means you are not paying for an enhancement that may fade.

Two things to look at when choosing. First, colour: avoid stones that look brownish or muddy, and favour a clean green. Second, a curiosity, peridot is strongly doubly refractive, meaning if you look closely through the top of a larger stone you can see the back facets appear doubled, giving it a soft, slightly velvety look. It is a genuine peridot trait, not a flaw, and it is one of the easiest ways to tell a real stone from green glass.

Where peridot comes from

Peridot is one of only two gemstones that form in the earth's mantle rather than its crust, the other being diamond. It is carried to the surface by volcanic activity, which is why it turns up in lava fields in Hawaii and Arizona.

The oldest source is the island of Zabargad in the Red Sea, mined by the Egyptians for around 3,500 years. Today most fine peridot comes from Pakistan, Myanmar, China and the San Carlos Apache reservation in Arizona. The Pakistani material, found high in the Himalayas, produces some of the largest and cleanest stones in the world.

And then there is the extraordinary bit: peridot has been found inside meteorites, in a type called pallasite. A small amount of gem-quality peridot on earth is genuinely extraterrestrial, which makes August the only month whose birthstone can come from space.

The gem of the sun

The Egyptians called peridot the gem of the sun, and mined it on Zabargad by night, believing the stones were easier to spot in darkness. It has been associated ever since with light, warmth and good fortune, and was worn as a protection against nightmares and ill will.

It has also been quietly mistaken for something grander for most of history. Many of the famous "emeralds" in European treasuries are in fact peridot, including, it is widely believed, the great green stones on the Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral. Some historians think Cleopatra's celebrated emerald collection may have been peridot too. For a stone this affordable, that is quite a pedigree.

Spinel and sardonyx

Spinel was added as an August birthstone relatively recently, and it is a genuinely exciting stone. It comes in almost every colour, with hot pinks and vivid reds the most sought after, and for centuries the world's most famous "rubies" were actually spinels, including the Black Prince's Ruby in the Imperial State Crown. At 8 on the hardness scale it is also considerably tougher than peridot, which makes it the better August choice for a ring worn every day.

Sardonyx is the traditional alternative, a banded stone of reddish-brown and white that has been carved into cameos and signet stones since antiquity. It is a quieter, more classical choice, and lovely engraved.

Caring for peridot

Peridot sits at 6.5 to 7 on the hardness scale, which is middling: fine for pendants and earrings, and workable in a ring provided the setting protects it and you take it off for anything rough. It is sensitive to sudden temperature changes and to acids, so keep it away from household cleaners and never put it in an ultrasonic cleaner, which can crack it. Warm water, mild soap and a soft brush is all it wants. Store it apart from harder stones such as sapphire and diamond, which will scratch it.

August birthstone questions

What is the August birthstone?

The August birthstone is peridot, a lime-green stone associated with light, warmth and good fortune. August also has two accepted alternatives: spinel, added in recent years, and sardonyx, the traditional choice.

What colour is the August birthstone?

Green, and only green. Peridot is one of very few gemstones that occurs in a single colour. The shade ranges from a pale yellow-green to a deep olive, with a clean, slightly grass-toned green the most prized.

How do you wear an August birthstone?

Three ways work best: as a piece in its own right, such as a peridot pendant on a fine chain; set small into something personalised, beside an initial or on an engraved tag or charm; or layered with your everyday gold, which peridot suits particularly well because of its warm, golden undertone.

Is peridot treated or enhanced?

Almost never, which is unusual among coloured gemstones. Where sapphires are commonly heated and emeralds oiled, peridot is typically sold exactly as nature produced it, so its colour will not fade or alter over time.

Is peridot good for everyday jewellery?

At 6.5 to 7 on the hardness scale peridot is fine for pendants and earrings and workable in a ring with a protective setting, though it is softer than sapphire or diamond. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners and household chemicals. For an August ring worn daily, spinel is the tougher alternative.

Does peridot really come from meteorites?

Some of it does. Peridot has been found in a type of meteorite called pallasite, meaning a small amount of gem-quality peridot on earth is genuinely extraterrestrial. It also forms in the earth's mantle, one of only two gems that do, the other being diamond.