Looking for the perfect place to buy peridot jewelry online?
You're in the right place! In this Learning Jewelry guide, I'll answer common questions like:
- What should you look for when buying peridot online?
- Is peridot good for an engagement ring?
- How do you know you’re getting a good deal?
- What are the red flags to watch out for when buying?
If you need the list quick, here are my top picks for finding quality black diamonds from reputable online dealers. Keep reading for more information about each of these shops.
Top 4 Best Places to Buy Peridot Jewelry Online
What Is Peridot?
Also referred to as the "Evening Emerald," the Peridot is one of the lesser known gemstones in the jewelry industry. Truthfully, not too many people go into jewelry stores looking for it, unless its for a birthday present.
Peridot is the birthstone for those born in August. The stone is said to represent good health and to promote peace within relationships.
But on the scientific side, peridot is part of a group of olivine minerals. It is the faceted gemstone version of olivine minerals. Olivine is not one singular mineral, but a group of minerals. Other members of the group include fayalite, forsterite, and tephroite.
Peridot is a underrated gemstone because of its commonality and other quality factors. It can look gorgeous in fine jewelry or mixed with other colored gemstones. But is this August birthstone the right stone for you? Let's find out!
1. James Allen
Even though there aren't many high end peridot jewelry on the market, our good friends over at James Allen has a couple handfuls of options. If you're looking for a higher quality birthstone ring for a gift idea for an August birthday, this cushion cut peridot diamond ring below is an excellent option to purchase:
Not only is this a fine piece of peridot jewelry, but James Allen offers a matching pendant necklace too. The diamond accents also give these jewelry pieces even more allure. Give them both as a jewelry set, or on separate occasions, like a birthday and an anniversary gift.
The downside of the small peridot collection is that it doesn't leave options for the person who doesn't like yellow gemstone jewelry. However, from a jeweler's perspective, yellow gold would be considered as enhancing the yellowish green color.
If you buy peridot jewelry with James Allen, they give you a free lifetime warranty with it. This warranty covers any routine maintenance your jewelry might need. For fashion, engagement, and wedding rings, a warranty like this is essential for the wearer. It includes rhodium plating white gold, polishing, tightening of stones, and retipping prongs.
2. Blue Nile
Blue Nile is another great choice for peridot jewelry online. While they have a larger collection of peridot jewelry than James Allen, you'll find that it's in multi-gemstone jewelry. They also have quite a few pairs of of peridot stud earrings paired with white topaz or diamonds. These sunburst peridot earrings are a very popular setting for birthstone jewelry.
I do like the variety of choices you have to choose from at Blue Nile. You can purchase peridot jewelry in white gold, yellow gold, and sterling silver. It makes for matching with any outfit and really standing out.
Blue Nile has a warranty but it's a manufacturer's warranty, meaning that if the piece has design flaws, they'll cover it. But for wear and tear, they don't cover anything like that. If your peridot jewelry is set in white gold, you'll need it rhodium plated from time to time, so factor the cost of upkeep in when purchasing jewelry from Blue Nile.
Why James Allen is better: Most of Blue Nile's peridot collection is fashion jewelry, rather than high-end jewelry. There are very few options that would be considered bridal or high end. James Allen has more options for higher end pieces.
3. Kay Jewelers
Kay Jewelers is another online website that you can find peridot jewelry. You can find some by going in-store, but the full selection at Kay's will be online. Kay boasts around 60 different peridot pieces to include peridot earrings, pendants, and peridot rings. Check out this gorgeous LeVain multi-stone ring including their 14 karat rose gold "green apple" peridot, "mint" quartz, and tsavorite ring below:
Unfortunately, this is about as high end as you can get online at Kays with peridot jewelry. While LeVian's unique designs are beautiful, they do command high prices just for their name. These three gemstones are normally inexpensive, but you're still paying over $2,000 for them and their small sizes.
If you want an option for a loose peridot center stones for setting, you should check in-store with the employees for their next Diamond show. They partner with a company called Dana Augustine and they'll bring it high quality loose diamonds and colored gemstones and a variety of high end settings. They happen a few times a year.
Read Also: Top Green Gemstone Types
Peridot jewelry isn't covered by Kay's free warranty, the Lifetime Diamond and Gemstone commitment. Unfortunately, if you lose a peridot stone, you'll have to pay for the replacement. But their Extended Service Plan will cover any metalwork, such as resetting stone, resetting, and tightening prongs. This is based on a sliding scale and doesn't include LeVian pieces. LeVian will warranty their own jewelry through Kay and it takes about a month to receive if work is being done.
Why James Allen is better: James Allen sells high quality jewelry that everyone can afford. Kay's highest quality peridot jewelry is name brand, which sells for the name, in addition to its quality.
4. Brilliant Earth
Brilliant Earth is a hot online jewelry retailer in the industry. While most of their efforts focus on providing traceable natural diamonds, they have a gorgeous assortment of loose colored stones. This includes our beloved peridot.
Currently as I write this, there aren't many peridot in stock at Brilliant Earth. In fact, there's only two right now. But that always changes. I've noticed that while BE keeps a steady stock in diamonds, their colored stones are quickly purchased and restocked. So if you don't see any you love right now, keep checking because they're always adding.
Out of all the retailers on our list, Brilliant Earth is the only one that offers loose peridot stones to allow you to create your own peridot engagement ring or pendant.
These peridot stones are going to be of fine quality and natural, not like what you'd find in a Kay's Jewelry case. They're also going to be more expensive.
If you're chosen peridot is a standard shape, you'll be able to see how it looks in any of Brilliant Earth's unique and elegant engagement ring settings. You can easily scroll through until a design catches your eye. Most ring settings are offered in 18K yellow gold, 14K rose gold, 18K white gold, or platinum.
Brilliant Earth doesn't have its own lifetime warranty like James Allen, but offers a repair plan through their partner, Extend. The Extend Repair plan ranges in price and coverage, depending on what you're purchasing. You'll be given a quote, similar to how you would if you were apply for jewelry insurance online.
FAQs When Buying Peridot Diamond Jewelry Online
Is Peridot Good for an Engagement Ring?
Peridot is not the greatest idea for an engagement ring. While peridot can be set in virtually any jewelry setting, they aren't recommended for everyday wear.
Because it's considered a lower quality gemstones, gem cutters don't put a whole lot of weight into its appearance.
Many of them come out with poor cuts and polishes. A gemstone with a poor cut makes it more likely to be damaged if hit in the right spot.
Peridot is also susceptible to damage because of what's known to gemstones as cleavage. Cleavage is when crystals inside a gemstone form a path. If struck, it could crack down that path. It's similar to a ripping out a perforated page out of a notebook.
The other thing to consider about peridot's durability is that it reaches a hardness of 6.5-7 on the Moh mineral scale of hardness. But that doesn't mean you can't wear a peridot ring or peridot earrings from time to time.
It is not resistant to blows or scratches, so it should be handled with care. If you are wearing a peridot ring, it should be in a protective setting, like a bezel setting. Avoid tension settings because they put too much stress on the stone and can cause it to split.
Is Peridot Expensive or Cheap?
Peridot jewelry is very affordable, especially if under 1 carat. Peridots are not made in a lab, so there are no synthetic versions of it. All peridot that you see in jewelry should be natural and mined. They don't receive any kind of enhancement or treatment for their color either.
Your everyday average peridot stone should cost between $5 to $25 per carat if it's between .5 and 1 carat. For peridot 1-3 carats, you're looking at around $25-$100 per carat. Larger carat weights over 3 carats of peridot increase in price, looking at about $55-$500 per carat.
What Should You Look for When Buying Peridot Online?
You've probably heard of the 4Cs by now, a diamond grading system put forth by the Gemological Institute of America. With gemstones, they follow the same basic guidelines, but without the actual grades.
Cut
With diamonds, the cut is the most important of the 4Cs. But with colored gemstones, the cut doesn't affect the value as much. I mentioned that most peridot gemstones are poorly cut, which leaves them even more susceptible to damage than their composition already allows.
For many inexpensive colored gemstones, the traditional peridot cuts should be custom cut. Custom cuts are better at minimizing all types of inclusions and optimizing the stone for its beauty. One of these custom cuts is called a checkerboard cut. It helps hide visible inclusions in a peridot gem.
Peridot can be cut into any gemstone shape, but keep in mind of its vulnerability. Shapes with pointed edges like a marquise or pear chip easier if unprotected This is also why a solitaire engagement ring with a peridot would be a bad idea.
Read Also: Should you get a solitaire engagement ring?
There are some rarity in peridot that may fetch a higher price. In cabochon form, peridot may have a chatoyancy, or cat's eye effect. Asterisk star peridots are also rare, but has happened. This effect is only in Burmese (now known as Myanmar) peridot stones.
Color
In the GIA system, colored gemstones are most valued and graded by their color and their color tone, hue, and saturation. The tone of a peridot is measured based on how light or dark the stone is. For peridot, top quality stones have a medium tone.
The hues in a gemstone tells you the shade of the gemstone as well as any secondary colors in the stone. For peridot, it ranges from brown green on the low end to yellow green on the higher end.
Yellow green peridot commands the highest price. However, many people prefer the more emerald-like green hues.
Some hues of peridot produce a lime green color that some desire. You should see the official hue of a peridot on a Colored Gemstone and Origin Report from the GIA.
Saturation is how intense the color is in stone. For less expensive and moderately priced gemstones, color doesn't have as big as an effect on value like it does on sapphires, rubies, or emeralds. Most peridots have strong saturation.
Clarity
The clarity of a gemstone refers to how transparent the stone is when the light is reflected through it. If you have a peridot with a lighter tone and dark inclusions, the value of it will decrease. However, it's very easy to find peridot that is eye-clean.
When a gemstone is eye-clean, there shouldn't be any visible inclusions to the naked eye. If your peridot has too many inclusions, it will look clouded.
On a side note, peridot rough can have lilypad inclusions, which can make them difficult to cut. They serve as a plane for cleavage in the stone. If you're wanting to cut peridot rough, you'll want to make sure it is good quality for cutting.
Carat
We talked a little about the price per carat of peridot. The highest quality peridot catch fetch up to $500 per carat. In comparison to other gemstones, this may not seem to be very much. But considering nice quality starts out at $5 per carat, you have to admit it's a pretty large increase. Imagine if you had a 6 carat top quality peridot. That'd be $6,000. Now that's up there with semi precious stone prices.
But where do these top quality peridot come from? The best quality peridot in larger carat weights come from Myanmar, which used to be what we called Burma. In recent times, we've discovered high quality peridot in the Himalayas of Pakistan. However, since discovered, most peridot has come from Egypt. In fact, while there aren't any notable peridot stones out there, researchers now believe that Cleopatra herself wore peridot, not emeralds.
Read Also: Where to buy emeralds online?
What are the Red Flags When Buying Peridot Online?
When it comes to colored gemstones in the online market, the biggest red flags you'll come across are simulants. Simulants are other materials posed to be another gemstone it isn't. For instance, you could see a blue sapphire simulated ring and think it is real sapphire.
If the description says "simulated", it is not genuine. Cubic zirconia (CZ) can be in a rainbow of colors, which makes it the perfect gem simulation. Peridot simulants are most often made of glass, but can be topaz, sapphire, spinel, or tourmaline because they come in a rainbow of colors too.
Because genuine peridot is so inexpensive, you won't often see it imitated or simulated. Probably one the main places you'll find ingenuine peridot would be among children's birthstone jewelry.
If you're buying peridot of smaller carat weights, you're probably not in danger of being duped by any simulants. But, if you're looking for the higher priced carat weights, you'll want to make sure what you're buying is genuine peridot.
The other two red flags to look out for in colored gemstones is usually synthetics posing as genuine and treated gemstones selling for untreated prices. Thankfully, peridot has not been able to be replicated in a lab to be synthetic or lab-created. It is also rare for peridot to receive any kind of treatments.
There have been some instances where peridot has a metal foil put over it in an effort to give it better stability. These treatments usually fall under coatings. However, this is also not a common occurrence.
Overall, there's not a ton of red flags with buying peridot because of how inexpensive it is. But once you're looking for larger carat weights, you'll definitely want to keep your eyes peeled for discrepancies.
How to Get the Best Deal When Buying Peridot Jewelry Online?
I'm going to leave you with a couple lasting tips and reminders to think about when buying peridot online.
Think Practical
Remember that peridot can be severely damaged if hit. It is more susceptible than sapphires or diamonds. Don't purchase peridot jewelry that leaves the stone exposed, like a solitaire. This is especially true with rings.
Peridot tennis bracelets should also be in a protective setting like a bezel set. The bezel setting puts a rim of metal around the peridot edges, shielding them from damage. They also sit almost flush to the metal, which decreases the chance of sticking out and scratching.
If you're worried about peridot earrings, you shouldn't be. Just make sure you're cleaning and storing them well. The same goes for peridot necklaces as well. Peridot bracelets and rings are more likely to damage just due to how often we hit our hands on things throughout the day.
Maximize Your Peridot's Potential
Sounds like an infomercial, doesn't it? Don't worry, it's not. Peridot may not be hugely popular on its own to everyone, but it looks very striking when placed with other colored gemstones.
My favorite combination I've seen peridot with is amethyst and blue topaz. When I used to work at Kay Jeweler's, this butterfly sterling silver peridot pendant always caught my eye:
I just love the contrast of all these gemstones together. Other notable combinations for peridot would be with citrine or tanzanite. A combination of brightly colored gemstones like these would add a splash of excitement in your jewelry collection.
Read also: Where to Buy Loose Gemstones Online