Peridot

I'm not really a big birthstone person. Mine is ruby which is terribly expensive, and I think the color is either too girly (pink) or too garish (bight red). Not that I wouldn't mind having a large beautiful ruby ring that is just the right color, but I'm not expecting that to come around any time soon.

Both Levi and my mom have August birthdays, and thus share the birthstone peridot. My mother hated her birthstone, so as a result so did I. She never wore it, and disparaged the stone as an "ugly green" whenever it was brought up. I typically agreed- I usually saw it in bight brassy gold settings that off-set the light limey green in a sort of citrus way or in a silver setting that seemed the cheapen the whole look somehow. 

So when Levi was born in August I didn't even think of the stone. He's a boy anyways and I didn't like the stone. Today though there was a post on Design*Sponge on peridot and it made me think of the stone in a new light. Here's a snippet:

"Peridot is one of the only gemstones that comes in only one color: olive green. Depending on the iron count in the gem, though, gems can appear pale yellow/green all the way to a rich deep olive color (the most prized version). While the origin of the name “Peridot” is unclear (some people think it comes from the Arabic word "faridat", which means “gem”), it’s clear that this particular gemstone has been around – and popular – for a long time. Peridots were mentioned in the Bible (as “Pitdah” in Hebrew) and are believed to have been first discovered in Egypt, though they’re now sourced worldwide. Fun facts? So far, peridot is the only gemstone found in meteorites..."

My grandmother had a beautiful ring that has her and her husband's, and her children's birthstones. I do love it and can imagine having something for me to wear with Levi's stone. Maybe it's worth giving it another try.
                                                                                             *image from Design*Sponge, designed by Max Tielman