While most months only have August birthstone, those born in August actually have three birthstones to choose from! These August birthstones are the peridot, sardonyx, and spinel! From its background to its stone variety, each stone has its own interesting story to tell. So, if you want to learn more, here is everything you should know about august’s birthstones: the peridot, sardonyx, and spinel!
- Stone Facts
- Stone Variety
- Stone Durability
- Stone Care
1 STONE FACTS
The peridot, sardonyx, and spinel all have interesting backgrounds that everyone should learn more about. Having said that, here are some fascinating facts about the gemstones that you may not know about!
While most gemstones come from the earth’s crust, the peridot was actually formed in the Earth’s mantle.
The name sardonyx comes from two Greek words ‘sard’ and ‘onyx’, which means ‘reddish-brown’ and ‘veined gram’.
Despite how rare the spinel is, this stone is actually very affordable.
The peridot apparently can be found in space, as this stone was seen at a meteorite crash site.
The spinel comes in multiple different colors, however its most popular colors are pink, red, and orange.
2 STONE VARIETY
The peridot can be found in different shades and cuts. However, its most popular varieties are chrysolite and olivine. The chrysolite has a light yellow-green shade, while the olivine has more of a brownish-green color.
The sardonyx, on the other hand, is already a multicolored variety of banded onyx, a form of chalcedony quartz. Usually, onyx bands are black, but sardonyx gemstones showcase a reddish-brown hue.
The spinel comes in plenty of different varieties. There are the lab-created spinels, flame fusion lab-created spinel, black spinel, gahnospinel, gahnite, cobalt spinel, and optical phenomena.
3 STONE DURABILITY
As for durability, each stone is different. For the peridot, it has been rated a 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. This means durable enough to wear as jewelry, but it shouldn’t be worn daily. This stone is vulnerable to scratches and abrasions. So, as long as you are very careful with this stone, you should have no problems.
As for the sardonyx, it was also rated a 6.5. Similar to the peridot, it is very vulnerable to scratches and abrasions. If you want to wear this stone as jewelry, you should avoid wearing it on busy days. Furthermore, you should just be careful when handling this stone.
Unlike the sardonyx and peridot, the spinel is very durable and was rated an 8 on the Mohs hardness scale. This shows us that the spinel is a very strong stone that survives most abrasions unharmed. It also means that the spinel can be worn often, if not daily.
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4 STONE CARE
All of these gemstones can be cleaned the same way. All you need is mild soap (ideally unscented), water, and a lint-free cloth. Then you cleanse your stone with soap and water. Once you are satisfied, clean the stone off with your cloth. To keep your stone in good condition, you should clean it at least once a week.