Peridot, The Past, Present & Future exhibition launches at the Shenzhen Jewellery Museum

By Joshua Hendren

Peridot, one of the most beautiful and mysterious gemstones, is the subject of a glittering new exhibition at China’s Shenzhen Jewellery Museum.

One of the few gemstones to form in only one colour, peridot is a unique visual marvel thanks to its radiant green hue that varies from pale yellow-green to a deep olive.

Long associated with the sun, peridot has been prized since the earliest civilisations for its protective powers to drive away negativity and evil spirits. In the Middle Ages, Europeans festooned their church plates and robes with fine peridot stones, while the Romans dubbed it “evening’s emerald” because, unlike the deep-green emerald, peridot’s acid tones glow like a firefly even by candlelight.

Running from 9th August to 9th October, the new exhibition has been launched in collaboration with Fuli Gemstones – a new mining company which owns the largest known peridot deposit located in Dunhua, Jilin, China. Promising a dazzling reintroduction to peridot as a staple of the gemstone world, the exhibition takes viewers on a journey, from the mining process through ancient cultures to contemporary high jewellery designs showcasing the overlooked stone in all its verdant glory.

Highlights of the exhibition collection include the stunning Magnipheasant collar, designed by celebrated British jewellery designer, Stephen Webster. “The peridot Magnipheasant collar was designed to be a celebration of colour and gem cutting. The combination of the vibrant Fuli Gemstone peridots contrasted against black and colourless diamonds and the marquise cuts, makes the collar dynamic and attention seeking,” says Webster. “The wearer will feel the same.”

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