Peridot and Diamond Stud Earrings in 14K

Born in the heat of molten lava, peridot’s history stretches beyond the earth to the solar system. Tiny crystals of peridot have been found in 4.5-billion-year-old meteorites and comet dust. August’s birthstone forms in volcanic areas like the island of Hawaii, where an entire beach has sand made of grains of peridot, which is said to be the tears of goddess Pele. Unlike most gems which are colored by trace elements, peridot’s color is intrinsically lime green and utterly distinctive, like a squeeze of fresh lime that adds a tangy freshness to your jewelry collection.

14K white gold is the most popular white precious jewelry metal. Its pale glow is the perfect setting for cool-toned gems. Since gold is naturally golden yellow in color, to make 14K white gold, 58.5% gold is alloyed with white metals, usually silver, zinc, palladium, or nickel. These metals also improve the hardness, durability, and affordability of white gold jewelry, since pure gold scratches fairly easily. To get that bright shine, most white gold jewelry is also plated with rhodium, a platinum group metal.