Antique Peridot Jewellery
Antique peridot jewellery brings a distinct lime-green vibrance to Edwardian and Victorian designs, prized for its lively light.
Antique Peridot Jewellery
Antique peridot jewellery spans rings, brooches, pendants, necklaces, drop earrings, and bracelets originating from the Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Nouveau periods. These pieces frequently pair the olive-green stones with seed pearls and diamonds set in gold or silver.
The most common examples on this page are Edwardian lavalier pendants and cluster rings, often combining 15ct or 9ct yellow gold with delicate garland motifs. Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts examples also appear, showcasing characteristic naturalistic linework and plique-a-jour enamel.
Earlier Victorian interpretations tend toward heavier gold brooches and multi-stone rings, sometimes incorporating amethyst or tourmaline alongside the central peridot. Later mid-century iterations introduce cluster stud earrings in lower-carat gold settings.
Materials and construction
Makers set peridots primarily in 15ct and 9ct yellow gold, occasionally utilising silver-topped gold or platinum for specific gemstone mountings. Seed pearls feature extensively as delicate borders and accents, strung on fine wire or glued in closed-back collet settings.
Craftsmen employed open-backed settings to allow light to pass through the peridot, enhancing its natural brilliance. Techniques such as plique-a-jour enamel and intricate filigree wirework define the Art Nouveau and Edwardian pieces recorded here.
Antique Peridot Jewellery Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for peridot jewellery among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Listings feature 15ct gold most frequently among high-grade Edwardian pendants and necklaces.
Distinctions in quality
Quality rests on the depth and saturation of the peridot's green hue, alongside the precision of the stone's step or brilliant cut. Superior examples display minimal inclusions to the naked eye and maintain strong brilliance under artificial light.
The integrity of the original metalwork and the completeness of the seed pearl borders dictate upper-tier examples. Finer pieces retain maker signatures or original fitted presentation cases, whereas lower tiers show replacement stones or re-tipped settings.
Murrle Bennett·G. Colani
The Antique Peridot Jewellery Glossary
- Lavalier pendant
- A drop necklace featuring a central gemstone suspended from a finer chain, popular during the Edwardian era. These typically incorporate swinging peridot drops and seed pearl garlands.
- Seed pearl
- A very small, natural or saltwater pearl, often undrilled or half-drilled, used to create dense borders around peridots in Victorian and Edwardian cluster designs.
- Plique-a-jour
- An enamelling technique where enamel is applied to open cells without a backing, resembling miniature stained glass. It appears in botanical Art Nouveau peridot pendants.
- Collet setting
- A band of metal that encircles the gemstone to hold it in place, common in early ring and pendant mountings. This technique secures the stone without obscuring its pavilion.
- Suffragette jewellery
- Pieces incorporating green, white, and violet stones, representing give women freedom. Peridots provide the green element alongside amethysts and pearls or white sapphires.
Antique Peridot Jewellery: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I care for antique peridot jewellery?
Peridot is a softer gemstone, rating around six and a half to seven on the Mohs scale, meaning it requires gentle cleaning. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners and harsh chemical dips, using warm soapy water and a soft cloth instead.
Store these pieces individually in padded boxes to prevent the stones from scratching against harder diamonds or metals in your collection.
Are these pieces suitable for daily wear?
Pendants, necklaces, and brooches from this era experience minimal physical contact and suit regular wear. Rings and bracelets, however, face higher impact and require greater care to protect softer peridots and delicate seed pearls.
Removing rings before manual tasks or washing hands preserves the structural integrity of the fine gold claws and pearl settings.
How can I tell Edwardian from Victorian peridot pieces?
Victorian peridot pieces usually feature heavier gold weights, deeper settings, and robust brooch mechanisms or multi-stone cluster arrangements. The stones often display warmer, slightly brownish-green tones.
Edwardian items lean towards lighter, airier platinum and yellow gold frameworks, incorporating garland motifs, lavalier drops, and brighter yellowish-green peridots paired with seed pearls.
What is a Suffragette peridot ring?
A Suffragette ring combines green peridot, white pearls or diamonds, and violet amethyst to represent the movement's colours. These pieces date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
They carry distinct historical significance, often utilising 18ct or 15ct gold mounts with stones arranged in alternating rows or cluster formations.