peridot, Zebergad, St. John’s Island, Egypt, gems

Gübelin describes Zabargad (Seberged, St. John’s Island) in the Red Sea, the celebrated ancient source of gem-quality peridot. He discusses the island’s geography and history, including the exploitation of its olivine deposits since antiquity and the long-standing confusion between peridot and emerald in early accounts, together with the geology and mineralogy of the deposit, the occurrence and recovery of peridot crystals, and the gemological characteristics of the material. The article provides both a historical and mineralogical account of one of the world’s classic gemstone localities and the source of many important historic peridots.