gems, olivine, peridot, chrysolite, Sri Lanka

Dark green olivine crystals were extracted from the hot calcite-metamorphosed dolomite rock about 1 km northwest of the village of Kolonne, Sri Lanka. Small, transparent, faceted, yellow-brown to greenish-yellow gem tones are cut from these crystals for the rare gem collector market. Microprobe analysis reveals a sample containing Fe₂O₃ (21.69 wt%), which indicates a chryslite olivine member of the olivine group. The gemmological properties resemble those of sinhalite.