On the breast plates of high priests, as the spoils of war, atop the heads of royalty, and even circling the nipped-and-tucked neck of Joan Rivers, the birthstone for August has quite a storied past. You might call her the “wild child” of semiprecious gemstones. She even has a stage name, “the evening emerald.” As the light dims at dusk, peridot actually appears to glow. (more…)