The colors of olivine are deep green and green (The best color is the one similar to emerald) and yellow green, the depth of colors has relationship with the content of Fe element. The higher the content of Fe is, the deeper the color will be. Because Fe is a kind of basic element of olivine, olivine is a kind of essential color mineral. Olivine has glass luster and it is transparent. The refractive index is 1.654 – 1.690, the birefringence is 0.036 and dispersion is 0.02.
The crystalline form of olivine often takes on short columnar or long columnar and is often seen as the grainy aggregate. The Mohs hardness is 7 and the relative density is 3.32 – 3.35. Olivine has fragility, occurs cracks easily, often contains gas and liquid inclusions.
The main origins of the world have the Zabargad in red sea, Mogok in Myanmar, Arizona in the United States, Hawaii and Brazil and so on. Among them the olivine originated in Zabargad is the best and the olivine crystalline which is 2 – 5 cm is common. The large crystalline can be over 10 centimeters.
In ancient times, people regarded the olivine as The Gemstone of Sun. People believe that the power olivine owns is as large as the sun, which can drive out the evils and surrender witchcraft. People often embed the olivine into the gold, being the amulet, thinking that wearing this kind of amulet can dispel the horror of night. In addition, people also regard the olivine as the birthstone of August, symbolizing Happy Couple, so some people also consider it as Happy Stone.