Agates: Treasures of the Earth

For anyone eager to learn more about agates, especially collectors looking to "type" slab pieces and chunks they own, this book is great. You'll review this book again and again.

Agates are wonderful semi-precious stones that have been used in jewellery since the earliest civilisations. They are found in the classic banded stones and by other names such as chalcedony, blood stone and jasper. Science has a lot of theories on how agate is formed, but they still don't truly understand why the stone has such variety and colours and crystals. If you collect or admire agate this is an excellent book. The first section deals with the scientific aspects on the theories of the stone is formed. It then moves onto the locations throughout the world that agate is found, along with colour photo examples of the various types of agates found at the location. The last section of the book deals with the lapidary of the stone and the uses of agate throughout the ages. For anybody wanting to know more about agate, or get a better appreciation of the stone this book is hard to pass up. It's a lovely small hardback and is illustrated in colour throughout which lets you admire the sheer variety in these stones. The colour range in them alone is breathtaking and makes this a lovely book to browse through for the photos alone.

This book offers detailed information on agates. what they are, how they are formed and where they are found. What I found most intriguing were the terrific photographs of agates throughout the entire book. I use agates in my jewelry design but was not completely aware of the multitudes of colors and gems that fall under the umbrella name 'Agate' Very well worth the dollars spent for this book.

Agate has been found on every continent, but there are few illustrative references on the market devoted to agates alone. AGATES: TREASURES OF THE EARTH will interest both high school and public library holdings seeking books on geology and gemstones, providing a reference to their formation, geology, and identification alike. Color photos throughout pack a history that is a top pick for any gemstone collector and for libraries catering to them. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

The combination of Roger Pabian with Brian Jackson, Peter Tandy & John Cromartie present a well written book on some of the most beautiful, popular with collectors and sometimes scarce agates of the world. The first forty pages alone give the novice collector, lapidary, rock-hound, or just someone who has picked up a pretty banded rock on vacation an idea of how agates were formed, the why of the different patterns, and the names and terms needed to intelligently discuss agates. The pictures are out standing and many. The descriptions informative and to the point. The references in the back of the book present a good jumping off place to pursue further knowledge of specific types of agates. In my opinion this book was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative read, even though some of the newer types of agates were not presented.