Handbooks: Gemstones: The Clearest Recognition Guide Available

Nice color photos of actual gems. Awesome book. Returning customer. 😇😇

I bought this book for the geology chapter of middle school science. I thought it will be a big atlas with lots of info and pics. It seems more suitable for someone going into a jewelry business.

I fear that I am a bit of a magpie. I like shiny sparkly things, and the usual response is Ooooh! Shiny! And as a young one, when taken on various trips, I started to take an interest in rockhounding and geology. It was finding gemstones that were the real fun, seeing these little bits of glittery rock that turned out to be sapphires or amethysts or garnets. Life would take me in different directions, but the interest in pretty, glittery rocks has remained. Smithsonian Handbooks: Gemstones is one of those lovely little books that is crammed full of information and pictures, along some folklore and bits of trivia that add to the mystique of gemstones. Compiled by Cally Hall, it's a very readable book, filled with more than 800 photographs, with a text that while it is slanted towards scientific terms, is very readable and accessable. The first section of the book is an extended introduction to what makes a gemstone different than say, a mineral, although they might be composed of the same chemicals. A brief history of how gemstones and precious metals (silver, gold and platinum) have been shaped, worn and coveted. One section that I found very intesting was the explaination of the Mohs scale used to determined hardness -- it ranges from 1 to 10, with talc at the bottom, and diamond at the top, and how a stone is determined to fit in along the scale. Another fascinating section is how light and crystallization help to determine gemstones, and what part they play in how a stone is shaped and graded. There is also a section on synthetic gemstones and how they have been created over the centuries, and how the colour of stones can be changed by irradiation, heating and staining the stones. Finally, the section closes with a colour key, ranging various stones by their hues, with plenty of vivid pictures and the name of each stone underneath along with the page that goes into more detail about it. The next section deals with the gemstones and precious metals in particular. Each item is classified into Precious Metals, Cut Stones, and Organics -- and each item is given a page or two that goes into further detail. Stones are given their chemical composition, rating on the Mohs scale, crystal structure, some folklore and history, what sort of cuts that the stones are usually shaped into, and lots of photographs. It here in the photographs that the book sells itself. They are unusually clear, and crisply printed, with each gemstone being shown in a variety of ways. There is jewelry, different colours that the stone can occur in, and a few shown in their 'matrix' or the surrounding stone and minerals that the gemstones are usually found in their natural state. One of the more intriguing sections is on what are known as Organic Gemstones -- stones that are created by natural, not chemical, occurances, such as pearls, jet, coral, ivory, shell and amber. The final sections include a table of properties, glossary, index, and some useful addresses to cont

This is the second of the two books I purchased on gems. It is impossible to find pictures and information this great. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn about gems.

Never tought there were so many crystals that can be cut into gemstones. Never saw so many beautiful pics of cut loose gemstones in one place. Well explained, from formation, physical and optical properties, imitation and enhancement. Especially appreciate the color key section, with gemstones grouped according to color in which it is always, usually and sometimes available. Probably the best books on properties and identification of gemstones. I am positively THRILLED to own it, and I am only a gemstone lover and admirer.

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS AND THIS BOOK HAS TERRIFIC PICTURES AND VERY CLEAR AND CONCISE DESCRIPTIONS. EVERYTHING THAT I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SUBJECT IS ANSWERED IN THIS BOOK. THERE'S A VISUAL GUIDE TO OVER 130 GEMSTONE VARIETIES AND A COLOR KEY FOR EVERY GEMSTONE. THERE ARE SO MANY INTERESTING BITS OF INFORMATION HERE THAT THE READER GETS A COURSE IN HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, SCIENCE AND FOLKLORE. FOR INSTANCE, THE CUSTOM OF WEARING BIRTHSTONE JEWELRY STARTED IN 18TH CENTURY POLAND; THE MASK OF TUTANKHAMEN WAS MADE OF LAPIS FROM AFGHANISTAN AND THE BEAUTIFUL PINK MORGANITE WAS NAMED AFTER J.P. MORGAN. THIS IS A SUPER REFERENCE BOOK!

I have been interested in amateur gemstones since 1962 and this is the best introductory book I've ever seen about the subject. It's full of outstanding pictures that illustrate just about everything most beginners might want to know. It starts with an excellent and concise section on general gem lore, gem properties, and gem handling. Then it has the best color key to gems that I've seen. This key makes it easy to find the information about a given gemstone without using the index. If one prefers, there is a good index too. After the Color Key, there are pages about specific stones with a description, where they are found and remarks. All standard gem properties are shown, with excellent pictures to illustrate the color, crystal shape, cleavage, uses, etc. All in all, this is the introduction to gemstones to judge others by. It's also useful for more advanced "rockhounds" as a reference and field guide. The binding is quite durable and should stand up to a lot of travel. I wish this book had been available 40 years ago.