Gems and Gemstones
Timeless Natural Beauty of the Mineral World
Gems and Gemstones
Timeless Natural Beauty of the Mineral World
Gems are objects of wealth, icons of beauty, and emblems of the very best of everything. They are kept as signs of prestige or power. Given as tokens of love and affection, they also come in a kaleidoscopic array of hues and can be either mineral or organic. Gems can command a person’s gaze in the way they play with light and express rich color. And they can evoke feelings of passion, greed, mystery, and warmth.
For millennia, gems have played an important role in human culture: they have significant value, both financially and within folklore and mythology. But just what are gems, exactly? This lavishly illustrated volume—the most ambitious publication of its kind—provides a general introduction to gems and natural gemstones, conveying their timeless beauty and exploring similarities among different species and varieties. Gems and Gemstones features nearly 300 color images of the cut gems, precious and semiprecious stones, gem-quality mineral specimens, and fine jewelry to be unveiled in a new Grainger Hall of Gems at The Field Museum in Chicago this October. The book and exhibition’s overarching theme will be the relationship between finished gems and their natural origin: while beautiful as faceted and polished pieces of jewelry, gems are often just as lovely—or even more so—as gemstones in their natural state. For example, an aquamarine or emerald as originally found in a mine with its natural crystal faces can be as stunning as any cut and polished gem prepared for a ring, bracelet, or charm.
Thoughtful of both ancient and modern times, Gems and Gemstones also includes fun-filled facts and anecdotes that broaden the historical portrait of each specimen. When Harry Winston, for instance, donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1958, he sent it through the U.S. mail wrapped in plain brown paper. And for anyone who has ever marveled at the innovations of top jewelry designers, Gems and Gemstones features a dazzling array of polished stones, gold objects, and creations from around the world. Diamonds, sapphires, rubies, amethysts, pearls, topaz, amber—every major gem gets its due in what will be an invaluable source on the subject for years to come.
Gems and Gemstones is the basis for the iPad app, available in the Apple iTunes App Store, Gems and Jewels.
See a birthstone cycle photo gallery from the book and sample pages.
352 pages | 290 color plates, 7 line drawings, 5 tables | 8 1/2 x 10 | © 2009
Art: Art--General Studies
Biological Sciences: Natural History
Earth Sciences: General Earth Sciences, Geology
Reviews
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Introduction to Gems
The Formation of Gems
The Classification of Inorganic Gems
Diamond (colorless, colored, black)
Corundum (ruby, sapphire)
Chrysoberyl (alexandrite, cymophane, cat’s-eye)
Spinel (red, blue, other)
Quartz (amethyst, citrine, and other)
Opal (black, white, fire)
Topaz (blue, imperial, other)
Beryl (emerald, bixbite, aquamarine, heliodor, morganite, pale green, and goshenite)
Cordierite
Phenakite
Tourmaline Group
Elbaite Tourmaline (verdelite, rubellite, indicolite, canary, achroite, bicolor, watermelon, cuprian)
Dravite Tourmaline
Schorl Tourmaline
Liddicoatite Tourmaline
Garnet Group
Almandine Garnet
Pyrope Garnet (including rhodolite)
Spessartine Garnet (including mandarin, malaia, umbalite)
Grossular Garnet (hessonite, tsavorite, rosolite, leuco)
Andradite Garnet (demantoid, topazolite, mali, melanite)
Uvarovite Garnet
Zircon (hyacinth, jargon, starlight, matara)
Pyroxene Group
Spodumene (kunzite, hiddenite, triphane)
Jadeite
Actinolite (nephrite and cat’s-eye)
Zoisite (tanzanite, thulite, anyolite)
Forsterite (peridot, chrysolite)
Feldspar Group
Orthoclase Feldspar (moonstone)
Albite Feldspar (moonstone)
Albite-Anorthite Feldspar (labradorite)
Benitoite
Turquoise
Inorganic Gems Not Described Here
Organically Derived Gems
Pearls
Noble Coral
Amber
Ivory
Precious Metals (Gold)
Synthetic Gems, Simulant Gems, and Augmentation
Mining
Ethics
Folklore, Mysticism, and Magic
Birthstones
History of The Field Museum’s Gem Halls
Exhibition Team for the Grainger Hall of Gems
Final Words and Acknowledgments
Glossary
References
Index of Gem, Gemstone, and Other Mineral Names
Subject IndexBe the first to know
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