No comments about Care and Conservation of Geological Material: Minerals, Rocks, Meteorites and Lunar Finds (Butterworth - Heinemann Series in Conservation and Museology).

No comments about A Field Guide to Australian Opals.

No comments about A Guide Book of Rocks and Minerals.

5 comments about Jade.

1. Jade, by Roger Keverne, is a complete review of all the jades, all the deposits, all the mines, the history, (and with jade this is a long one.) the lore, the geology. Jade features a collection of articles by contributors from around the world, most members of the FRIENDS OF JADE, and all experts in their fields. Whenever I need to seek an answer, a representative photo, in short, anything in jade, here it is, in one book. If you are interested in jade, to sort out the truth from the rumors, the real from the fake..... this is THE jade book.



2. Extremely great book on the subject of jade. Book even includes the very rare today "Wyoming Jade"...should be a book devoted to that subject.



3. From this heavy tome, you will learn how artists "let the jade speak to them" before carving wondrous works of art. The properties of jade are perfect for carving because its molecular structure is tightly bound. Jade can suffer great detail in carving without cracking or chipping.

   Jade is either nephrite or jadeite. Cheaper substitutes are bowenite and serpentine, so the buyer must beware.

   Keverne takes us on a jade "trip around the world" from the Pacific Rim to Mesoamerica. The latter finds are a great mystery, because no known source of jade in Central America is currently known to exist. The photographs in this book are tightly focused and glowing. Keverne continually displays his expertise in his subject. He includes an excellent index and bibliography. Like David Grimaldi's thorough book on amber (Amber: Window to the Past), this book is the authority on the subject of jade.




4. From this heavy tome, you will learn how artists "let the jade speak to them" before carving wondrous works of art. The properties of jade are perfect for carving because its molecular structure is tightly bound. Jade can suffer great detail in carving without cracking or chipping.

   Jade is either nephrite or jadeite. Cheaper substitutes are bowenite and serpentine, so the buyer must beware.

   Keverne takes us on a jade "trip around the world" from the Pacific Rim to Mesoamerica. The latter finds are a great mystery, because no known source of jade in Central America is currently known to exist. The photographs in this book are tightly focused and glowing. Keverne continually displays his expertise in his subject. He includes an excellent index and bibliography. Like David Grimaldi's thorough book on amber (Amber: Window to the Past), this book is the authority on the subject of jade.




5. I study Jade Culture of the Orient and I use this reference for the good bibliography, and illustrations. It is an attempt by the now defunct 'Friends of Jade Society' to compile a comprehensive reference on jade and ancient and historical jade cultures from all over the world. For most of the world it is reasonably accurate, but unfortunately the Chinese section concerning jade has more errors than a freshman essay. This is even more embarrasing since most of the book is devoted to Chinese jade culture. A more detailed list and discussion of these errors and problems is available upon request.

No comments about Turquoise: Mines, Mineral, & Wearable Art (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

4 comments about Standard Catalog of Gem Values.

1. At Last a book that makes sense of the wide disparity of gem prices. Each type of gem is broken down into as many as 20 price ranges. By size, by color, by clarity. Want to know WHY there can be thousands of dollars difference in stones of the same type & size? Buy this book! This book is a reference book. Lot's of information & data, but few pictures. I found it more useful when used with "Gemstone Buying Guide", by Rene' Newmann. As a neophite, seeing the pictures in the Newmann book & referencing the valuation tables in this book really helped me evaluate what I was buying. If you buy from TV shows or over the internet, the more information you have, the better your chances are of not overpaying.



2. This book has a wealth of information presented in a concise manner. It contains cuts of gems , colours, sources ..etc, and does not limit itself to a particular gem. It even contains information about pearls, which I thought surprising. I only wish it was more updated, bcause I have had it for 2.5 years, and went to amazon to see if a third version was issued.



3. buy gems but before you spend money know what you are paying for. Excellent guide lines as to all the current new 'designer' gemstones, being introduced to the market. However, add factor for the increase in gemstones prices. When is the new edition to be printed.??



4. This type of book needs to be updated every year....especially with the economy we are living in.

5 comments about National Gem Collection.

1. If you have visited the National Collection and want a souvenir to remind you of the stunning array of unique World Class Gems then this is the book for you. Both the format of the book and the superlative quality of the photography make this book the next best thing to being in the exhibition hall. There is a fairly light weight coverage of the gemmology in the text, but it mostly focusses on the history and ownership of these fabulous gems. The National Collection is unique, no where else in the world is there such a concentration of fabulous jewels with such an interesting history, with the possible exception of the British Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. This book is a fitting celebration of such a marvellous collection.



2. This is a beautiful book with lots of interesting information on the gem collection.



3. "The National Gem Collection," by Jeffrey E. Post, features photographs by Chip Clark. The book is a beautiful celebration of the title collection, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution. The informative text discusses the history of the collection, facts about types of different gemstones, and specific pieces in the collection.

   The full-color photography is really stunning, and brings a rich assortment of gems to glorious life. Some of the historic pieces pictured are the blue Hope Diamond, the diamond Napoleon Necklace, the Hooker Emerald, and more. Also shown are a colorful collection of "fancy" diamonds, a rare red diamond, the 858-carat uncut Gachala Emerald, the delightful "pink tutu" (a band of dainty rose quartz crystals on a large smoky quartz crystal), a dazzling group of fire opals, a lapis lazuli carving from Afghanistan, and more.

   I appreciate how the book celebrates gemstones at various stages: uncut, cut, and set in artfully crafted pieces of jewelry. Many different types of gemstones--aquamarine, garnet, spinel, chrysoberyl, turquoise, etc.--are covered. Features such as a scanning electron microscope photo of the inner structure of an opal give the reader a deeper understanding of the science behind gems. From start to finish, this book is a marvelous feast for both the eyes and the brain.




4. This review is for the paperback version of the book, which I loved. It has a lovely balance of terrific photos & explanations of the various sources of the featured gems. It serves as a nice beginning reference when you have heard the terms sapphire & red sapphire (huh? I thought red gems were rubys or spinels) and would like to know more about which gems are related to others.
   
   And did I say the photos are just wonderful? Enjoy!



5. Excellent information on the history of gemstones, understanding color and cuts. Exquisite examples, beautifully photographed. A must for anyone interested in gemstones or the history of jewelry.

2 comments about Amber.

1. Some of you may be aware of the current amber exhibition at the Natural History Museum in New York. At the same time as the launch of this exhibition David Grimaldi; chairman, associate curator and organiser of this display has authored and published a new book on amber to compliment the show. New books on amber, particularly in English are so rare that I have taken the liberty of reviewing the work here for those who are interested. My credentials are thin for this task. I collect amber and have an extensive collection of pieces with flora and fauna inclusions. I read and collect articles, books and any work on amber I can get my hands on. I have had work published myself in my other existence as a management consultant. So I have some idea of the demands made on writers and authors. However, with your forgiveness I submit this review for your interest; `tis a meagre a thing, but mine own1. The book, `Amber - Window to the Past1 is immediately impressive both by its size and rich colour jacket. The cover shot at first sight might be some kind of artistic abstract picture, but is actually a photograph of several insects trapped in a piece Dominican Republic amber, a great attention grabber. The book was printed and bound in Japan and this countries predilection for quality and precision is clearly present in this work. There are 230 illustrations, which include 115 colour plates. Amongst these are some old line drawings and pictures which have been published in other works. These seek to illustrate certain inclusions and methods of amber collection. They help contextualise and place amber in an historical setting and their presence is understandable. The majority of pictures are however entirely new, 95+%. The photography is exemplary. Photographing amber myself I recognise the difficulties and problems one encounters, but here only the best and most lavish illustrations have been used. The pages simply ooze class. The book is principle divided into two sections: Amber in Nature and Amber in Art. The nature section begins by illustrating the origins of amber, how it came into existence, the types of trees which created it and is replete with interesting quotes and diagrams. Having already mentioned the graphical content of this work I will emphasise that nearly every page of text is supported with pictures and drawings which are comprehensible and useful. They helps immensely with understanding some of the processes and concepts dealt with in the work. There are the merest handful of areas where both facing pages are full of text with no graphical content. That in 208 pages is quite a feat. The following chapter covers geographical distribution of amber deposits. A minor exception here is the Isle of Wight amber deposit just off the South coast of the United Kingdom. This is a rich if very small source of some of the most ancient amber in the world and yet other than a few papers published by Dr Edward A. Jarzembowski has received scant to little attention by the academic press. The emphasis in this section is given to the major source deposits of amber, namely the Dominican Republic and the Baltic Coast though other areas are covered such as Mexico, Burmese, Japanese and the Middle East. A marvellous picture on page 58 shows quite literally gigantic `dunes1 of crude amber being bagged after being extracted from the now defunct Bitterfield mine in Germany. This illustrates better than any list of figures the vast quantities of amber which must have flowed out of this general Baltic region. I have seen a very similar photograph taken of the same scene in the 1995 book `Stenen som flyter och brinner` authored by Ake Dahlstrom and Leif Brost of the Swedish Amber Museum. This is a book written in Swedish, so it has limited distribution. I am glad that Grimaldi has included this picture here, for those people for whom amber has a special attraction or interest, it is simple awesome, and I use this word carefully. There then follows a rich selection of photographs illustrating the different types of inclusions which can be found within amber. Only the best and rarest are presented here and might give the casual reader the impression that this type of inclusion is present in nearly every other piece of amber ever found. Nothing could be further from the truth. These pieces are only the Creme de la Creme of the amber world. It is only when flicking through these pictures, time and time again and reading where they have come from that one realises the gargantuan task Grimaldi undertook in gathering together so many of these items not only for photography but also for display in the NHM exhibition. As well as the normal photographs in this section there is also a range of electromicrographs. These illustrate the micro preservative qualities of amber rather than the macro aspects which the normal pictures do so well. This leads logically into a section on DNA and its presence within such well preserved inclusions. This latter issue seems to have become a hot topic amongst many journalists, no doubt inspired by Crichton1s Jurassic Park and all the accompanying publicity. What frankly is more interesting I believe are the deductions and insights which can be drawn from the range of inclusions in amber about the ancient forests, their ecological workings, the animals present and the environmental conditions which existed. This too is also addressed in the book with a section on the ancient communities of the amber forests and woodlands. A final chapter in this section addresses amber forgeries and is especially interesting showing the lengths to which some people have gone in creating fake or counterfeit amber pieces with large or rare inclusions. This chapter draws on an earlier article written by Grimaldi et al in the NHM Journal which specifically addresses amber forgeries. This earlier work shows in even greater detail the deviousness of some amber forgers. However, the best photographs have been transferred to the book, with the exception of a Tarantula allegedly found in Dominican amber but which the author was unable to tests for its authenticity. The lack of confirmation one way or the other no doubt accounts for its omission from this volume. The second half of the book looks at Amber in Art. The initial part of this section begins by looking at the uses of amber through the ages starting at the Mesolithic Period. This whole section has a predominantly European slant. Here again are some unique illustrations and diagrams. The famous Hove cup from the Booth Museum in Brighton, United Kingdom is shown. It differs from many I have seen in the way the lighting has been set up to illustrate its translucence and the fine craftsmanship needed to have produced this piece. The text goes into some depth on the histories of amber and gives a broad though not heavily detailed account of its prominence in antiquity. It makes for good light reading without becoming bogged down in too many dates or claustrophobic details. The segment on Medieval and Renaissance amber shows some examples of woodcut prints detailing how amber was obtained in the Baltic but only one 17 century piece of jewellery is actually illustrated. The years leading to the beginning of this century are well structured. Ample information provides a rich description of the uses and the levels to which amber in art aspired during these years. Nothing is present on the contemporary use of amber in art and jewellery and would have been interesting. As DNA in amber has become a focus for many people so too has the `amber room1, an 18 century concoction of the Prussian and later Russian nobility. In essence this was a room completely covered in amber which mysteriously went missing during the second world war. Russian craftsmen are now in the slow and laborious process of re-creating this masterpiece from old photographs and diagrams. Some of the first pictures I have ever seen of their efforts appear in this book and show the amazing level of opulence they have achieved to date.



2. The book has a wonderfully readable text to compliment the beautiful color plates, and David's illustrations of inclusions and the rainforest are impeccable. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand and learn about amber from this work, however, I must say, David, you are a talented genius and I read every word. All my friends are fascinated by the book and the author.

No comments about Discoveries: Diamonds and Precious Stones (Discoveries (Abrams)).

No comments about Rock Hunters Guide: How to Find and Identify Collectible Rocks.