A full-color guide to identifying, evaluating and caring for rare and unusual gems, including information on their identification properties, history, geographic sources, treatments, imitations, durability, uses, and pricing.
Rare Gemstones provides concise, interesting and practical details on uncommon gems that are now being used by designers to create distinctive jewelry. It not only lists the identification properties of the gems, but tells you where they are found, how they are used, why they are unique, how they are priced, and how to care for them. High quality photos show the different colors, cutting styles and varieties of each gem and give you ideas on how it can be used creatively in jewelry. Written in a succinct, user-friendly style, Rare Gemstones is a companion book to Newman's Gemstone Buying Guide and an ideal reference for jewelers, sales associates, appraisers, gem collectors, gemology students, gem dealers and consumers.
The following gems are discussed and illustrated: amblygonite, andalusite, apatite, aragonite, axinite, azurite, benitoite, bixbite, brazilianite, bronzite, calcite, cobaltocalcite, charoite, chrysocolla, cuprite, danburite, diaspore, diopside, dumortierite, enstatite, epidote, fluorite, gaspéite, haüyne, hematite, hemimorphite, howlite, idocrase, jeremejevite, kornerupine, kyanite, larimar, lepidolite, magnesite, marcasite, maw-sit-sit, moldavite, obsidian, pectolite, phenakite, phosphosiderite, prehnite, psilomelane, pyrite, red beryl, rhodochrosite, rhodonite, scapolite, scheelite, seraphinite, serpentine, sodalite, sillimanite, smithsonite, sphalerite, sphene, sugilite, taaffeite, titanite, tugtupite, unakite, variscite, vesuvianite, zultanite.
Some of the distinguishing features of Rare Gemstones are that it:
• Focuses on rare and unusual gems. As a result, the book provides more up-to-date information and photos of these stones than you will find in other general gemstone guides
• Provides retail price ranges for the gems.
• Has 482 photos, many of which show the gems mounted in jewelry, rather than only loose.
• Includes more information on quality evaluation than most other general gemstone guides