Author: David Federman
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1468464884
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Get Book Here
Book Description
Since early 1989, a gem dealer I've known for years has been calling me every few weeks to brief me on mounting mayhem in Colombia's lucrative emerald market. The troubling gist of these calls is always this: There is a full-fledged turf war going on between that South American country's bustling drug and gem trades for control of its emerald ex port business. According to this dealer and several others, anywhere from two to four thousand emerald industry people, mostly miners and deal ers, have been murdered since 1980. No doubt the gem sector, itself never gun shy, has retaliated in full and in kind. After all, the two groups have banded together in an intermittent alliance against a common enemy-Communist guerillas-with results the CIA would envy. I mention this bloodshed because of something the gem dealer once said to me: "I bet you never think of what a gem has to go through to get to a jewelry store:' He's right. I tend to think of colored stones as things of beauty, not objects of gruesome power struggles between mining kingpins and drug lords. Can you blame me, or anyone with insider knowledge, if a gem sheds any connection with its past once sculpted by a cutter into the glittering mar vel we see in a jeweler's showcase? Like Odysseus listening to the sirens' song, we become victims of an aesthetics-induced amnesia.
Author: Judith Crowe
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 191221718X
Category : Gem cutting
Languages : en
Pages : 177
Get Book Here
Book Description
"A complete reference for goldsmiths, collectors, and jewellery makers, this book is a comprehensive guide to identifying, buying, using and caring for a dazzling array of jewels and gems." "Discover the origins of gemstones and understand the process of selecting the raw material. Includes practical advice on how to assess the quality, rarity, grade, durability, and cut of precious and semi-precious stones." "Learn how gems are calibrated, using the industry standard measurements of carats and points, and how they can be treated to improve both colour and clarity. A glossary section clearly explains all of the key terminology used." "Illustrations and colour photographs help you to identify the gemstones available to jewellery makers, from amethysts and diamonds to tourmaline and quartz, and demonstrate how they can be used in different designs and settings."--Jacket
Author: Richard W. Wise
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780972822381
Category : Gems
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Get Book Here
Book Description
The definitive book for anyone wanting to learn how the best gemologists in the world evaluate precious gems, and what makes one stone merely a good stone versus a truly fabulous museum-quality gem. The author, Richard W. Wise, is one of the world's foremost gemologists.
Author: Kennie Lyman
Publisher: Touchstone
ISBN: 9780671604301
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 388
Get Book Here
Book Description
Simon & Schuster's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones provides both the connoisseur and the casual collector with a compact, easy-to-use volume describing more than 100 rare varieties of minerals whose beauty and mystery have possessed our imaginations from time immemorial. More than 450 brilliant photographs accompany profiles of each gem, covering such aspects as appearance, physical properties -- density, hardness, refraction -- occurrence, and how to judge quality and value. Additional sections describe the process of cutting gemstones and the techniques professional gemologists use to evaluate a stone's weight and optical properties. Detailed and comprehensive, this book is essential for anyone interested in the study of gems and precious stones.
Author:
Publisher: Gemstone Press
ISBN: 0943763711
Category : Jewelry
Languages : en
Pages : 330
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Renée Newman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780929975542
Category : Diamonds
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Get Book Here
Book Description
This updated and revised 8th Edition provides concise yet detailed information on diamond quality evaluation, lab-grown diamonds, fakes, gem treatments, cutting styles, gold, platinum, palladium, silver, alternative metals, settings, ring selection, diamond grading reports, gem care and buying tips. Its a visual guide that helps you select the best diamonds and mounting for your budget and needs. Written in clear, everyday English, with lots of colour photos, the book shows you step-by-step how to evaluate diamonds and settings. It has helped thousands of diamond buyers make smart choices and is a useful reference for jewelry salespeople when answering customers questions about diamonds, precious metals and settings. A Gems & Gemology review described the previous edition of the Diamond Ring Buying Guide as An entire course on judging diamonds in 155 pages of well-organised information ... the book serves as a checklist for the purchase, mounting and care of a diamond. The photos are excellent. Brides magazine wrote: "Want to feel truly confident in the jewelry store? Read the Diamond Ring Buying Guide by an industry insider, which will teach you how to judge a quality diamond. What We Love: The seriously savvy shopping tips and the massive colour photos that reveal what diamonds look like under a loupe".
Author: Arthur Anton Skuratowicz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780971349544
Category : Jewelry making
Languages : en
Pages : 128
Get Book Here
Book Description
Based on the popular column in AJM Magazine, this book offers illustrated insights into how to best work on gem-set jewelry. Readers will learn about common enhancements and treatments, how various gems react to heat and pressure, how to modify mountings to accommodate a gem's characteristics, and what tools they should always have close at hand. The book also includes a glossary, a guide to tool-specific dangers, and charts on how stones react to abrasives, chemicals, and heat.
Author: Susanne Gänsicke
Publisher: Getty Publications
ISBN: 1606065998
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 134
Get Book Here
Book Description
What is a cabochon? What are the various types of gilding? What is vermeil? This accessible book—the first of its kind—offers concise explanations of key jewelry terms. The fascination with personal adornment is universal. It is a preoccupation that is primal, instinctive, and uniquely human. Jewelry encompasses a seemingly endless number of ornaments produced across time and in all cultures. The range of materials and techniques used in its construction is extraordinary, even revolutionary, with new substances and methods of fabrication added with every generation. In any given society, master artisans have devoted their time, energy, and talent to the fine art of jewelry making, creating some of the most spectacular objects known to humankind. This volume, geared toward jewelry makers, scholars, scientists, students, and fashionistas alike, begins with a lively introduction that offers a cultural history of jewelry and its production. The main text provides information on the most common, iconic, and culturally significant forms of jewelry and also covers materials, techniques, and manufacturing processes. Containing more than eighty color illustrations, this guide will be invaluable to all those wishing to increase their understanding and enjoyment of the art of jewelry.
Author: Michael Bycroft
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319963791
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Get Book Here
Book Description
This edited collection is an interdisciplinary study of gems in the early modern world. It examines the relations between the art, science, and technology of gems, and it does so against the backdrop of an expanding global trade in gems. The eleven chapters are organised into three parts. The first part sets the scene by describing how gems moved around the early modern world, how they were set in motion, and how they were pulled together in the course of their travels. The second part is about value. It asks why people valued gems, how they determined the value of a given gem, and how the value of a gem was connected to its perceived place of origin. The third part deals with the skills involved in cutting, polishing, and mounting gems, and how these skills were transmitted and articulated by artisans. The common themes of all these chapters are materials, knowledge and global trade. The contributors to this volume focus on the material properties of gems such as their weight and hardness, on the knowledge involved in exchanging them and valuing them, and on the cultural consequences of the expanding trade in gems in Eurasia and the Americas.
Author: Cally Hall
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0744020557
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Get Book Here
Book Description
Unearth a treasure trove of knowledge on over 130 gemstones from around the world. Learn how gemstones are formed and how to recognize them by their unique qualities and colors. It’s a wonderful book for beginners, students and gemstone-enthusiasts that includes the latest scientific research and specimen classification. Handbook of Gemstones is filled with all you need to know about the fascinating world of gemstones — cut and uncut stones, organic gemstones and precious metals. Inside, you’ll find: • Fast facts for quick reference, including chemical composition, hardness, gravity, luster and reflective value. • Photo close-ups of key details and highlights of distinguishing features. • Illustrations of faceting and shapes popular for each gemstone. • A detailed introduction to everything a beginner gemologist needs to know, including how gemstones form, the different properties, crystal shapes, faceting and the history of gems. Everything you ever wanted to know about gems Delve into the one-of-a-kind characteristics, colors and attributes of more than 130 gemstones with this compact visual guide. For easy classification, each stone’s entry includes annotated photographs to highlight distinguishing features and concise details about the attributes of gems. Designed for beginners and experienced collectors alike, this gemology book explores what gemstones are, how they are classified and how to identify them by their physical and optical properties. It also shows you how they were fashioned and imitated throughout history. Learn the differences between varieties of cut and uncut stones, organic gemstones and precious metals. It includes a glossary for many more technical and scientific terms, and over 800 high-quality photos of gems, making it the ideal gift for any budding gemologist! Love what you’re seeing? Check out other titles in the series! The DK Handbook series is an incredible collection of titles that fascinate curious minds. Other books include Rocks and Minerals, Dinosaurs, and Prehistoric Life, and Stars and Planets.
