[.ca] Gemstones of the World (ISBN 0719803012)

great little book:
I have learned a lot from this book and find it very beneficial as someone who is new to gemstones. It has great pictures, hardness scales and a lot of valuable information. I would recommend it.

The Best Gemstone book:
This clearly the best gemstone book ever. It features every gemstone imaginable with some I've never heard of. It not only gives a picture of the rough and faceted cut in full color photos but also gives the chemical breakdown, hardness and location found. Truly worth the money!

Most useful of all my gemstone/ jewelry books so far:
For decades I wore only white diamonds (nothing colored of any kind) simply because they went with everything and to me they were the easiest gems for the layperson buyer to become 'intelligent' about. Having recently found an excellent jeweller who's also a goldsmith and graduate gemologist, I'm now venturing into the world of colored gems, including colored diamonds. Very confusing! This book has helped enormously, though. For each gem there's all the usual basic info such as Mohs' scale hardness, along with other stuff that'll make your jeweller sit up and take proper notice of ya! : chemical composition, refractive index, density, fluorescence, double refraction and pleiochroism (if any), and so on and so forth. Not to worry, those are all explained in separate sections. There's also : info on all the colors each particular stone comes in, plus useful pictures ; a section for each stone on which others look similar enough to be confused with it ; sections on various treatments (usually for color enhancement) and on created & artifical stones ; and much much more. Simply packed with useful, well-organized info, very well laid out and easy on the eyes despite being fairly small for a hardbound book.

Gem Identification Guide To Gems & Precious Stones:
I do jewelry appraisals and gem identifications and this book has helped me more than any other. It is a MUST for buying and selling (does not list prices). I have worn mine out and have just ordered a new one. I have had it for approximately ten or more years. You will be fascinated even if you are not buying or selling. Peruse it and enjoy!!! Katherine Beasley G.G., A.J.P. (GIA)

A Must Have!!!:
If you want to learn about gemstones, this is a wonderful book to have. It's been like a gemstone "bible" to me. Vibrant colorful photos, very informative on everything from stone hardness to where it can be found in the world. Cannot say enough on how terrific and helpful it has been!!! A must have for the "gem enthusiast"!!!