Compact and easy-to-use, Nature Guide: Gems provides a thorough introduction and detailed, clearly illustrated profiles of hundreds of examples of precious metals, cut stones, and organics. This Smithsonian guide is packed with stunning photography and key information provided by expert contributors. Nature Guide: Gems is carefully structured, with catalog entries organized into easily understood groups that the newcomer will have no difficulty in navigating and the more experienced reader will appreciate.

Nature's first gem is green, as her first green is gold.Nature's 1st Gem Is Green is a book of poetry, pictures, and descriptions in which we uncover the gems of insight, introspection, and interconnectedness that come when we look closely into the intricacies of the emerald world all around us.We also realize that apricots, cicadas, bubbles... and all other things, for that matter, are much more than what meets the eye. With an open mind and a fresh perspective, we can find limitless understanding and become "clear and sweet in soul.""Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul." --- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass"We all encounter things that seem dim and puzzling at first, but when we actively explore them, we find bold, undauntable light igniting the way from the inside. From within." --- Chapter 14, Labyrinth of a Rose