This comprehensive modern lapidary features gemological, historical, and metaphysical information about forty-six gems. Thousands of beliefs and uses have been collected and chronicled. 115 illustrations enhance this 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 reference. Folklore gathered from numerous cultures is given for each stone. Included is a new translation of Mandeville's fourteenth century Le Lapidaire, and hundreds of quotations from literature. All references to gems in the Bible, the Koran, Shakespeare's plays and poems, and the works of Chaucer, Emerson, Thomas Moore, and Sir Walter Scott are given. A translation of Marbode's eleventh century gem treatise is included, as well as references from Vedic texts. Additional features: crystal shapes and classifying gems, a history of gem literature, and a chapter on birthstones, planetary, and Apostolic stones. Gems in Myth, Legend, and Lore Revised Edition continues a tradition of gem literature spanning over two thousand years.

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.

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.

"Gems and Gemstones" features nearly 300 color images of cut gems, precious and semiprecious stones, gem-quality mineral specimens, and fine jewelry to be unveiled in the new Grainger Hall of Gems at the Field Museum in Chicago.