Gemstones: A pocket guide

A new pocket-size guide to gemstones, with stunning colour photographs throughout, written by a Natural History Museum curator and gem expert.

Gemstones have been a source of fascination for millennia, from the icy brilliance of diamonds and the soft iridescence of pearls, to the deep red garnets treasured by ancient Egyptians and Victorians alike. They are used for their natural beauty in jewellery, worn for protection as talismans, and associated with romance and power. They are also of scientific importance, forming over billions of years and containing secrets of the inner Earth. This book examines the world's most commonly encountered gemstones, exploring their unique beauty, rarity and durability. It reveals how these gem materials formed, where they are mined, how they are identified by their physical and optical properties, and their enhancements and imitations. Travelling through each gem's history and use in adornment, it is filled with fascinating facts for the curious to the professional. With sumptuous colour photographs, Gemstones is a dazzling insight into the world of the rare and valuable.