- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (5 Aug 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0810927586
- ISBN-13: 978-0810927582
- Product Dimensions: 26 x 24.6 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,177,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
When a perfect mineral crystal has been cut and polished into a form of great beauty by a skilled craftsperson, it is called a gem. Gems are among the most charismatic objects in the history of the world, and are probably more valuable per volume than any other artifacts from or on the earth. In this book, Dr. Jeffrey E. Post, curator of the National Gem and Mineral Collection, surveys the world of gems, discussing diamonds, corundum gems (rubies and sapphires), beryl gems (such as emeralds), quartz gems, garnets, topaz, tourmaline, peridots, zircons, spinels, chrysoberyl, spodumene, tanzanite, feldspar gems, opals, starts and cat's eyes, ornamental stones (such as jade, lapis lazuli, and turquoise), and rare and unusual gems, as well as the collection's historical jewels. Chip Clark, the museum's senior staff photographer, captures the colours and brilliance of hundreds of gems.
About the Author
Dr. Jeffrey Edward Post (PhD) has held numerous academic and museum posts in the gem field. His areas of research interest include mineralogy, gemmology, geochemistry, crystallography, and electron microscopy. He has published numerous scientific articles in these fields.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great coffee-table book (large format, awesome pictures).,
By A Customer
This review is from: The National Gem Collection: National Museum of Natural History (Hardcover)
This book lightly covers sources and history of jewelry pieces and gemstones in the museum. It has incredibly well-done color photographs and a great many of them. It is a large-format, coffee-table style book. I'm quite pleased to have it in my library.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews) 13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
very nice to peruse,
By Ray Barnes - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The National Gem Collection: National Museum of Natural History (Hardcover)
This book is more suited to enjoying the pictures than the text, but both are fine in every way. Almost all the stones in the book have exceptional color - or colors as the case may be. The front cover, going roughly from top to bottom counter clockwise, features a 99.82 carat fluorite, sitting on top of the 858 carat uncut Gachala Emerald (and the original cover looks way better), the lower left features a 34.07 carat red spinel from Mogok, next is a 52.26 carat calcite, and to the right a 17.85 carat diamond crystal from Murfreesboro, Arkansas. The back cover has a spectacular 181.9 carat Cooper Pedy white opal, that I initially mistook for a black opal. This book is published by Harry N Abrams, Inc. of New York, and is well up to this company's superior standards - and that also helps to explain the rather high price. The book is divided into six sections: an introduction, some gems of signficant historical interest, a chapter on diamond, corundum and beryl, a chapter on other important stones, one devoted to stones with special properties (eg opals, cat's eyes and star sapphires) and finally ornamental gems. The appendix is also very useful and informative.It is very helpful to use this as a reference for benchmark color. There is little or no commentary on evaluation, appraisal or strategic purchasing. This book is expensive but there are few others like it. Recommended. 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great coffee-table book (large format, awesome pictures).,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The National Gem Collection: National Museum of Natural History (Hardcover)
This book lightly covers sources and history of jewelry pieces and gemstones in the museum. It has incredibly well-done color photographs and a great many of them. It is a large-format, coffee-table style book. I'm quite pleased to have it in my library.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning photography; an amazing collection,
By Michael J. Mazza - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The National Gem Collection: National Museum of Natural History (Hardcover)
"The National Gem Collection," by Jeffrey E. Post, features photographs by Chip Clark. The book is a beautiful celebration of the title collection, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution. The informative text discusses the history of the collection, facts about types of different gemstones, and specific pieces in the collection.The full-color photography is really stunning, and brings a rich assortment of gems to glorious life. Some of the historic pieces pictured are the blue Hope Diamond, the diamond Napoleon Necklace, the Hooker Emerald, and more. Also shown are a colorful collection of "fancy" diamonds, a rare red diamond, the 858-carat uncut Gachala Emerald, the delightful "pink tutu" (a band of dainty rose quartz crystals on a large smoky quartz crystal), a dazzling group of fire opals, a lapis lazuli carving from Afghanistan, and more. I appreciate how the book celebrates gemstones at various stages: uncut, cut, and set in artfully crafted pieces of jewelry. Many different types of gemstones--aquamarine, garnet, spinel, chrysoberyl, turquoise, etc.--are covered. Features such as a scanning electron microscope photo of the inner structure of an opal give the reader a deeper understanding of the science behind gems. From start to finish, this book is a marvelous feast for both the eyes and the brain. |
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