Gemstones (Eyewitness Handbooks) [Hardcover]

Cally Hall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1994 | Series: Eyewitness Handbooks (Book 49)

In this book, gemstone specialist Cally Hall explains how to recognize 130 varieties of stone, precious metals and valuable "organics" like amber and coral. Each gem is shown in its cut and rough state, with additional photographs of natural forms, and jewellery. The 800 photographs are annotated to highlight key features, with colour-coded panels to supply at-a-glance technical information, from crystal structure and chemical composition to optical quality.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT (March 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564584992
• ISBN-13: 978-1564584991
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,141,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A super introduction to a fascinating subject., June 11, 2001

By 

William L. Gilstrap - See all my reviews

This review is from: DK Handbooks: Gemstones (Paperback)

I have been interested in amateur gemstones since 1962 and this is the best introductory book I've ever seen about the subject. It's full of outstanding pictures that illustrate just about everything most beginners might want to know. It starts with an excellent and concise section on general gem lore, gem properties, and gem handling. Then it has the best color key to gems that I've seen. This key makes it easy to find the information about a given gemstone without using the index. If one prefers, there is a good index too. After the Color Key, there are pages about specific stones with a description, where they are found and remarks. All standard gem properties are shown, with excellent pictures to illustrate the color, crystal shape, cleavage, uses, etc. All in all, this is the introduction to gemstones to judge others by. It's also useful for more advanced "rockhounds" as a reference and field guide. The binding is quite durable and should stand up to a lot of travel. I wish this book had been available 40 years ago.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE THIS BOOK!, July 12, 2001

By 

Judith Miller (Bluemont, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DK Handbooks: Gemstones (Paperback)

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS AND THIS BOOK HAS TERRIFIC PICTURES AND VERY CLEAR AND CONCISE DESCRIPTIONS. EVERYTHING THAT I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SUBJECT IS ANSWERED IN THIS BOOK. THERE'S A VISUAL GUIDE TO OVER 130 GEMSTONE VARIETIES AND A COLOR KEY FOR EVERY GEMSTONE. THERE ARE SO MANY INTERESTING BITS OF INFORMATION HERE THAT THE READER GETS A COURSE IN HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, SCIENCE AND FOLKLORE. FOR INSTANCE, THE CUSTOM OF WEARING BIRTHSTONE JEWELRY STARTED IN 18TH CENTURY POLAND; THE MASK OF TUTANKHAMEN WAS MADE OF LAPIS FROM AFGHANISTAN AND THE BEAUTIFUL PINK MORGANITE WAS NAMED AFTER J.P. MORGAN. THIS IS A SUPER REFERENCE BOOK!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HALL'S Way to Gemstones, May 13, 2000

By 

Linda Brooks (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DK Handbooks: Gemstones (Paperback)

Very good reference book to gems, stones and bones used in jewelry and ornamentations. The hardness scale guide, is inserted right there with the stones ID. (No page flipping) I like the color guide section too. Excellent photos and character trait explanations.