Customer Reviews

The Jeweler's Directory of Gemstones: A Complete Guide to Appraising and Using Precious Stones From Cut and Color to Shape and Settings

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'd been looking for a book like this for what seemed like FOR-EV-ARRRR!!!

As a jewelry artist, I've always wanted to add some gemstone books to my huge jewelry-related book collection, but all I could ever find were ones that seemed to be written only for gemstone collectors & science nerds--not that there's ANYTHING bad about stone collectors OR science nerds--it was just that these books never really focused much (if at all) on the jewelry-related aspect of gemstones!!
This book definitely fills that huge (and what you'd think would be obvious) void that all those other books seem to have missed.

I am hoping the book will be revised in the future to include more stones, and maybe fix a few things that were left out..
For example: in the list of U.S. locations where Tourmaline mines exist, Maine was left out!! :-o
But the flaws I see in this book are very minor--overall I am very satisfied with it, and I am very thankful to Judith Crowe for finally making the book that I was searching for!! :-)

A beautiful book with plenty of colorful photographs of stones and jewelery pieces. Very well illustrated and easy to follow. Author offers some useful advice on how to set gemstones to bring out the best color. However, I believe that the table showing on Carat weights for genuine stones (Page 29) is not correct. Nevertheless, overall rating is still a 5!!!

All in all, this is a good book. It covers all the gemstone families, and the stones in each. It starts with a general overview of the creation of gemstones, their history, how they are mined and cut. It then describes the stones. A very handy section is where they discus treatments and immitations. Another good point is the plentiful pictures of 99% of the stones that they mention. The last section reviews working with and apprasing gemstones.
My only complaint is this: The overview at the beginning is general and simple/easy to understand. They don't go to deep into the science or use some of the terms they use later in the descriptions of them gems. Its a bit anoying to have to figure out or look up scientific words. The good thing is that it didnt happen often.

"The Jeweller's Directory of Gemstones" provides a good introduction to the world of gemstones for both jewellers and those interested in purchasing gemstone jewellery. This full color book complements the existing gemstone directories. I also own copies of Gemstones (Smithsonian Handbooks) and Gemstones of the World: Newly Revised & Expanded Third Edition and I consider all three of these books to be of equal value (I recommend that you purchase all three of them, if you can afford it). However, unlike the other two books I mentioned, this book discusses gemstone jewellery, as well as providing geological information about the gems (most gemstone guides simply focus on the geological detail). This book also has a good glossary and index.

This book is a valuable addition to any gemstone library and it is well worth the price of purchase.

This book is rich in accurate images of gems and minerals and has a scientific review of chemical composition, hardness and refractive properties. It is not, however, a guide for appraisal. I have seen a small booklet that determines the carats of gems based on the dimensions and shape of the particular stone. This information is what I had hope to get, but, unfortunately, did not.

This book is excellent in reviewing every gemstone and giving full detail on how to understand and identify in full detail the gemston. I am learning how to identify gemstones and this is a great resource for detail sources.

As a gemologist, I have an extensive library of gem books. This book is one of the best guides written that is germain to professionals and novices alike. Easy to follow and very well edited. High marks!!

Boy do I wish that the "Search Inside the Book" included the foreword by the author. This book is for JEWELRY MAKERS AND DESIGNERS, not for serious gem dealers or purchasers/appraisers. Little information on how to accurately class stones. There are great tips for those USING the gemstones and what to expect (conchoidal fracture of some stones, cutting recommendations, choosing the right materials). The gemstone family tree is minimal (IMHO). I guess I was hoping for a book with information on how to accurately use a loupe to discern internal details and quality than what this book provided. It was definitely too basic for me - probably since I have a geology/mineralogy background. Perhaps I should take the classes from GIA in order to be able to do what I really want with gemstones (even semi-precious gemstones) than what I can learn from a book. I will try out a couple more books to see what works best for me and then seriously considered taking a formal class. I am still considering sending this book back, or just keep it for general info. Anyway, if I had the appropriate knowledge on gemstones, it can only help me (and others) to purchase stones that are what sellers state and to be able to more fully understand the internal structure when using stones in my own work (whether natural - direct from seller; or if I cut them myself). My background in mineralogy is a help, but gemstones require a better eye and knowledge than the basic to graduate level mineralogy courses in my cache of knowledge.

This book is truly for the general jewelry designer and maker as stated in the forward. Do not get this book if you want more information than the basics. I do want to say that many of the images are spectacular, as well as some of the jewelry designs, and that is a plus. Maybe I should really give it 3 stars due to that. But pretty colored pictures do not provide the information I was looking for in a book on this subject.

I was greatly surprised by this book. It has loads of pictures, close ups, and great hints and detail on each catergory. I have used this book in my studies daily. I would recommend this book for anyone from the beginner to the expert.

Good for what it is, this book offers an ABC look at some gemstones. There is no depth to the material, but it makes a nice starting point and gives a position to make further research decisions on. The section on setting options for different kinds of stones is valuable & interesting, but could have been a lot larger/in-depth, as from a 'Jeweler's' perspective (as the title implies)this is critical info.
All in all I am happy I bought this book & look forward to finding some serious/heavy duty books that delve right into this important subject.