This colorful book offers you a window into the world of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most amazing people of the twentieth century. You will learn about Gandhi’s life—from his time as a student in London to his work for equality in South Africa and India—and his methods of peaceful, but not passive, resistance to injustice.

As well as diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires, over 100 gems are featured, with full descriptions, technical details, and tips on how to check for fakes; illustrated throughout with fabulous color photographs to make identification easier.

Contains descriptions and photographs of approximately six hundred minerals, rocks, and meteorites, providing information about the history, origin, structure, composition, properties, classification, and location of each specimen.

Unearth a treasure trove of knowledge on over 130 gemstones from around the world. Learn how gemstones are formed and how to recognize them by their unique qualities and colors. It’s a wonderful book for beginners, students and gemstone-enthusiasts that includes the latest scientific research and specimen classification. Handbook of Gemstones is filled with all you need to know about the fascinating world of gemstones — cut and uncut stones, organic gemstones and precious metals. Inside, you’ll find: • Fast facts for quick reference, including chemical composition, hardness, gravity, luster and reflective value. • Photo close-ups of key details and highlights of distinguishing features. • Illustrations of faceting and shapes popular for each gemstone. • A detailed introduction to everything a beginner gemologist needs to know, including how gemstones form, the different properties, crystal shapes, faceting and the history of gems. Everything you ever wanted to know about gems Delve into the one-of-a-kind characteristics, colors and attributes of more than 130 gemstones with this compact visual guide. For easy classification, each stone’s entry includes annotated photographs to highlight distinguishing features and concise details about the attributes of gems. Designed for beginners and experienced collectors alike, this gemology book explores what gemstones are, how they are classified and how to identify them by their physical and optical properties. It also shows you how they were fashioned and imitated throughout history. Learn the differences between varieties of cut and uncut stones, organic gemstones and precious metals. It includes a glossary for many more technical and scientific terms, and over 800 high-quality photos of gems, making it the ideal gift for any budding gemologist! Love what you’re seeing? Check out other titles in the series! The DK Handbook series is an incredible collection of titles that fascinate curious minds. Other books include Rocks and Minerals, Dinosaurs, and Prehistoric Life, and Stars and Planets.

Gem Identification Made Easy is the first and only book that explains in non-technical terms how to identify diamonds and colored gems, and how to separate natural gems from imitations, treated stones, synthetics, and look-alikes. The book's approach is direct and practical, and its style easy to understand. In fact, with this highly accessible guide, anyone can begin to master gem identification. Includes over 150 photographs and illustrationsover 80 in full color! Using a simple, step-by-step system, the authors explain how to properly use essential but uncomplicated instruments to identify stones, what to look for gemstone by gemstone, and how to set up a basic lab at modest cost. Three of the instruments are inexpensive, portable, pocket instruments that, when used together, can identify almost 85% of all precious and popular stones. The key to avoiding costly mistakes and recognizing profitable opportunities is knowing both what to look for and what to look out for. Gem Identification Made Easy will help you: Open your eyes to the types of treatments, imitations, synthetics, look-alikes, and fakes in the gem market today. Learn how to tell the difference between them. Quickly spot: Synthetics, including synthetic emeralds and diamonds Filled diamonds Diffused "blue" sapphires and "red" rubies HPHT-treated diamonds ... and much more! Determine how to spot the newest "composite" imitations. Learn how to identify recently discovered gems such as "Mandarin" garnet, red "emerald," and North Carolina's chromium-rich emeralds. Discover new treatments such as surface coatings to create "fancy color" diamonds and improve or change the color of many gemstones. Know when to seek help from a professional gemologist or lab. Become more professional in your business or hobby.

A guide to the identification, structure, and uses of precious and semi-precious stones, novelty stones, agates, and crystals.

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.

Handbook of Gem Identification, first published in 1947 and extensively revised over the years, is an authoritative look at the methods used to identify both common and rare gemstones. This reprint of the 6th edition, published in 1962, updates the original work and incorporates much new information. As the author states: "Although many books have been written describing gemstones and their occurrence, there is a need for books which give both the jeweler and the layman with limited equipment an outline for making the simple and often conclusive tests that identify gems. If properly used this handbook will help to fill that need." From the Foreword to the first edition: Today jewelers and the general public are better informed concerning gems than ever before. In the United States, this is due in large measure to the wide dissemination of gemological information during the last quarter of a century through the publication of authoritative texts on gems, the formation of many mineralogical clubs, and especially through the activities of the Gemological Institute of America, founded in 1931, and of the American Gem Society, organized in 1934. For some time, however, it has been recognized that there is need for a manual describing in detail the various methods and procedures to be followed in the identification of gems. This need is now being supplied by Richard T. Liddicoat's Handbook of Gem Identification. By his excellent scientific training and his extensive experience at the Gemological Institute of America, Mr. Liddicoat is well qualified to author an authoritative handbook. Moreover, he has had the benefit of the counsel and advice of Director Robert M. Shipley and others at the Institute. In the opening chapters, the essentials concerning the important properties of gemstones are described in a lucid manner. Manufactured stones and the instruments used for testing are discussed in several chapters. The main portion of the book is devoted to the tests and procedures to be followed in the identification of gemstones, which are grouped according to As the tests and procedures are outlined in great detail, there should be no difficulty whatever in following them. The book also includes useful tables of properties, a glossary, and various flow charts. This handbook should prove to be very helpful in the making of accurate determinations of gemstones. It is a valuable addition to gemological literature, and will be welcomed by dealers in, and lovers of, gems.