| View Larger Image | The Jeweler's Directory of Gemstones: A Complete Guide to Appraising and Using Precious Stones From Cut and Color to Shape and Settings | Hardcoverby Judith Crowe (Author)
| List Price: | $29.95 | | Price: | $19.77 | | You Save: | $10.18 (34%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Hardcover | | Publisher: | Firefly Books | | Page Count: | 176 Pages | | Publication Date: | October 09, 2006 | | Sales Rank: | 20,392th |
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FEATURES | - ISBN13: 9781554071661
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
For goldsmiths, collectors, jewelry-makers, investors, retailers and consumers. The trade of gemstones is a highly specialized and often secretive business. Using The Jeweler's Directory of Gemstones, written by an expert gemstone dealer and designer, will provide any consumer with the insider knowledge needed to make accurate judgments of gemstones, to recognize low- and high-quality stones, and to make a good buy rather than a bad one. Each full-color spread is packed with concise text, annotated drawings and beautiful photographs, including a showcase of virtuoso jewelry designs. Great for informed consumers, the book includes: - Sources and grading - Traditional and modern settings - Cutting and faceting - Designing a special setting - Gemstone groups - Appraising, buying and handling gemstones - Diamond types and pearls - Spotting synthetics and fakes. Here is a sampling of the practical insider information in this book: - Using a loupe to examine a stone - Understanding laser cutting and carving - Identifying synthetic diamonds - Buying at gem fairs and from dealers - Cleaning and storing stones. No other book has this kind expert advice -- up-to-date, clearly presented and fully illustrated -- on evaluating and using gemstones. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 20 reviews)
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Excellent Resource! by L. Kohlman (Wisconsin)  5 Stars
March 12, 2009
This is a GREAT resource for people who design jewelry and want to know stone origins and properties. I design and sell jewelry and many of my clients ask questions about the stones.....this helps give me the history people are asking about, as well as idiocyncracies of each type. VERY interesting for me as well as my clients! I wish there were even MORE stones included with this information.......but it does cover the basics.... GREAT BOOK! easy to read and understand.......
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Images great, but lacks substance by CLG (South Dakota)  2 Stars
January 10, 2009
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.
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I love this book by Tiffany A. Bartoldus (anchorage, ak United States) 5 Stars
December 28, 2008
I'm in to bead work and wanted to know more about gemstones
Great book. good price. Has all the info I was looking for. great photo too.
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Buy this book! by Lara Scarberry (Washington, USA) 5 Stars
December 22, 2008
If you''ve always wanted to learn more about gems--including more obscure ones--then this is the book to buy. The photos are fantastic, the information very detailed, but easy to understand, and very self-explanatory. All-in-all, definitely a book worth reading.
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Very useful book! by Athena Mizelle (FL, United States) 5 Stars
July 27, 2008
I've been a hobbyist jewelry studeng for some little while now, and what sets this book apart is the section on using each gemstone... this is the part that tells you how to approach setting the stone into jewelry, how hard or brittle the stone is and what features of the stone might make setting it easier or harder. Other books may give you more scientific/ gemological detail, a greater range of stones, and a better idea of price ranges. If you want to know what your stone is, whether it's a good specimen of its kind and if you paid a good price for it, this book may or may not tell you that. BUT... if you know what stone you have, this book will tell you how to care for it, and, if you're crazy enough to want to set it yourself, this book might just tell you how best to do that, and give you some idea whether, just this once, you should hire it done by someone who's already gone around that learning curve...
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SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
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The World of Gemstones is a unique book that introduces the layperson to this complex world in simple and easily understandable terms. Describing what constitutes a gemstone, their history and some myths and legends surrounding them begin the introduction.This is followed by a section covering seventy or so gems with an emphasis on diamond, particularly its identification. A section on organic gems i.e. ivory, shell, coral etc. follows. Both these sections are fully illustrated with color...
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| Secrets of the Gem Trade: The Connoisseur's Guide to Precious Gemstones
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| Gemstones of the World: Newly Revised & Expanded Third Edition
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Gemstones of the World is truly the single volume that every hobbyist, jeweler, jewelry maker, and rockhound needs: it’s the cornerstone of the field. And this updated edition contains a host of new findings on “Gemstones for Collectors,” additional gems in the “Table of Constants,” and the “double fraction” figures that experts have long wanted—a very special new feature.
All the gemstones are treated in their many variations: more than 1,500 full-color photos showcase each...
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| Gemstone Buying Guide, Second Edition: How to Evaluate, Identify, Select & Care for Colored Gems
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Buying colour gems is a challenge. To make a wise choice, you must be able to judge their colour, flaws, transparency and brilliancy. This guide will show you how. Written for both consumers and professionals, it is easy to read, has over 200 colour photographs and gives practical pointers on how to buy the best stone for the money. Whether you are interested in jade, opal, ruby, topaz, spinel, garnet, tourmaline or some other coloured gem, you will find this guide to be a fascinating and...
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