The history of the Black Prince's Ruby, one of the world's most famous precious stones.

Introducing…

Inside Out: GEM•ology Through Lotus-Colored Glasses

by

E. Billie Hughes  |  Richard W. Hughes  |  Wimon Manorotkul

with a foreword by Paolo Minieri

Chinese translation by Jason C.H. Kao (高嘉兴), with Jinding Yu (俞瑾玎) and Bonnie Chao (晁艳)

From the dawn of time, precious stones have both attracted and fascinated humans in ways that few other items could. For while objects of desire are found throughout the natural world, physical beauty is too often ephemeral. From the allure of a man, woman, flower or butterfly, through the fleeting moments of a sunset, there is little that lasts and practically nothing that can be passed down to our descendants. The exception is precious stones. Not only are they the most durable creations of Mother Nature, but their visual splendor is truly eternal.

This book presents a completely fresh approach to the subject. Dubbing it humanistic gemology, the authors take readers around the world, showing the places they have explored in their search for gems, along with the people and cultures encountered along the way.

Within this volume, remarkable photographs of the human world are interwoven with images of the microscopic realm of the gems themselves. In a lifetime beset by time control, where living is broken into ever smaller bits, as you browse through these pages suddenly you plunge into a domain of frozen time, one that affords vistas of millions or even billions of years. For jewels offer not just superficial beauty, but a window on the primordial forces that birthed both our planet and universe.

Inside Out – Gemology Through Lotus-Colored Glasses represents a fascinating new direction for gemology, linking the external and internal worlds of precious stones for the first time. 

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Published 2020; Now shipping

Standard Edition – Hardcover
Price: Thai Baht 3000 + Shipping & Handling

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International Shipping & Handling from Thailand
Ships via International Parcel Air (2–3 weeks)

Hardcover with Dust Jacket
152 pages; 270 x 360 mm (10.6 x 14.2 inches); 2.5 kg shipping weight
Full Color Throughout  |  Bilingual text in English & Simplified Chinese

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A few comments from reviewers…

I am doubtless readers both inside and outside of the gem trade will enthusiastically welcome Inside Out. Buy it, read it, give it away. I am fully confident you will be satisfied, ingratiated and inspired.
Jeffery Bergman – InColor Magazine

This book fills a gap in the literature on gems by pictorially exploring the relationship between humans and gems on an artistic and emotional level. It is a work of art that lives from the quality of the photographs and gets by with minimal textual commentary on the images.
Michael Hügi – Journal of Gemmology

Inside Out is a truly stunning work reflecting the combnied personalities, skills, knowledge and philosophy of the authors, who have created something exceptional and innovative for the world of gemmology.
Terry Coldham – Australian Gemmologist

Introducing…

Ruby & Sapphire: A Collector’s Guide

by Richard W. Hughes
with photographs by Wimon Manorotkul and E. Billie Hughes

This impressive coffee-table style volume takes readers into the secret world of ruby and sapphire, through the pen and lens of international expert, Richard Hughes. The author guides readers with the steady eye of a connoisseur, explaining what collectors should look for in ruby and sapphire. Many pictured pieces feature actual auction prices, aiding collectors in their buying decisions. Illustrated with more than 400 magnificent color photographs, for anyone with an interest in precious stones, this is a visual and intellectual feast of the most delicious order.

Published 2014; Sold Out

Hardcover with Dust Jacket
384 pages; 240 x 280 mm (9.45 x 11 inches); 2.4 kg shipping weight
Full Color Throughout

Introducing…

Ruby & Sapphire: A Gemologist's Guide

by Richard W. Hughes
with Wimon Manorotkul and E. Billie Hughes

This massive volume is the most comprehensive book ever written on a single precious stone. Designed as a companion volume to Ruby & Sapphire: A Collector's Guide, it is aimed specifically at working gemologists, appraisers and students. Based on Richard W. Hughes' 1997 classic, Ruby & Sapphire, this edition is fully updated. The product of nearly 40 years of firsthand experience and research, it covers every aspect of the subject from A–Z. History, sources, prices, quality analysis, synthetics and treatments, everything is here. Ruby & Sapphire—A Gemologist’s Guide represents the definitive reference on the subject. With over 1000 photos, maps and illustrations and 3500 references, it is nothing less than a tour-de-force of gemological scholarship.

Published 2017; Sold Out

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International Shipping & Handling from Thailand
Ships via International Parcel Air (2-3 weeks)

Hardcover with Dust Jacket
816 pages; 240 x 280 mm (9.45 x 11 inches); 4.6 kg shipping weight
Full Color Throughout

Click on the icon to download a corrected Table of Contents and Errata sheet for the current volume (PDF).

A few comments from reviewers…

Voilà un livre de poids, 735 pages et plus de 4 kg qui enrichira vos connaissances historiques comme scientifiques et gemmologiques. L' auteur, bien connu des gemmologues, nous offre un nouveau voyage dans l' univers des corindons. C' est un livre à regarder, approcher, toucher, feuilleter, découvrir enen l' ouvrant avec à la fois impatience et retenue, pour finalement s' y abandonner. C' est une leçon de vie, un livre-compagnon à déguster sans modération.

Association Française de Gemmologie

Diamond: An Early History of the King of Gems by Jack Ogden, 2018. Yale University Press, New Haven and London, www.yalebooks.com/www.yalebooks.co.uk, 388 pages, illus., ISBN 978-0-300-21566-3. $40 hardcover.

Ruby, Sapphire & Spinel: An Archaeological, Textual and Cultural Study By Derek J. Content, 2016. Brepols Publishers, Turnhout, Belgium, www.brepols.net, 452 pages, illus., ISBN 978-2503568089. €150.00 hardcover.

A 2006 mission to remote ruby and spinel localities in Tajikistan.

Since the turn of the millennium, the price of fine spinel has risen at an incredible pace. No longer simply the poor man's ruby, spinel is finally getting the attention it deserves as one of the world's premier gems.

To the jeweler, spinel is famous for its vivid colors. But for the gemologist, this gem is unlike any other. Its extreme hardness allows a fine polish. Couple this with single refraction, which eliminates the image blurring found in most other gems, and a varied landscape of inclusion subjects, and the result is an unparalleled canvas of delight for the photomicrographic artist.