Gemology Books Bibliography

First Published: 28 September 2026

Gemology Books Bibliography

Explore books on gems, gemology, jewelry and mineralogy in Four Treasures, the Lotus Gemology reference database. This bibliography brings together matching book records from the collection, with publication details, abstracts and cover images where available.

Gemology Book References

The list below matches books concerning gemology and related subjects in the database's searchable fields. Some works cover several branches of gems, jewelry or mineralogy.

3,361–3,380 of 3,436 matching references

Skorodit: Ein neuer Edelstein aus Tsumeb, Südwest-Afrika

Skorodit: Ein neuer Edelstein aus Tsumeb, Südwest-Afrika

Scorodite: A new gemstone from Tsumeb, Southwest Africa

Gübelin, E.J. (1976)

Journal Article · Source: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gemmologischen Gesellschaft · Volume: Vol. 25 · Issue: No. 1 · Pages: pp. 33–39 · Language: In German

Abstract
Gübelin reports scorodite from the Tsumeb deposit in Southwest Africa (now Namibia) as a material of potential gemological interest.
Keywords
scorodite, Tsumeb, Southwest Africa, Namibia, gems

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Vanadium-Grossular von Lualenyi bei Voi, Kenja

Vanadium grossular from Lualenyi near Voi, Kenya

Gübelin, E.J. (1975)

Journal Article · Source: Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Abhandlungen · Issue: February · Pages: pp. 191–197 · Language: in German

Abstract
Gübelin examines vanadium-bearing grossular from Lualenyi near Voi, Kenya, a locality known for green grossular garnet. The paper concerns the mineralogical and gemological properties of this material and the role of vanadium in its coloration.
Keywords
tsavorite, grossular, Kenya, gems

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The problem of turquoise in protohistoric trade on the Iranian plateau

Tosi, M. (1974)

Journal Article · Source: Studi di Paletnologia, Paleoantropologia, Paleontologia e Geologia del Quaternario · Publisher: Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana (IsIPU) · Volume: New Series, Vol. 2 · Pages: pp. 147–162

Abstract
Tosi examines turquoise as evidence for long-distance exchange across the Iranian plateau during the late prehistoric and protohistoric periods, treating its archaeological distribution in much the same way as lapis lazuli. He reviews possible turquoise sources in Iran and neighboring regions and compares them with finds from major settlements and craft centers, particularly Shahr-i Sokhta, where turquoise occurs alongside lapis lazuli and carnelian in evidence for specialized stone-working. The distribution suggests that turquoise was not simply a locally consumed ornamental material but formed part of wider systems through which valuable stones, finished ornaments, and technological knowledge circulated between northeastern and southeastern Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Mesopotamia, and the Indus region. Tosi stresses the difficulty of assigning archaeological turquoise to particular mines solely from appearance and therefore treats proposed source-to-market connections cautiously. The study places turquoise within the developing network of specialized production and interregional exchange that accompanied increasing urbanization on the Iranian plateau during the fourth and third millennia B.C., showing how relatively small quantities of distinctive luxury materials can help reconstruct otherwise poorly documented trade routes and economic relationships.
Keywords
gems, archaeology, archaeogemology, Central Asia, Iran

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Schwarze Einschlüsse in Diamanten

Schwarze Einschlüsse in Diamanten

Black inclusions in diamonds

Gübelin, E.J. (1974)

Journal Article · Source: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gemmologischen Gesellschaft · Issue: No. 2 · Language: In German

Abstract
Gübelin discusses black inclusions occurring in diamonds and their appearance under gemological examination. The article concerns the nature and identification of these dark internal features and their significance as inclusions in natural diamond.
Keywords
diamond, inclusions, gems

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Damigéron, Evax et Marbode: l’héritage alexandrin dans les lapidaires médiévaux

Damigéron, Evax et Marbode: l’héritage alexandrin dans les lapidaires médiévaux

Damigéron, Evax and Marbode: The Alexandrian heritage in the medieval lapidaries

Halleux, R. (1974)

Journal Article · Source: Studi Medievali · Volume: Vol. 15 · Pages: pp. 327–347 · Language: in French

Abstract
Halleux examines the transmission of the Alexandrian lapidary tradition into medieval Europe through texts associated with Damigeron, Evax, and Marbode. The study traces relationships among these lapidaries and investigates the survival and transformation of ancient traditions concerning stones, particularly their supposed medicinal, magical, and astrological properties. It considers the textual sources and transmission of this material from late antiquity into medieval Latin literature, showing how inherited knowledge about stones was adapted and reorganized by successive authors. The article is particularly relevant to the history of gemology for its analysis of the origins and development of medieval European beliefs concerning the properties and virtues of gemstones.
Keywords
corundum, history.1, Demigeron, gems

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El dios-hacha de jadeita en la América Central: su localización geográfica y su lugar en el tiempo

El dios-hacha de jadeita en la América Central: su localización geográfica y su lugar en el tiempo

The jadeite axe god in Central America: Its geographical distribution and its place in time

Stone, D.Z. (1973)

Conference Paper · Source: Atti del XL Congresso Internazionale Degli Americanisti · Publisher: Tilgher · Volume: Vol. 1 · Pages: pp. 213–218 · Language: in Spanish

Abstract
Stone examines the “axe-god” (dios-hacha), a distinctive form of jadeite artifact from Central America, with particular attention to its geographical distribution and chronological position. The study considers the occurrence of these carved jadeite axes within the archaeological record and their distribution among Central American cultural areas in an effort to establish where and when the type was produced and used.
Keywords
gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Guatemala, Mesoamerica, Maya, Mayan jade, Mexico, history, Costa Rica, Honduras, archaeogemology, lapidary

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The cultural sequence of Shahr-i Sokhta

Tosi, M. (1973)

Journal Article · Source: Bulletin of the Asia Institute of Pahlavi University · Volume: Vol. 3 · Pages: pp. 64–80

Abstract
Around the same time, flint drills were discovered in large numbers in Shahr-i Sokhta. A comparative study between the turquoise waste found in the archaeological site’s layers and turquoise beads discovered in burials indicates that turquoise came to the town in the form of finished products, in contrast to lapis lazuli, which was manufactured on-site (because of the larger quantity of extracted lapis waste) (Tosi 1973).
Keywords
gems, turquoise, Iran, Persian turquoise, archaeology, archaeogemology, history of turquoise mining and processing, lapis lazuli

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La esmeralda de Colombia: Descripción y Propiedades

La esmeralda de Colombia: Descripción y Propiedades

The Emerald of Colombia: Description and Properties

Barriga Villalba, A.M. and Barriga del Diestro, A.M. (1973)

Book · Publisher: Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Departamento de Publicaciones · Pages: 100 pp. · Language: in Spanish

Abstract
Barriga Villalba and Barriga del Diestro present a monographic study of Colombian emerald, describing its principal characteristics and properties. The work considers emerald as a mineral and gemstone, with attention to its physical and optical properties, characteristic color and inclusions, and the features associated with Colombian material. It also discusses the geological occurrence and principal emerald-producing areas of Colombia, particularly the deposits of the Eastern Cordillera, and addresses aspects of mining and the evaluation of emeralds. The volume provides a contemporary Colombian account of the country’s most important gemstone and its distinguishing gemological and geological characteristics.
Keywords
beryl, emerald, Colombia, gems

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Les corindons artificiels commercialement denommes; rubis synthétiques et saphirs synthétiques

Les corindons artificiels commercialement denommes; rubis synthétiques et saphirs synthétiques

The artificially produced corundums commercially known as synthetic rubies and synthetic sapphires

Poirot, J.-P. (1973)

Journal Article · Source: Revue de Gemmologie A.F.G. · Issue: No. 37, December · Pages: pp. 13–14 · Language: in French

Abstract
Poirot discusses artificially produced corundum marketed as synthetic ruby and synthetic sapphire, with attention to their commercial nomenclature and gemological identification. The brief article concerns the distinction between synthetic corundum and its natural counterparts and the terminology applied to these manufactured gemstones.
Keywords
corundum, synthetic corundum.7, gems

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Le lapis-lazuli de Sar-e-Sang (Badakhshan, Afghanistan)

Le lapis-lazuli de Sar-e-Sang (Badakhshan, Afghanistan)

Lapis lazuli from Sar-e-Sang (Badakhshan, Afghanistan)

Wyart, J., Bariand, P. and Filippi, J. (1972)

Journal Article · Source: Revue de Géographie Physique et de Géologie Dynamique · Volume: Second Series, Vol. 14 · Issue: No. 4 · Pages: pp. 443–448 · Language: in French

Abstract
Wyart, Bariand and Filippi describe the lapis lazuli deposit of Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, one of the historically important sources of the material. The paper examines the geological setting and mineralogy of the deposit, where lapis lazuli occurs in metamorphosed carbonate rocks, and discusses the constituent minerals of the lapis-bearing material. Particular attention is given to lazurite, the mineral responsible for the characteristic blue color, and to its association with calcite, pyrite, and other minerals. The authors relate the mineral assemblage to the geological conditions of formation and provide a mineralogical and geological characterization of Sar-e-Sang lapis lazuli and its host rocks.
Keywords
gems, lapis lazuli, Afghanistan, history of gemology, gem trade, Central Asia, Badakhshan, Sar-e-Sang

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Pline l’Ancien | Histoire Naturelle. Livre XXXVII

Pline l’Ancien | Histoire Naturelle. Livre XXXVII

Pliny the Elder | Natural History. Book 37

Pliny the Elder and Saint-Denis, E., de (1972)

Book · Publisher: Les Belles Lettres · Pages: 292 pp. · Language: in French and Latin

Abstract
Of Pliny’s works, only one has come down to us—his Natural history. It is not, strictly speaking, what in our modern language we would understand by a similar title. The author begins by presenting ideas about the world, the earth, the sun, the planets, and the remarkable properties of the elements. From there, he moves on to the geographical description of the parts of the earth known to the ancients. After geography comes what we would call natural history—namely, the history of land animals, fish, insects, and birds. The botanical section that follows is quite substantial, all the more so because Pliny includes a great deal of information about the arts, such as the making of wine and oil, the cultivation of grains, and various industrial applications. Once the botanical part is finished, he returns to animals in order to list the remedies they provide; finally, he moves on to mineral substances, and there (in what is one of the most interesting parts of his book) he recounts both the history of the extraction processes for these substances and the history of painting and sculpture among the ancients. One can see that, in truth, Pliny’s work is a kind of encyclopedia.
Keywords
gems, history of gemology, Pliny, Arabic mineralogy

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Violette edelkorunde aus dem Umba-Geviet von Tanzania

Violette edelkorunde aus dem Umba-Geviet von Tanzania

Violet gem corundums from the Umba region of Tanzania

Bank, H., Berdesinski, W. and Ottemann, J. (1972)

Journal Article · Source: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gemmologischen Gesellschaft · Volume: Vol. 21 · Pages: pp. 126–127 · Language: In German

Abstract
Bank, Berdesinski and Ottemann describe violet gem-quality corundum from the Umba region of Tanzania. The brief paper examines the mineralogical and gemological properties of the violet material and its relationship to other fancy-colored corundums from this important East African deposit. Particular attention is given to the coloration of the stones and the trace elements responsible for it, together with physical and optical properties useful in characterizing the material. The occurrence adds violet corundum to the wide range of ruby, sapphire, and fancy-colored corundum known from the Umba area.
Keywords
corundum, violet sapphire, Umba Valley, Tanzania.12, East Africa, gems

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Jewels of the Pharoahs | Egyptian Jewelry of the Dynastic Period

Jewels of the Pharoahs | Egyptian Jewelry of the Dynastic Period

Aldred, C. (1971)

Book · Publisher: Praeger Publishers · Pages: 256 pp., many plates in color

Abstract
Only a small amount of Egyptian jewelry has survived the ravages of time and the grave robbers, but the remnant is staggeringly beautiful. This book presents for the first time in a single volume nearly 200 priceless objects from collections all over the world. The best known example is the virtually intact tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, discovered in 1922, but there are many other colections and individual pieces extant: diadems, armlets, pendants, rings, bracelets, earrings, buckles, breastplates, necklaces, amulets – wrought in Nubian gold, lapis lazuli, brilliant colored faience and blood red carnelian. These opulent jeweled pieces, many modelled after organic forms such as vultures, cobras, falcons, lotus flowers, scarab beetles and winged half-human goddesses, are among the most splendid objects of Egyptian antiquity. Cyril Aldred’s lively text covers the enchanting story of each piece, including misdeeds and discoveries both ancient and modern. He explains the fascinating uses and significance of Egyptian jewels, the materials, and the techniques used to transform these materials into the exquisitely decorative trappings of wealth for kings and queens. Mr. Aldred’s text, which covers the finest pieces from every major find, is illustrated throughout with line drawings in addition to photographs, many in brilliant color, taken under special conditions in the Cairo Museum by Albert Shoucair. As one prominent Egyptologist noted, Jewels of the Pharaohs is unequalled in its comprehensiveness and destined to be a standard for generations. • Sinkankas: An interesting, authoritative, and well-balanced work, it begins with notes on the recovery of jewels from ancient hoards and burials, exploring the uses of jewelry, the materials employed, the craftsmen and their tools, and techniques used in working both metals and non-metals, as well as the various forms jewelry took. This is followed by a chronological table and extensive, detailed notes on the illustrations, which occupy nearly half the volume. Gemologists will find much of value here, as gemstones play a prominent role in the jewelry of the Egyptians.
Keywords
gems, ancient gemology, ancient jewelry, Egypt, Egyptian jewelry, beryl, emerald, turquoise, malachite

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Egyptian Blue as a pigment and ceramic material

Egyptian Blue as a pigment and ceramic material

Chase, W.T. (1971)

Book Section · Source: Science and Archaeology · Publisher: MIT Press · Pages: pp. 80–90

Abstract
Egyptian blue is defined; identification, especially by X-ray powder diffraction, is described; history of use is summarized; laboratory fabrica tion of Egyptian blue is described; evidence of manufacturing techniques is discussed. If they shape one common theme, these collected papers clearly indicate the directions of current research in archaeological chemistry—a term that,, taken in a broad sense, includes techniques and methodologies of many areas of science other than chemistry. Dr. Brill, in fact, advocates use of the term “archaeometry” (coined by Dr. E. T. Hall of Oxford University) to describe more accurately the work of quite a few investigators in the field. Twenty-one chapters by distinguished contributors are organized in three main categories according to research objectives. Part One contains investigations of individual objects or small groups of objects, describing how they were made and their places in the early history of technology or science. Studies in Part Two consist of analyses of such diverse materials as metals, pottery, obsidian, and amber to uncover patterns of chemical composition for the classification of fragments according to provenance or date. A number of chapters in this section deal with neutron-activation analysis. The book's final part describes four techniques used for dating archaeological objects. The volume is generous in scope, ranging over a variety of approaches and motivations, research tools, and archaeological materials. Some of the more technically advanced studies cover up-to-date and complex instrumentation for analyzing samples more accurately, more rapidly, and with greater convenience than before, while others emphasize the detailed handling or “autopsy” of the objects themselves. The material in this book was originally prepared for the Fourth Symposium on Archaeological Chemistry, sponsored by the Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society in 1968. Dr. Brill cites several problems that should form the basis for further research: the criteria for selecting what is necessary and significant from increasingly unwieldy bodies of data; the means by which findings in this field can be used in a more than descriptive manner to reveal something new about early man; and the continued necessity for close cooperation between the archaeometrist and archaeologist. The former, Dr. Brill points out, must take a major part in interpreting his findings and not merely leave his tabulations and statistical correlations to the historian and archaeologist.
Keywords
gems, archaeology, archaeogemology, Mediterranean, Ptolemaic-Roman, Red Sea, Egypt, Greece, Greek, Egyptian blue pigment, cuprorivaite, ceramic

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The Garamantes of Southern Libya

The Garamantes of Southern Libya

Daniels, C. (1970)

Book · Publisher: Oleander Press · Pages: 47 pp., 14 plates

Abstract
Daniels’s essay on the Garamantes, though brief, contains a remarkable amount of valuable information, much of it drawn from fieldwork at Germa and its environs in which he has been directly involved. While much of the material has appeared previously, it remains difficult to access, and the significance of the work at Germa lies in its major contribution to the broader understanding of “Rome beyond the Imperial Frontiers”—a field which, the reviewer suggests, offers more fruitful opportunities for archaeologists than continued focus on well-explored Roman provincial areas. The Romans themselves seem to have shown little interest in their North African neighbors; it is telling that almost nothing was added to Herodotus’s account between the fifth and first centuries BCE, and that Roman curiosity about the desert fringes was minimal. Daniels provides a concise and sensible overview of the region’s human geography, carefully avoiding speculative theories based on strained interpretations of Pliny and Ptolemy. He also cautions against equating archaeological finds with tribal names—highlighting, for example, the absence of chariot or horse-trapping remains in presumed Garamantian territory despite Herodotus’s famous descriptions, even as chariot imagery appears widely across Saharan rock art from Tibesti to southern Morocco. Overall, Daniels adopts a conservative approach to defining the Garamantes’ territorial range, anchoring their core in the Wadi el-Ajal with Garama/Germa as their capital, and noting that their relation to other Libyan groups remains unknown, particularly given the lack of inscriptions in the Libyan alphabet.
Keywords
gems, archaeology, archaeogemology, Libya, garnet

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Estudio sobre jadeítas y albititas de Guatemala

Estudio sobre jadeítas y albititas de Guatemala

Study of jadeitites and albitites from Guatemala

Silva, Z.C.G.a. (1969)

Journal Article · Source: Boletín Geologico · Publisher: instituto Geográfico Nacional. Ministerio de Comunicaciones y Obras Publicas · Issue: No. N5 · Pages: 22 pp. · Language: in Spanish

Abstract
Silva presents a mineralogical and geological study of jadeitites and albitites from Guatemala, examining their mineral composition, textures, and occurrence. The study describes jadeite-bearing rocks and associated albite-rich rocks and considers their relationships within the regional geological setting. Particular attention is given to the mineralogical characteristics of the jadeitites, their associated minerals, and variations in composition and appearance. The work represents an early geological investigation of Guatemalan jadeite and is significant for documenting natural jadeitite occurrences in Guatemala and distinguishing them from associated albititic rocks.
Keywords
gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, archaeology, history, archaeogemology

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A Middle English Lapidary

A Middle English Lapidary

Zettersten, A. (1968)

Edited Book · Source: Acta Universitatis Lundensis Sectio I · Publisher: Gleerups · Issue: Vol. 10 · Pages: 50 pp.

Abstract
Sinkankas: A study of a lapidary identified as Bodleian Library MS Eng. misc. e. 558, with introductory remarks on Old and Middle English in general, the manuscript, its language, etc. Treats 37 stones, including gemstones, and is claimed to be “a rather close translation of the Second Anglo-Norman Prose Lapidary” of Studer & Evans, Anglo-Norman Lapidaries (1925), pp. 111–136, which see.
Keywords
gems, early lapidaries, early gemology, early mineralogy, English lapidaries

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Gemological books range from general identification manuals and textbooks to specialized works on individual gems, mineralogy, jewelry, treatments, synthesis, history and gem-producing regions.

For a curated selection of particularly useful books, read The Gemologist's Core Library — Classic Books on Gemology, Jewelry and Mineralogy.

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