gems, diamond, South Africa, spodumene, kunzite, Pala, San Diego County, USA, jade, turquoise, opal, tourmaline, quartz

A comprehensive review of precious-stone production, mining, trade, and gemological developments during 1903. Kunz records U.S. production valued at $321,400, compared with $328,450 in 1902, while imports rose to $26.52 million. Considerable attention is devoted to diamonds, including the expanding South African industry, development of the new Premier mine in the Transvaal, the older Vaal River workings, and historical and geological accounts of Indian diamond deposits; industrial uses and unusual physical properties of diamond are also discussed. American gem occurrences covered include sapphire, beryl, garnet, tourmaline, turquoise, opal, quartz varieties, and other ornamental materials. Of particular importance is the newly discovered lilac spodumene from Pala, California—soon named kunzite—with detailed descriptions of its occurrence, chemistry, cutting, color, and remarkable phosphorescence under X-rays, radium, and other forms of excitation. Kunz also gives an extensive account of jade and nephrite, reviewing European and Pacific occurrences, prehistoric implements, and the Bishop jade collection, including material from China, New Zealand, Alaska, Mexico, and Guatemala. Further sections discuss turquoise geology and prehistoric mining in New Mexico, gem minerals of Ceylon and the Philippines, and numerous newly reported deposits. The report concludes with comparative tables of U.S. precious-stone production and imports, providing an unusually broad picture of both the scientific and commercial state of gemology at the beginning of the twentieth century.