gems, history of gemology, Chinese gemology

Sinkankas: In this brief but very valuable paper, Tsunashirō Wada treats the current use of gemstones among the Chinese, devoting most space to nephrite and jadeite, but also providing remarks on ruby, sapphire, beryl, spinel, and tourmaline, and ornamental stones lapis lazuli, rock crystal, amethyst, smoky quartz, cat’s-eye, chalcedony, agate, and banded agate, aventurine, and fluorite. Brief property data and sources of materials are given. Also treated are the historical and traditional uses, and the types of jewelry in which the stones were used, the introduction of gemstones by immigrants, lapidary treatment, and the stones used to symbolize the rank of mandarins. The plates depict jewelry, jade carvings, and pendants, with the last plate, a duplicate of one preceding but partly colored, showing an aquamarine crystal mounted as a pendant. A useful feature is the provision of Chinese character names of stones along with phonetic equivalents.