gems, pearls, precious stones, jewelry

Hatem presents a popular but substantial survey of pearls and precious stones, combining gemological information with history, geography, mining, trade, and famous gems. She discusses the principal gemstones, including diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald, and pearl, describing their formation, physical characteristics, important producing regions, methods of recovery and cutting, and their place in commerce and jewelry. Historical accounts and anecdotes trace the fascination with precious stones from antiquity to the modern period, including celebrated jewels, royal treasures, discoveries, and the development of major gem-producing districts. Synthetic gemstones and attempts to manufacture diamond are also treated, including Moissan’s experiments. Pearls receive extensive attention, with discussion of natural pearl fisheries, cultured pearls, mollusks, formation, grading, and important producing regions. Written for the general reader rather than as a technical gemological manual, the volume brings together scientific explanations and historical material and is extensively illustrated, with 78 figures and a map in the text and 103 illustrations on plates.