gems, corundum, gemology, gemmology,

Lovely book on gemology, illustrated largely by the stunning photographs of the late Tino Hammid, along with others from the renowned Jeff Scovil. Volume 1 covers the science of gemmology, including the chemical nature of gemstones, their physical and optical properties, basic crystallography, the absorption of light, the spectroscope, polarized light, the polariscope, pleochroism, the dichroscope, colour filters, specific gravity, luminescence, magnification, thermal conductivity, imitation, assembled and lab-created gemstones, gemstone treatments and enhancements, mining, diamond and coloured gemstone cutting and coloured gemstone and diamond grading. Volume 2 covers the identification of gemstones based on their colour and transparency, ‘Reflections’ consisting of 134 pages of photographs that capture the true beauty and incredible talent of award winning gem cutter John Dyer, and GEMFACTS that focuses on the seventeen most common gem species and varieties.