Extras
What is a gemstone?
A gemstone is "a precious or semiprecious stone that can be cut and polished for use as a gem." Gemstones are valuable as currency, jewelry, symbolize love, power, magic... you name it, mankind has ascribed it to these natural treasures over the millennia.
There is nothing more admirable in this lower World then Precious Stones, seeing they are the Starres of the Earth, and shine in competition with those of the Firmament, disputing with them for splendor, beauty, and glory.
Nature produceth nothing more rich, and sufficiently confesseth it, in her most careful laying them up and hiding them in her private Cabinets and Repositories in the inner parts of the Earth, so that they are not easie to be come by; but their value and price make them worth the searching for, even through the bowels of the World.
— History of Jewels, Samuel Chapuzeau, 1671
Resources
- Color Encyclopedia of Gemstones
- Gems and Crystals: From the American Museum of Natural History
- Gems and Gemstones: Timeless Natural Beauty of the Mineral World (Chicago Field Museum collection) *
- Gem Identification Made Easy (4th Ed)
- Gems in Myth, Legend and Lore (Revised Edition)
- Gems of the World by Cally Overshaw *
- Gemstones of the World (3rd Ed) by Walter Schumann
- Jewels: A Secret History by Victoria Finlay
- Masterpieces of the Mineral World: Treasures from the Houston Museum of Natural Science
- The National Gem Collection *
- Rock and Gem (DK/Smithsonian) *
- Simon & Schuster's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones
* indicates Danielle's (hoshichan.com) personal favorites.
Links- Gem by Gem — a guide to gemstone varieties, by the International Colored Gemstone Association.
- Gemstone @ Wikipedia — when all else fails, wiki.