Gemstones of the World, the definitive guide to gems for over 20 years, takes the mystery out of appreciating, buying, and selling all kinds. It covers everything from the romance and history of more than 1,400 gemstones to their geographic locations; scientific, physical, and color properties; and the way they are formed, structured, and mined. With many charts and diagrams, Schumann offers full coverage of the optical features of gems - light and color, luminescence, refraction, and inclusions - and about densities and the chemical elements of each stone, with fascinating details on different cuts, polishing, synthetic and imitation gems, hardness, cleavage, classification, trade names, rarity, and much more - all with an easy-to-understand text. And then there are the magnificent photographs of the stones themselves in brilliant full-color, with full data on the facing page. If you wanted only one book on gemstones in your library, this would be the one! Book jacket.