Gem The Definitive Visual Guide

W hether they’re stories about kings and queens, adventurers, wars, empires, or curses, the best stories are always about treasure. From sunken pirate ships to wicked diamonds to cities of gold, its sinister sparkle has a singular ability to bring out the very best and the very worst in each of us. History, mythology, or pure fantasy, the best stories all have that one thing in common: they all have something glittering at their heart. But this book is not a story. A story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. This book is a map, a codex, a tool to help you understand all of those other stories. Throughout these pages you’ll be introduced to hundreds of individual stones in their many forms; you’ll learn about their singular qualities and unique beauties, and a little of the history that has defined them. You’ll read about their objective qualities; their color, their clarity, their structural makeup, the geology of how they’re formed, and how they’re found. The hard science; the facts. But the story of stones isn’t wholly about facts. The story of stones is about beauty and desire, status and symbolism. It’s also about value, which is never entirely objective or tangible. Gems were one of the first currencies, and to this day are the marker by which we judge monetary value. But what makes gemstones so valuable, so powerful? They are, after all, only stones…