Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

Good for real gems, but...

Customer Rating:

I'm a new beader, and while this is a beautiful book, many of the stones I buy are not listed when I look them up in the color-code index. My hopes were that when I forgot what the stone was called, or wanted more info to tell my customers, I could find it. There are so many color variations and so many semi-precious gemstones being made into beads, it may be impossible to have a total reference book. It is a great source for those gems listed, and it may be more geared toward rockhounds.

Gemstones Galore!	Customer Rating:
This book is very informative of the types of gems. Look who wrote it, that tells the rest of the story. Would recommend buying this book.

pocket sized	Customer Rating:
Its a very thorough reference guide. Kind of like a field guide that you could carry with you. It is organized very well and gives some good in depth information. I think for some users they may find some of the information quite over their heads. Being a Smithsonian publication it of course leans towards the scientific.

Absolutely beautiful and informative book.

Customer Rating:

This is great reference gook if you are interested in gemstones and where they are found. I first checked this book out of the library to see if I wanted to buy it. I definitely wanted my own copy. I keep this by my computer, along with a copy "Gemstones of the World" by Walter Schumann, when I am looking for gemstones on the internet. The photographs are excellent and information is to the point.

Great Reference Tool

Customer Rating:

I Guess I'm part Crow; Shiney, Sparkley things definetly attract my attention, while the human side of me wants to know what they are, where they come from, and how they are formed. This book actually appeals to both sides. The color plates are very eye appealing, so my crow self is happy and my human self has plenty of tables, charts, and descriptives to satisfy it's inquisitive nature. While this will not be the only Gem Reference book in my library, it is very much worth reading over and over again. Highly Recommend *****