Abstract
IT is ten years since this Compendium first appeared. Much additional matter has been incorporated in the new edition. The extensive glossary which constitutes Part 1 includes not only definitions of precious and semi-precious stones, and the trade names by which they are sometimes known, but also explanations of the various technical names used in connexion with the scientific study of gem stones. It has been enlarged, and now occupies one half of the book. Part 2 also has been extended, and deals very thoroughly with the optical, physical and chemical properties and characteristics of precious stones, and the technical methods by which these properties can be determined. Numerous tables of optical and physical constants are included, and there is also a section on artificial gem stones and the methods by which they can be recognized. Among the illustrations are twenty excellent plates, nine of which are coloured. Irrelevant matter of the type often found in books on gem stones, relating to their history and aesthetic value, has been completely omitted; but the book contains a vast amount of accurate and useful technical information arranged in a compact and convenient form. It is primarily intended as a vade mecum for jewellers and traders in precious stones, to whom it should prove invaluable; but it also forms a very useful ready-reference work for all in any way interested in gem stones, whether in a professional or amateur capacity.
The Gemmologists' Compendium
Robert
Webster
By. Second edition. Pp. 241 + 20 plates. (London: N.A.G., Ltd., 1947.) 15s.
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The Gemmologists' Compendium. Nature 161, 297 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/161297d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/161297d0