This is the third book to appear in this series on the pure and applied sciences of diamond. For 40 years there has been a collaboration between academia and the industry on diamond research which, in my view, is unrivalled in the United Kingdom.

Leading researchers offer insight into many of the aspects of the world of emeralds: What is emerald? How does emerald form? Where is emerald found? Where are the richest deposits? Is it possible to determine the origin of emerald? What separates green beryl from emerald? How are emeralds created in the lab and how can they be recognized? Plus etymology, history, legendary giants, local finds and more... extraLapis English No. 2 provides a comprehensive look at this magnificent gemstone.

Precious opal is a rainbow made tangible. Its spectral blaze of color moves, changes, intensifies, fades, or disappears with the slightest change in perspective. Opal's intriguing play of color and unique atomic arrangement has made it the subject of scientific probing from early optics in the 1850s to high tech photonics today. Equally challenging has been discovering opal's place in history. Its beauty begs to be enshrined in myth and legend when facts are as scarce as the stone itself.

The first comprehensive book on the subject in over thirty years, The World of Opals is a complete guide to the science and history of these remarkable gems. It begins with a thorough examination of the physical properties and attributes of common and precious opals, with up-to-date information on opal formation, extraction, storage, and cutting. Next, it chronicles man's involvement with the stone from 4000 B.C. to the present, following the opal through countless reversals of fortune and mythology as talisman, prognostic aid, patron stone of thieves, and bearer of bad luck.

Although sapphire traditionally has been considered a gem, it has developed into a material typical of the "ceramic era." Widening the field of sapphire application necessitated essential improvement of its homogeneity and working characteristics and extension of the range of sapphire products, especially those with stipulated properties including a preset structural defect distribution.

The most complete book ever on the corundum gems, ruby & sapphire. Covers all the history, crystallography, physics, chemistry, geology, inclusions, treatments, synthetics, cutting and world sources. Over 3000 references. There is no other book like it.

Part of the Gem Book series, this book is a review of the history, geology and gemmological aspects of topaz. The gem mineral is vigorously examined.

Written and edited by some of the foremost scientists working in the field today, extraLapis No. 3 covers the mineralogy, phenomena, color and history of tourmaline as well as the latest research and recent discoveries.

Tourmaline group minerals have graced the cabinets of mineral collectors and museums for untold generations. Their colors and color patterns, along with their diverse shapes and associations, have assured their role as exqui­ site showpieces. Their workability and durability have, in addition, made them favorites among connoisseurs of colored gemstones. Tourmalines, however, are much more than exquisite showpieces and beautiful gemstones. Their diverse crystal forms and unique structure, their variable chemical compositions, their intriguing physical properties, and their widespread occurrence in nearly all kinds of rocks have long attracted the attention of scientists from several disciplines.