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Title:         GEM Identification Made Easy

Author:      Antoinette Matlins, PG  and A C Bontanno, FGA,ASA,MGA

Publisher: Gemstone Press - Woodstock, VT 2003

A Hands on guide to a more confident buying and selling experience with gemstones. Chapters cover all of the essential instruments needed in gemstone identification.  Very extensive tables.

Title:         Gemstones of the World - Revised and Expanded Edition (Rev #13)

Author:      Walter Schumann

Publisher:   Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., New York 2006

The information provided is excellent and the photographs offer several good images of each material. There are well over 1000 photos of different specimens and all are well lighted and clear.

Title:         Encyclopedia of Gemstones and Minerals

Author:    Martin Holden

Publisher: Michael Friedman Publishing Company, Inc.  1991

The minerals are arranged alphabetically. They are easy to look up by name. Mineral physical data is given in column sides, and the text is very good at providing historical information and local information. There is typically one photograph per mineral type, and they are excellent, photo quality and mineral quality. There are also crystal drawings for many of the specimens showing a favorite habit. The book covers about 225 different minerals.This is a book that rarely requires the index to find information.

Title:         Smithsonian Rock and Gem

Author:      Ronald L Bonewitz

Publisher: DK Publishing Inc.   2007

An amazing study of the Earth’s rocks, minerals, gems and fossils as only the Smithsonian could prepare. Striking visual profiles present the entire range of rocks and minerals, with key information for accurate identification and practical advice on how to cut, polish and display collections.

Title:           Jewelry and Gems - The Buying Guide (6th Edition)

Author:      Antoinette Matkins, PG

Publisher:   Gemstone Press, Woodstock, VT   2001

Recommended by consumers and jewelry trade reviewers around the world, editions are in use in over 100 countries.  This revised and expanded edition also covers buying and selling on the internet, recently discovered new gems and new treatments and tricks of the trade to be ion the lookout for when buying.      

Title:          Encyclopedia of Minerals and Gemstones

Author:      Michael O'Donoghue

Publisher:   Orbis Publishing Ltd.,London 1976

The first half of the book is a fundamental text on geology with some information on gemstones and polishing. It is organized around the idea that the reader is a collector. The second half of the book is a listing of minerals organized by chemistry. There are many small photos that are of good quality , but not one for each listing.The mineralogical data is not complete for every specimen, but it has the formulae, name, and some additional data. One good feature is a "very short" line that describes methods to clean specimens for display.  Despite its age, it is a good reference book.

Title:             Minerals of the World (2nd Edition)

Author:        Walter Schumann

Publisher:     Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., New York 2008

The ultimate mineral field guide.  The minerals are arranged by hardness, making it a bit hard to quickly find for the newcomer. The photographs are clean an well done. The information is typically done in about 1/3 of a page with most pertinent mineralogical data supplied. Environmental data is perhaps the weakest. There are often two or more photo examples per mineral. There are just over 500 minerals identified. Looking up minerals requires extensive use of the index unless you know the color and hardness.

Title:             Encyclopedia of Minerals (Revised Edition)

Author:          Willard L. Roberts - Thomas J. Campbell - George R. Rapp Jr.

Publisher:     Chapman & Hall, New York   1997

Considered by many to be the bible of mineralogy. The book contains an alphabetical listing of more than 3000 minerals with more than 240 color photos. The images are excellent quality, and many rare minerals are pictured. Many are miniatures or micros. There is less photo coverage of standard specimens and more images are rare or new materials. The physical property data is good but not as comprehensive as it could be. Every entry does have one or more references for additional data, and this is excellent. The book is alphabetical with all images located in a central color section and referenced by number. It is easy to find a material by name. The index need rarely be used.

Title:           Agates and Jaspers

Author:      Ron Gibbs

Publisher:   sbpBooks.com, Hong Kong  2009

The newest visual aide on the market for the lapidary world. This book is an aid to the visual identification of many of the agates and jaspers that reach today’s markets. About the only thing that everyone agrees upon associated with agates and jaspers seems to be is that they are both a form of chalcedony.  Many images presented to help in identification.