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Natural Gemstones · Geological Survey — chapter 6 of 6 · ~512 words · public domain

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Prospecting for Gemstones and Minerals [Formerly Gemstones and Minerals: How and Where to Find Them], John Sinkankas: Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1970, 2nd ed., 397 p.

Mineral & Gem Trails of Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Ed and Bert Sloan: EDSCO, Box 79, Oneonta, NY 13820, 1978, 52 p.

Gem Testing, B.W. Anderson: Butterworth, Woburn, MA, 1980, 9th ed., 384 p.

Gemology, C.S. Hurlbut Jr. and G.S. Switzer: Wiley, New York, 1979, 596 p.

Gems and Jewelry, Joel Arem: Bantam Books, New York, 1975, 159 p.

Gem Cutting: A Lapidary’s Manual, John Sinkankas: Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1962, 2nd ed., 297 p.

Journals

Gems and Gemology (quarterly). Articles on gemstone localities, identification, and history. Includes annual index, lab notes, book reviews, and gemological abstracts. Published by the Gemological Institute of America, 1660 Stewart Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404.

Lapidary Journal (monthly). Articles on gemstones, locality information, expeditions to find sources of gemstones, gemcraft, club news, show news, product news, and book reviews. Published by the Lapidary Journal, Devon Office Center, Suite 201, 60 Chestnut Avenue, Devon, PA 19333-1312.

Rocks & Minerals (bimonthly). Features articles of interest to students of mineralogy, geology, and paleontology. Includes articles about gemstone localities. Regularly lists announcements of hundreds of mineral, rock, and gem shows (local, State, national, Canadian, and European). Includes media reviews, museum notes and announcements, and classified ads. Published by Heldref Publications, 4000 Albermarle Street, NW., Washington, DC 20016.

Jewelers’ Book Club—Catalog (annual). Catalog of more than 550 jewelry-related publications from more than 250 publishers. Includes video- and audio-cassettes and book reviews. Jewelers’ Book Club—News (quarterly) informs members of new titles and provides book reviews. Published by the Jewelers Book Club, Chilton Way, Radnor, PA 19089.

Videocassettes

Gemstones of America (60 minutes), Smithsonian Institution, 1991, can be ordered for $29.95 from the Museum Shop, Attention: Mail Order Clerk, National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20560; (202) 357-1535.

Splendid Stones. This National Geographic Society special details the evolution from raw material to cut and polished gem, outlines many of the steps involved in marketing gemstones, and examines some of the world’s most famous jewelry collections. It can be ordered for $95 from the National Geographic Society, 17th and M Streets NW., Washington, DC 20036.

Acknowledgments

The U.S. Geological Survey is grateful to the following individuals for their assistance:

Harvey E. Belkin, Geologist, Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, Reston, VA.

Gordon T. Austin, “Gem Stones,” Mineral Commodity Summaries 1991, Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC.

Robert E. Thaden, “Gem Stones,” in United States Mineral Resources, Geological Survey Professional Paper 820, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1973, p. 247-250.

Jane Jenness, Minerals Information Office, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, DC.

Photographs

All photographs are courtesy of The Smithsonian Institution.

Transcriber’s Notes

--Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.

--In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by underscores.

--In the ASCII version only, subscripted numbers are preceded by underscore and delimited by brackets.

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