Professional to Layman...Newman Does It Again!, The great thing about any Renee Newman guide is that she writes for everyone - the professional jeweler, gemologist and hobbyist will all be able to glean important information and inspiration from her books.
In the first volume of her Exotic Gems series Newman looks specifically at Tanzanite, Ammolite, Rhodocrosite, Zultanite and several of the Felspar family of gems (Moonstone, Labradorite, Spectrolite, Sunstone and more).
In words that everyone can understand she walks you through the chemical, physical and optical qualities and then she takes you to the mines, shows you what it takes to cut some of these exotics and then finishes up with some of the most gorgeous photos of faceted gems, carved gems and gems in jewelry...and she even talks about the Metaphysical Lore of the gem.
The popularity of the television shopping networks has opened up a new era in gems in jewelry - there was a day when gem Rhodocrosite was considered to soft for jewelry and it was only found in mineral collections - those days are gone and Renee Newman's book give us the information we need to make decisions about using these materials in jewelry and for those looking to purchase them.
This book is worth buying just for the "eye candy" value - delightful to see such a great range from bridge to fine jewelry - cutters to carvers. Thanks Renee - I am looking forward to volume two!
2 comments:
Great review Robyn.. I couldn't agree more:)
...and all the more lovely due to the gorgeous stones and jewels from Different Seasons Jewelry! readers can find Jessica, Mark and Martha's work at http://differentseasonsjewelry.com/
Robyn
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