Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-268) and index
The geological origin, occurrence and locality of gemstones -- The chemical composition of gemstones -- Crystallography -- Cleavage, parting and fracture -- Hardness -- Specific gravity, density and relative density -- Colour, lustre and sheen -- Reflection and refraction -- Polarization and pleochroism -- Spectroscopy -- Luminescent, electrical and thermal properties of gemstones -- The hand lens, microscope and Chelsea filter -- Gemstone enhancement -- Synthetic gemstones and gemstone simulants -- Identifying inorganic gemstones and their synthetic counterparts -- Identifying inorganic gemstone simulants -- Identifying organic gem materials and their simulants -- The fashioning of gemstones -- Practical gemstone identification