gems

  • Book | Broken Bangle | Jade Nomenclature Order Page

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature | Cover image

    Introducing…

    Broken Bangle • The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature

    by

    Liu Shang-i ('Edward')  |  Richard W. Hughes
    Zhou Zhengyu ('Adam')  |  Kaylan Khourie


    Sponsored by

    Zhuang Qingfang
    The Gemmological Association of Hong Kong
    On Tung Jewellery
    Junhao Gemology
    Pinde Xuan
    Lotus Gemology

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature takes readers through the entire tortuous history of jade nomenclature, detailing how the current monikers were based on misinformation and misunderstanding of the gems’ true natures. Thus, the Chinese gem yù (amphibole jade) was named “nephrite” by French mineralogist Alexis Damour in the mistaken belief it was the same as the Mesoamerican pyroxene jade that a 16th Century Spanish doctor himself misinterpreted as being used to treat kidney disease (‘nephritus’). Later, Damour created a mineral species he called “jadeite” for what was actually a gem rock already known in China as fei cui.

    But this gemological whodunit is much more than a dry recitation of jade nomenclature. It includes a detailed section on the occurrence and mineralogy of both yù (nephrite) and fei cui. Because jade is so intimately connected with Chinese culture, much of the Middle Kingdom’s fascinating history is also woven through its pages.

    Did we mention the illustrations? Broken Bangle features dozens of color images of both historical documents and spectacular photos of contemporary jade and stone carving in China. For those whose mental picture of jade sculpture is a cliché Chinese goddess statue, prepare to have your minds blown.

    Lead author Liu Shang-i summed up the book’s major aim:

    Our understanding of the world is deeply influenced by the names we assign to things. As history, culture, and scientific inquiry evolve, it becomes essential to assign accurate and fitting names to these unique types of jade that embody Chinese heritage. This nomenclature should reflect its cultural significance and resonate with both historical context and contemporary understanding.

    Co-author Zhou Zhengyu added:

    There is an ancient saying in China termed “casting a brick to attract jade.” Any book or article is only a stage of understanding, and this understanding, if it can be better than before, is progress. Our work is certainly not the last word on the subject, but we hope it will help improve people’s understanding of this gem’s fascinating history and inspire others to research the subject further. Not unlike a brick thrown in the hopes of attracting jade.

    This edition of Broken Bangle is limited to just 600 copies. Don’t miss this chance to enjoy not just superb scholarship, but also extraordinary examples of China’s modern jade culture.

    Comments from reviewers…

    A readable work of art…John Koivula, Gemological Institute of America
    This book [is] not only a work of scholarship but of art…Anne Carroll Marshall, Journal of the Gemmological Association of Hong Kong
    Beautifully illustrated and a pleasure to read… a valuable contribution not only for the gemologist, but for all who deal with jade jewelry.Eric Hoffman, Hoffmanjade.com
    Whether you are a hardcore gemologist or just a garden-variety jade lover, Broken Bangle is the book for you. Buy it, read it yourself, and give it away. I enthusiastically give Broken Bangle two thumbs up!Jeffery Bergman, International Gem Society
    …a splendid bookJohn Saul, geologist and author
    Wow, beautifully done, a must have to expand one's knowledge of jade.Georg Schmerholz, master jade carver and author
     

    Hardcover  |  Published September 2024
    THB2100 (~US$60)

    120 pages; 240 x 280 mm (9.45 x 11 inches), 1 kg (2.2 lb)
    Full Color Throughout

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    Title Page & Table of Contents

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature contents page

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature Authors

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature sponsors

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature preface

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature | Jade in China 

    Sample Interior Spreads 

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature Chapter 1

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature Chapter 2

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature Chapter 3

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature Chapter 3

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature Chapter 4

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature Chapter 5

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature Chapter 5

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature Chapter 5

    Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature | Chapter 6 | References

     Broken Bangle 114 115

     

  • Book | Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature | 2024

    Book | Broken Bangle | The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature | 2024

    Broken Bangle  •  The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature

    Liu Shang-i, Richard W. Hughes, Zhou Zhengyu and Kaylan Khourie  |  2024

    In recent years, jade nomenclature has been upended by the discovery by gemologists that the gem being sold as "jadeiite" is actually a rock composed of three different pyroxene minerals. But the problems of jade nomenclature run much deeper, literally to the application of the words nephrite and jadeite to jade in the mid-19th century. Already by the 1930s, mineralogists realized that one should not apply the name of a mineral species to a rock, but this knowledge sadly never made its way into the gemological lexicon. Broken Bangle tackles jade nomenclature from the earliest times to the present day, advocating that the mineral species names jadeite, omphacite and kosmochlor not be used because their application to rocks does not follow standard mineralogical/geological practices. In addition, breaking down rocks into their mineral components is not done anywhere else in gemology. Instead, the authors suggest that the traditional Chinese term fei cui be used for the pyroxene jade gems.

    Broken Bangle •  Order Page 

  • Book | Inside Out | GEM•ology Through Lotus-Colored Glasses | 2020

    Inside Out | GEM•ology Through Lotus-Colored Glasses (2020)

    Inside Out  •  GEM•ology Through Lotus-Colored Glasses

    E. Billie Hughes, Richard W. Hughes, Wimon Manorotkul  |  2020

    From the dawn of time, precious stones have both attracted and fascinated humans in ways that few other items could. For while objects of desire are found throughout the natural world, physical beauty is too often ephemeral. From the allure of a man, woman, flower or butterfly, through the fleeting moments of a sunset, there is little that lasts and practically nothing that can be passed down to our descendants. The exception is precious stones. Not only are they the most durable creations of Mother Nature, but their visual splendor is truly eternal.

    This book presents a completely fresh approach to the subject. Dubbing it humanistic gemology, the authors take readers around the world, showing the places they have explored in their search for gems, along with the people and cultures encountered along the way. Within this volume, remarkable photographs of the human world are interwoven with images of the microscopic realm of the gems themselves. In a lifetime beset by time control, where living is broken into ever smaller bits, as you browse through these pages suddenly you plunge into a domain of frozen time, one that affords vistas of millions or even billions of years. For jewels offer not just superficial beauty, but a window on the primordial forces that birthed both our planet and universe.

    Inside Out – Gemology Through Lotus-Colored Glasses represents a fascinating new direction for gemology, linking the external and internal worlds of precious stones for the first time. 

    Inside Out | GEM•ology Through Lotus-Colored Glasses Order Page 

  • Book | Jade | A Gemologist's Guide | 2022

    Jade • A Gemologist's Guide (2022)

    Jade  •  A Gemologist's Guide

    Richard W. Hughes, editor  |  2022

    The study of jade is unlike any other gem, trespassing across all conventional boundaries, particularly those of the gemological and mineralogical realm. Despite the march of mineralogical orthodoxy and conformity, the word “jade” is a fist in the air of protest, crying out not for reduction and definition, but an expansion of the mineralogical lexicon to include the cultural aspects of human civilization and life. The word “jade” is the anti-mineral. Because jade is so much more than a simple census of atoms, their valence states, and their places of residence.

    An understanding of jade is not limited to the technical or exacting; it also incorporates a feeling for the cultural, textural, and ephemeral qualities that make the study of this gem unlike any other in the world of gemstones. It is our heartfelt hope that this volume will not just fill the “traditional gemological” gap, but will open readers’ eyes to a world beyond. Because jade is so much more.

    While the literature on jade is vast, perhaps greater than any other gem, there is a distinct lack of a volume that treats jade as a gemological material. This book is designed to fill that gap, with extensive information on the history, sources, appraisal and identification of both treated and the various forms of imitation jade. All of this is together in a single volume for the first time, making this a must-have for all collectors, dealers, gemologists, appraisers, curators and anyone else with an interest in this fascinating gem.

    Jade • A Gemologist's Guide Order Page 

  • Book | Jade | A Gemologist's Guide | Limited Edition Order Page

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Cover small

    Thank you for reserving

    Jade • A Gemologist's Guide
    Limited Edition

    To proceed with your order, please select your shipping destination below.

    This page is for clients that reserved single copies of the limited edition book. Please only add one copy of the limited edition to your cart.

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  • Book | Jade | A Gemologist's Guide | Order Page

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Cover small

    Introducing…

    Jade • A Gemologist's Guide

    edited by

    Richard W. Hughes

    featuring contributions from…

    Ahmadjan Abduriyim • Dale Blankenship • George E. Harlow • Eric J. Hoffman • E. Billie Hughes • Richard W. Hughes • Jiang “Chris” Chenglong • John I. Koivula • Nikolai Kouznetsov • Liu Yicen • Kirk Makepeace • Jeff Mason • Dominic W.K. Mok • Qi Lijian • Mary Lou Ridinger • Donn Salt • Roland Schluessel • Andrew Shaw • Shi Guanghai • Susan Stronge • Wang Mingying • Stewart Young • Zhou "Adam" Zhengyu
    with…
    Rudolph I. Estrada • Tao Hsu • Jason C.H. Kao • Michael S. Krzemnicki • William F. Larson • Wim Vertriest


    Sponsored by the Houston Museum of Natural Science

     

    The study of jade is unlike that of any other gem, trespassing across conventional boundaries, particularly those of the gemological and mineralogical realm. Despite the march of mineralogical orthodoxy and conformity, the word “jade” is a fist in the air of protest, crying out not for further reduction and definition, but an expansion of the mineralogical canon to include the cultural aspects of human civilization and life. Because jade is so much more than a simple census of atoms, valence states, and places of residence. Jade is a lexicon liberator.

    While the literature on jade is vast, perhaps greater than any other gem, there is a distinct lack of a volume in English that treats jade as a gemological material. This book is designed to fill that gap, with extensive information on the history, sources, appraisal and identification of both treated and imitation jades. All of this is together in a single volume for the first time, making it a must-have for collectors, dealers, gemologists, appraisers, curators and anyone else with an interest in this fascinating gem.

    An understanding of jade is not limited to the technical or exacting; it also incorporates a feeling for the cultural, textural, and ephemeral qualities that make the study of this gem unlike any other. This volume will not just fill the “traditional gemological” gap, but will open readers’ eyes to a world beyond. Because jade is so much more…

    Publishing: 2022

    Standard Edition Hardcover with Dust Jacket
    US$200

    534 pages; 240 x 280 mm (9.45 x 11 inches), 2.75 kg (6 lb)
    Full Color Throughout

    Special Limited Edition of 100 Signed and Numbered Copies Bound in Thai Silk with Slipcase
    US$300 (Sold Out)

    Standard & Limited Editions: Sold Out

    Check out our coffee-table style book Inside Out.

     


     

    Title Page & Table of Contents

    Jade A Gemologists Guide title page

    Jade A Gemologists Guide table of contents

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Authors

    Sample Interior Spreads

     Jade A Gemologists Guide Conundrum

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Conundrum3

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Introduction

    Jade A Gemologists Guide History in China

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Geology

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Hetian

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Myanmar

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Mayan

    Jade A Gemologists Guide New Zealand

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Mughal

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Canada

    Jade A Gemologists Guide USA

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Russia

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Japan

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Archaic Identification

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Nephrite ID

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Jadeite ID

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Inclusions

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Jadeite Quality

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Auctions

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Carving History

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Modern Carving

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Symbolism Color

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Books

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Glossary

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Bibliography

    Jade A Gemologists Guide Index 

     

     

     

  • Book | Ruby & Sapphire | 1997

    Ruby & Sapphire

    Ruby & Sapphire

    Richard W. Hughes  |  1997

    Ruby & Sapphire is widely acknowledged as one of the finest gemology books ever published. Not just an update of his previous volumes on ruby and sapphire, it represents something rarely seen in a technical book, a fusion of accurate science and spirited, accessible prose. Within its pages, one finds information on prices, quality analysis, sources, history, treatments and identification. Featuring over 300 color photos and 2500 references, this now out-of-print volume is today highly sought after by collectors and gemologists, who pay as much as $1000 or more for the privilege of owning a copy.

    Out-of-print. Click here to search for a copy

  • Book | Ruby & Sapphire | A Collector's Guide | 2014

    Ruby & Sapphire  |  A Collector's Guide (2014)

    Ruby & Sapphire  •  A Collector's Guide

    Richard W. Hughes  |  2014

    Few gems capture the imagination like ruby and sapphire. This book removes the cloak of
 an otherwise secret world
. Drawing on a lifetime’s experience, 
the author ventures around the globe for the
 finest specimens, in the process allowing readers to discover 
the people and places where these rare gems are 
found, along with the story of the stones themselves. Throughout the text, Hughes guides readers with
 the steady connoisseur's eye, explaining what collectors should look for. For many pieces, actual
 auction prices are given, aiding collectors in their 
buying decisions. Illustrated with more than 300 color
 photographs, this is a visual and intellectual feast of
 the most delicious order.

    Ruby & Sapphire • A Collector's Guide order page

  • Book | Ruby & Sapphire | A Gemologist's Guide | 2017

    Ruby & Sapphire  |  A Gemologist's Guide (2017)

    Ruby & Sapphire  •  A Gemologist's Guide

    Richard W. Hughes, with Wimon Manorotkul & E. Billie Hughes  |  2017

    Designed as a companion to Ruby & Sapphire: A Collector's Guide, this massive volume is aimed specifically at working gemologists, appraisers and students. Based on Richard W. Hughes' 1997 classic, Ruby & Sapphire, this edition is fully updated. The product of nearly 40 years of firsthand experience and research, it covers every aspect of the subject from A–Z. History, sources, prices, quality analysis, synthetics and treatments, everything is here. With over 1000 photos, maps and illustrations and 3500 references, Ruby & Sapphire—A Gemologist’s Guide represents the most comprehensive book ever written on a single precious stone.

    Ruby & Sapphire •  A Gemologist's Guide Order Page 

  • Book | Ruby & Sapphire Colors | From Peacock to Pigeon's Blood | 2017

    From Peacock to Pigeon's Blood

    From Peacock to Pigeon's Blood  •  An Introduction to Ruby & Sapphire Colors

    Lotus Gemology  |  2017

    An introduction to the ruby & sapphire color types used at Lotus Gemology.

    From Peacock to Pigeon's Blood Order Page 

  • Book | Terra Spinel — Terra Firma | 2010

    Terra Spinel  |  Terra Firma (2010)

    Terra Spinel • Terra Firma (2010) • Lotus Gemology

    Terra Spinel  |  Terra Firma

    Vladyslav Y. Yavorskyy & Richard W. Hughes  |  2010

    Terra Spinel takes readers into the world of spinel through the lens and collection of renowned spinel dealer, Vladyslav Yavorskyy. Some of the world's finest spinels are featured in this book's pages as Yavorskyy travels to the most important locations. The traditional sources Burma (Myanmar), Tajikistan, and Sri Lanka are covered in detail, along with newer finds in Vietnam, Tanzania and Madagascar. This is not a gemology book in the traditional scientific sense. Instead, what it represents is a celebration of a rare gem and the places from which it comes. Stunningly illustrated, it is a must-have for any gem lover.

    Out-of-print

  • Buying at the Source | Dick's Law and Other Sundry Maxims of the East

    Buying at the Source

    An essay on buying gems at the source in Asia, with a discussion of how con men play on the greed of those who believe gems will be cheaper at the mines.

  • Colored Stone Grading | A Heretic's Guide

    Colored Stone Grading • A Heretic's Guide

    Developing a comprehensive colored stone grading system has been the dream of gemologists since the late 1970's, but despite a number of valient attempts, we are no closer to the goal today than we were four decades ago. This article examines the various problems of colored stone grading, explaining why the challenges are at least an order of magnitude greater than the grading of diamonds.

  • Discover the Gemstones: Ruby & Sapphire Exhibition | Hong Kong

    Experience the hidden world of ruby & sapphire in this exhibition with Lotus Gemology and Van Cleef & Arpels' L'École School of Jewelry Arts

  • Fiber-Optic Light in Gemology | Living in the Dark Ages

    Fiber-Optic Light in Gemology • Living in the Dark Ages

    The role of fiber-optic lighting in gemological microscopy.

  • Fracture Healing of Ruby | Fluxed Up

    Fracture Healing of Ruby • Fluxed Up

    A discussion of the flux-healing treatment of rubies. This article was given the Richard T. Liddicoat Journalism Award by the American Gem Society in 2005.

  • Gem Treatment Disclosure | Notes from the Eastern Front

    Discussion of gem treatment disclosure and its somewhat difficult history.

    Discussion of gem treatment disclosure and its somewhat difficult history.

  • Heat Seeker | UV Fluorescence as a Gemological Tool

    Heat Seeker  |  UV Fluorescence as a Gemological Tool

    One of the greatest gemological challenges is determining if a ruby or sapphire has been heat treated. UV fluorescence can assist in that identification, as well as detecting fillers in emerald.

  • History of Chanthaburi & Pailin | Moontown

    Moontown • A History of Chanthaburi, Thailand, and Pailin, Cambodia

    The Thai city of Chanthaburi (จันทบุรี) may be small, but it has played an important role in both the history of Thailand and the gem trade. Taking its name from the Sanskrit word for moon ('chan'), this petite town is among the most charming in the Land of Smiles.

  • Identifying Yellow Sapphire Using the Blue Filter

    Identifying Yellow Sapphire • Blue Filter • Proletarian Gemology

    Introducing the blue filter as a gemological tool to separate natural and Verneuil synthetic yellow sapphires.

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