quartz, inclusions, gems

chrysoberyl, alexandrite, gems

corundum, synthetic corundum.7, flux, Kashan, gems

corundum, bibliography.0, books on books, gems, bibliography

corundum, USA.12, Montana.12, inclusions.5, gems

gems, jade, nephrite, jadeite, fei cui, Chinese jade carving

Sinkankas: Handsome, well illustrated catalog of jades in the Chauncey J. Hamlin Collection. Remarks on formation of the collection, materials in the pieces, artistry, etc., followed by the catalog proper briefly describing 118 pieces. Comment by G. M. Born, 161–2; Yang, Ancient Chinese, 1483.

corundum, quality.10, gems

gems, corundum, history.1, Ceylon.12, history of gemology, Pliny, early gemology, Ceylon

No part of India has such an uninterrupted historical tradition as Ceylon for the period prior to the fourth century A.D. Except for the rule of the Tamils, who are known as Damiḷas in the Pāli chronicles and as Damedas in the Sinhalese inscriptions, no foreigner ever disturbed the continuity of ancient Sinhalese history from its recognizable beginnings in the third century B.C. to the fifth century A.D. During this period the “horse dealers” (assavācāri) Sena and Guttaka ruled at Anurādhapura for twenty-two and twelve years respectively in the second century B.C. Then, towards the end of the second century B.C., Eḷāra, the celebrated lover of justice, established his reign on the island. In third place are to be mentioned the Pañca-Dravida, the famous five Tamil rulers, who, after having exercised power at the capital Anurādhapura for more than fourteen years, were vanquished by the popular Ceylonese hero Vaṭṭagāmaṇi Abhaya about the middle of the first century B.C. And finally—following King Mittasena, who lost his life in a Tamil invasion—the South Indian supremacy lasted till the end of the fifth century A.D. But though there was hardly any break in the steady development of early Ceylonese history, we are far from able to give a reliable chronology. In order to demonstrate the many difficulties and uncertainties that arise in a quest for well-grounded criteria for a better knowledge of Ceylon’s history, we will give a short survey of the sources relevant to the history of ancient Ceylon.

gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Japan

Archaeological explanation is given of the pre-historic use and work of jadeite as ornamental stones in Japan, especially around the Niigata Prefecture. How original rocks of jadeite which had been entirely obscured for many centuries were re-discovered in 1939 is explained. Geological and mineralogical occurrences, mineralogical properties of these jadeites, both newly found and archaeologic remains, are described in some details. Jadeites occur as jadeite rock, jadeite-albitite and jadeite vein, in serpentinite masses which develop along the fault boundaries between the green schists and Mesozoic and/or Paleozoic formations. Typical zonal arrangement is, from inner to outer, albite, white jadeite rock, green jadeite rock, soda-rich calciferous amphibole, and host serpentine. The colour of jadeite is white, green, violet and rarely blue and black. The chemical compositions, optical properties, unit cell sizes of jadeites are given.

inclusions, gems