gems, corundum, history.1, Indian gemology, Indian mineralogy, history of gemology, history of mineralogy, diamond, , Indian lapidary

Sinkankas: This work is highly valued by historians and geographers for its rich and detailed descriptions of the regions visited by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier between 1631 and 1668, including the landscapes, cultures, and political figures he encountered during a time when dependable reports from the Near East and Asia were rare. While some have questioned the accuracy of his accounts, scholars such as William Crooke and Valentine Ball have largely defended Tavernier’s reliability, particularly when tested against modern research. In the realm of gemology, his observations have stood the test of time, especially regarding his dealings in large, high-quality gemstones—an area of expertise that reflects his success as a jeweler in Paris and his deliberate travels to acquire and sell precious stones to European royalty. His accounts are organized into five books on Turkey and Persia and three on India, the latter being of particular interest. Key chapters describe the jewels of the Great Mughal Aurangzeb, the diamond mines of India including Raolconda, the trade’s measurement systems, and details on colored gemstones, pearls, coral, amber, and medicinal materials. Tavernier is credited with the earliest descriptions of several legendary gems, including the Great Mogul, the Koh-i-Noor, and the Florentine diamonds. His “Tavernier Blue,” sold to the French royal house, is believed to be the origin of the Hope Diamond. Notably, his works include some of the earliest visual representations of famous diamonds and gemstones, with detailed engraved plates depicting these remarkable treasures, adding further historical and gemological value to his narrative.This work is highly valued by historians and geographers for its rich and detailed descriptions of the regions visited by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier between 1631 and 1668, including the landscapes, cultures, and political figures he encountered during a time when dependable reports from the Near East and Asia were rare. While some have questioned the accuracy of his accounts, scholars such as William Crooke and Valentine Ball have largely defended Tavernier’s reliability, particularly when tested against modern research. In the realm of gemology, his observations have stood the test of time, especially regarding his dealings in large, high-quality gemstones—an area of expertise that reflects his success as a jeweler in Paris and his deliberate travels to acquire and sell precious stones to European royalty. His accounts are organized into five books on Turkey and Persia and three on India, the latter being of particular interest. Key chapters describe the jewels of the Great Mughal Aurangzeb, the diamond mines of India including Raolconda, the trade’s measurement systems, and details on colored gemstones, pearls, coral, amber, and medicinal materials. Tavernier is credited with the earliest descriptions of several legendary gems, including the Great Mogul, the Koh-i-Noor, and the Florentine diamonds. His “Tavernier Blue,” sold to the French royal house, is believed to be the origin of the Hope Diamond. Notably, his works include some of the earliest visual representations of famous diamonds and gemstones, with detailed engraved plates depicting these remarkable treasures, adding further historical and gemological value to his narrative.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Robert Boyle’s Specimen de Gemmarum origine et virtutibus is a Latin edition of his experimental study of the origin, physical properties, and supposed virtues of gemstones. Boyle examines contemporary theories of gem formation and considers properties such as hardness, transparency, color, specific gravity, and responses to heat and chemical agents, drawing upon experiments, observations, travelers’ reports, and earlier lapidary literature. He discusses diamonds and numerous colored stones while critically examining traditional claims concerning the medicinal and supernatural powers attributed to gems. The work is important in the development of gemology because it approaches gemstones increasingly through observation and experiment rather than relying solely upon classical authority and traditional lore, reflecting the broader transition toward experimental natural philosophy in the 17th century.

gems, gemology, diamond, diamond mines, India, Burma, Pegu, Borneo, ruby

The parts of the World known to contain Diamonds, are the Island Borneo, and the Continent of India extra & intra Gangem; Pegu is likewise reported to have several, but the King not potent, his Country being but thinly inhabited, contents himself with his Mines of Rich Metals, Gold, Silver, Brass, Tin and Lead, and several other Commodities his Country affords, in great plenty, rather than to suffer new enquiries to be made, lest the discovery of such an additional Treasure should invite some of his Neighbours, more potent, to invade him. But leaving the description of other places to those that know them better, I shall only keep myself to the Coast of Coromandel, with which I am acquainted, and having visited several of its Mines, am able to say something thereof Experimentally.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Ferrante Imperato’s Historia naturale is an encyclopedic natural history based substantially on the celebrated collection or cabinet of curiosities assembled by the Neapolitan apothecary and naturalist. The work treats minerals, rocks, metals, earths, plants, animals, fossils, and other natural substances, combining direct observation with information derived from classical and contemporary authorities. Its extensive mineralogical sections describe the appearance, properties, origins, varieties, and uses of numerous stones and minerals and make the book an important early contribution to European mineralogy and collecting. Of particular gemological interest are discussions of precious and ornamental stones, including the material on pp. 598–599, providing evidence for 17th-century identification, terminology, properties, and uses of gem materials.

Tavernier, India.12, Sri Lanka.12, Burma.12, Persia, history.1, corundum, quality.10, gems, jade, Fischer-Book, Indian lapidary

Samuel Chappuzeau’s The History of Jewels, and of the Principal Riches of the East and West is an early English-language work devoted to precious stones, pearls, and other valuable natural products. It discusses diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, pearls, and other gems, including their geographical sources, qualities, sizes, values, trade, and notable specimens, while also treating other commodities regarded as riches of the East and West. Drawing upon contemporary travel and commercial literature, the book reflects European knowledge of the principal gem-producing regions and international gem trade during the 17th century. It is particularly valuable to historians of gemology for its descriptions of the characteristics and valuation of precious stones and for its evidence concerning the routes by which Asian and American luxury materials reached European markets.

corundum, Portugal, gems, global tavels, trade, Thailand.12

A seventeenth-century English translation of Fernão Mendes Pinto’s Peregrinação, first published in Portuguese in 1614, recounting the author’s extensive travels and adventures across Asia during the sixteenth century. The work describes voyages through India, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan, combining personal narrative with accounts of regional geography, peoples, customs, religions, trade, warfare, and natural products. Of particular interest to gemological history are Pinto’s observations on Asian commerce and luxury goods, including precious stones and other valuable commodities encountered in the trading networks of South and Southeast Asia.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

L’Histoire du grand Tamerlan is a French translation of the Arabic history of Timur (Tamerlane) by Aḥmad ibn ʿArabshāh, a 15th-century Syrian historian who experienced Timur’s conquest of Damascus and subsequently lived at the Timurid court in Samarkand. The work recounts Timur’s origins, military campaigns, conquests, court, character, and death, presenting a notably hostile counterpoint to the more celebratory Timurid chronicles. It contains descriptions of the wealth, tribute, spoils, luxury goods, and material culture associated with Timur’s campaigns and court. Of gemological interest are references to precious stones, jewelry, gold, and other valuable objects acquired as tribute or booty and circulated among the courts and trading centers of Central and Western Asia, providing useful historical context for the movement and prestige of gems in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Worm’s Museum Wormianum is an illustrated catalogue of the celebrated cabinet of curiosities assembled by the Danish physician and antiquarian Ole Worm. The collection encompasses minerals, stones, fossils, plants, animals, ethnographic objects, antiquities, and other natural and artificial curiosities, arranged as an attempt to describe and classify the natural world. Of gemological interest are its accounts of minerals, crystals, precious stones, and other lapidary materials, combining physical observations with contemporary ideas concerning their origins, properties, and uses. The work is an important record of seventeenth-century mineralogical knowledge and of the cabinet-of-curiosities tradition from which modern natural-history museums developed.

gems, jade, pyroxene jade, jadeite, fei cui, omphacite, kosmochlor, Mesoamerica, Guatemala

A major seventeenth-century compendium of the natural history and materia medica of New Spain, based principally on the investigations of Francisco Hernández and subsequently edited and augmented by members and associates of the Accademia dei Lincei. The work describes Mexican plants, animals, and minerals, combining Hernández’s observations and Indigenous knowledge with commentary by European naturalists. Of particular gemological interest are its accounts of Mexican minerals and stones, including their Indigenous names, physical characteristics, sources, and medicinal uses, making the work an important early source for European knowledge of the mineral resources and gemstone traditions of Mexico.

corundum, Thailand.12, gems

A French translation of Fernão Mendes Pinto’s celebrated account of his travels and adventures in Asia during the sixteenth century. Pinto describes journeys through India, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan, combining observations of peoples, cities, religions, warfare, navigation, commerce, and natural products with accounts of his extraordinary personal experiences. Of particular gemological interest are references to precious stones, pearls, gold, jewelry, and the trade in luxury materials throughout Asian commercial networks, providing an important early European perspective on the wealth and gem trade of the East. Early mention of gems in Thailand; quoted by Gühler (1947)