gems, Arabic mineralogy, early gemology, al-Biruni, al-Kindi, al-Tifaschi, early lapidaries

Ruska surveys the character and development of mineralogical knowledge in Arabic literature, emphasizing that medieval “mineralogy” embraced not only stones and ores but also technically produced substances, pearls, coral, and fossils, and differed fundamentally from modern mineralogy in its emphasis on readily observable physical properties, behavior in fire and acids, medicinal uses, magical powers, localities, varieties, and practical applications rather than crystallography. He traces this knowledge through Arabic pharmacological, cosmographical, natural-philosophical, and astrological writings, including Ibn Sīnā, Ibn al-Baiṭār, Qazwīnī, the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ, and Arabic lapidaries attributed to Aristotle, Ḥunain ibn Isḥāq, and others. Particularly interesting are accounts assigning particular stones and metals to the planets and prescribing engraved images and astrological conditions for their use; Ruska connects this Arabic tradition with the Spanish Lapidario of Alfonso X and with later works of Albertus Magnus, Thomas of Cantimpré, and Konrad von Megenberg. He devotes substantial attention to al-Tīfāshī’s lapidary, which treats 25 precious and semiprecious stones according to their formation, localities, qualities, powers, and commercial value. As an example, Ruska discusses al-Tīfāshī’s account of emerald, including the medieval theory of its formation, the Egyptian emerald mines near the Red Sea, mining conditions, varieties and defects, medicinal and legendary properties, and valuation; the finest “beetle-green” emerald is stated to average four gold dinars per carat. Ruska closes by stressing the exceptional importance of al-Bīrūnī’s eleventh-century Kitāb al-jamāhir fī maʿrifat al-jawāhir, particularly for the history of gemstones and information concerning important stones of India, and expresses his intention to make the work accessible through an edition and translation.

Corundum, Burma.12, Ruby, Sapphire, gems

An administrative and statistical reference to the Ruby Mines District and Mong Mit State, combining general information with tables of population, agriculture, forests, trade, revenue, roads, justice and education. Records administrative subdivisions, principal settlements, public establishments, transport facilities, wages and demographic characteristics, including information derived from the 1911 census. Of particular gemological interest is the table of ruby production, giving annual quantities in carats and estimated values in rupees for 1901–1911. Separate tables document commercial activity and public expenditure, placing gemstone production within the district’s wider economy. The volume also notes Mong Mit’s separation from the district’s direct administration in 1906. Provides a contemporary statistical framework for studying Mogok and its surrounding region during British rule.

gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, Rome, Roman gems, history of gemology, jewelry, history of jewelry, rings, finger rings

The collection of rings described in this catalogue was the work of a lifetime: the late Monsieur Guilhou spent many years and the better part of his fortune buying rings, ancient and modern, of every description; at the time of his death, he had brought together a stupendous series of one thousand six hundred and thirty-six ancient rings, a total probably unrivalled in any public museum or private collection. Every age and every country is represented in this extraordinary assemblage, and it was no easy task for the compiler of the present catalogue to assign each ring to its proper date, to sort this great series which the collector had left in the utmost disorder, and to divide the collection chronologically into twenty-four cases, grouped in four large folding boxes. Although it was not possible for the compiler (in the absence of any note or catalogue by the hand of Monsieur Guilhou) to discover the provenance and history of every single ring, it was nevertheless most satisfactory to be able to identify not only twenty beautiful Renaissance rings from the celebrated Spitzer collection, sold in 1893, but also nearly all the important items described in Baron Jérôme Pichon’s sale catalogue (1897). Baron Pichon’s collection of rings was considered the finest in France: nearly forty of his choicest specimens were ultimately bought by Monsieur Guilhou, including the celebrated ring of the Black Prince. As late as 1909, Monsieur Guilhou purchased at the Victor Gay auction nearly every ring in the sale, paying as much as seven thousand francs for a finger-ring of which he had already several examples.

Burma.12, corundum, ruby, sapphire, jade, jadeite, fei cui, gems

Written by Sir Charles Crosthwaite, Chief Commissioner of Burma from 1887 to 1890, this is a firsthand account of the British pacification and administration of Upper Burma following its annexation in 1885. Crosthwaite describes the suppression of armed resistance, disarmament, establishment of civil government and police, and British dealings with the Shan States, Chins, Bhamo, Mogaung, and other frontier regions. Of particular interest for gemological history is the treatment of the Ruby Mines district and Mogok, which was established as a separate administrative district following the annexation, and the account of W. Warry, the Chinese-speaking official who accompanied expeditions into the Mogaung region and later provided an important description of Burma’s jade mines.

corundum, synthetic corundum.7, gems

A broad review of the international precious-stone industry during 1910, emphasizing diamond production, markets, cutting, and major new gem discoveries. Kunz criticizes misleading trade names and undisclosed artificial gems, discusses the growing use of platinum in jewelry, and notes strong demand for emerald, pearl, sapphire, and other colored stones. Diamond coverage is extensive, including De Beers, Premier, Voorspoed, the Vaal River diggings, German Southwest Africa, the Belgian Congo, Australia, Brazil, British Guiana, Canada, and the developing Arkansas field, together with production statistics and the diamond-cutting industries of Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Germany. Of particular gemological importance is the account of microscopic diamonds in chromite-bearing altered peridotite from British Columbia. Colored stones include the Burma Ruby Mines at Mogok, Montana sapphires, and an extraordinary 110.5-kg transparent aquamarine crystal from Minas Gerais, Brazil. Kunz also introduces the name morganite for the fine rose-colored beryl newly mined in Madagascar, describing its occurrence, properties, and association with tourmaline and kunzite. Further sections treat moldavite and tektites, tourmaline, peridot, jade and jadeite, Ceylon moonstone, Lightning Ridge black opal, Baltic amber, Whitby jet, and pearl fisheries in Bahrain, Ceylon, and the United States.

humor, dictionary, gems

A collection of satirical definitions by American writer Ambrose Bierce, exposing hypocrisy, pretension, sentimentality, and self-interest through concise, frequently cynical reinterpretations of familiar words. Originally developed over many years and first published in book form as The Cynic’s Word Book (1906), the work ranges widely across politics, religion, society, literature, law, marriage, morality, and human behavior. Of gemological interest is Bierce’s celebrated definition of the diamond as “A mineral that frequently makes a woman of a man and a man of a woman.” The work has no scientific significance for gemology, but provides an entertaining example of gemstones, particularly diamonds, as cultural symbols in early twentieth-century American literature.

corundum, Afghanistan.12, gems

Hayden describes the geology encountered during an expedition through northern Afghanistan, including the Hindu Kush and districts adjoining the upper Oxus, with observations on stratigraphy, structure, mineral deposits, and the physical geography of the region. Of particular gemological interest are accounts of the celebrated mineral localities of Badakhshan, including the ruby-spinel workings and lapis-lazuli deposits, with discussion of their geological setting, character, and history of exploitation. The memoir provides an important early geological description of the mineral resources of this remote region based largely on direct field observation.

corundum, fiction, India, gems

Snyder’s The Flaw in the Sapphire is a 1909 detective and mystery novel centered on Dennis Muldoon, a shrewd young Irish-American who leaves his father’s business and goes to New York, where he becomes involved in a series of unusual crimes and mysteries. The title episode concerns the apparent theft and substitution of a valuable sapphire under seemingly impossible circumstances: the gem has been kept in a concealed, securely protected compartment, yet is replaced without any obvious means of entry. The investigation emphasizes close observation, physical evidence, concealed spaces, and deductive reasoning, while the narrative combines crime, romance, humor, and social satire. The sapphire itself functions chiefly as the object around which the mystery is constructed rather than as the subject of mineralogical or gemological discussion.

gems general

Sinkankas: The first third of this standard gemological text treats general matters, including historical notes on gemstones, their origin, properties, cutting, and imitations (by Dykes, Ch. 5, pp. 67–92), with the remainder being descriptive gemology. Here are treated diamond, fluorite and opal, corundum, spinel and chrysoberyl, calcite and feldspars, and other strange bedfellows. This odd lack of order is further compounded by the failure of the table of contents to list all of the species and varieties which may be found within the chapters, and one must refer to the index to find them. However, when the substance of the text is examined, it will be found to be good solid fare worthy of perusal. The illustrations show crystal forms, some cut gems, and numerous examples of rough. I have examined other copies of this work which are believed to be reprintings, e.g., medium and pale green cloth, stamped in black instead of gold, also in bright yellow-green of somewhat larger size, 21.5 × 14 cm (8 3/8 × 5 1/2 in), bottom edge trimmed.

corundum, Burma.12, gems, diamond, ruby, sapphire

Stokes presents a wide-ranging survey of the principal mining districts and mineral industries of the British Empire, based largely on extensive travel undertaken between 1906 and 1908. Rather than attempting an exhaustive catalogue of deposits, he concentrates on representative mining centres and their geology, methods of exploitation, labor conditions, production, transportation, organization, markets, and economic prospects. Coverage extends through India, Burma, Ceylon, the Malay States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, West Africa, and other colonial territories, embracing coal, gold, copper, tin, mica, manganese, lead, silver, diamonds, and other minerals. Of particular gemological interest are detailed accounts of the Mogok ruby mines of Burma; the alluvial gem fields around Ratnapura, Ceylon, including sapphire, ruby, chrysoberyl, zircon, and tourmaline; and the diamond industries of southern Africa. The numerous contemporary photographs and observations of mining practice make the volume an especially useful record of the organization and physical conditions of colonial mining at the beginning of the twentieth century.