Jewels

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Throughout history, precious stones have inspired passions and poetry, quests and curses, sacred writings and unsacred actions In this scintillating book, journalist Victoria Finlay embarks on her own globe circling search for the real stories behind some of the gems we prize most Blending adventure travel, geology, exciting new research, and her own irresistible charm, Finlay has fashioned a treasure hunt for some of the most valuable, glamorous, and mysterious substances on earth.With the same intense curiosity and narrative flair she displayed in her widely praised book Color, Finlay journeys from the underground opal churches of outback Australia to the once pearl rich rivers of Scotland from the peridot mines on an Apache reservation in Arizona to the remote ruby mines in the mountains of northern Burma She risks confronting scorpions to crawl through Cleopatra s long deserted emerald mines, tries her hand at gem cutting in the dusty Sri Lankan city where Marco Polo bartered for sapphires, and investigates a rumor that fifty years ago most of the world s amber was mined by prisoners in a Soviet gulag.Jewels is a unique and often exhilarating voyage through history, across cultures, deep into the earth s mantle, and up to the glittering heights of fame, power, and wealth From the fabled curse of the Hope Diamond, to the disturbing truths about how pearls are cultured, to the peasants who were once executed for carrying amber to the centuries old quest by magicians and scientists to make a perfect diamond, Jewels tells dazzling stories with a wonderment and brilliance truly worthy of its subjects From the Hardcover edition. Free Read Jewels Author Victoria Finlay For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr In the course of my research I found that although, of course, some rare stones have amazing and frightening dynastic tales, every jewel, however small or flawed, has its story about the earth that was excavated to retrieve it, the families who depended on it, the people who designed the cutting method, those who bought or were given it, and the meanings and properties attributed to it Whole human, geological, and cultural histories are wrapped up in every stone we wear or desire, even if it In the course of my research I found that although, of course, some rare stones have amazing and frightening dynastic tales, every jewel, however small or flawed, has its story about the earth that was excavated to retrieve it, the families who depended on it, the people who designed the cutting method, those who bought or were given it, and the meanings and properties attributed to it Who...A couple of years ago, my aunt went into a jewelry phase She began to take interest in not just precious gems, but in semiprecious stones, primarily because some of them were reputed to have special properties for healing and protection She then got my mother into it, and for a while they shopped without my knowledge, mostly because I had work at the time, and over wasinclined to put money away than spend it But during one summer, I started accompanying my mother on her trips with m A couple of years ago, my aunt went into a jewelry phase She began to take interest in not just precious gems, but in semiprecious stones, primarily because some of them were reputed to have special properties for healing and protection She then got my mother into it, and for a while they shopped without my knowledge, mostly because I had work at the time, and over wasinclined to put money away than spend it But during one summer, I started accompanying my mother on her trips with my aunt while they went jewelry shopping, and that was when I and they realized that I had a real knack for figuring out real stones from fake ones I attribute this to a passing i...An indispensable exploration of the role jewels have played in human culture economically, socially, spiritually and decoratively Finlay looks closely at 9 gems, starting with the soft organic amber, jet and pearl, ending with the heavy hitters of gemology emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds Structurally, the book begins with gems that are formed by or within living matter By the time we get to diamonds, we have gone oddly full circle, as Finlay introduces us to gems that may be produce An indispensable exploration of the role jewels have played in human culture economically, socially, spiritually and decoratively Finlay looks closely at 9 gems, starting with the soft organic amber, jet and pearl, ending with the heavy hitters of gemology emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds Structurally, the book begins with gems that...I love this kind of non fiction is is enjoyable, readable and informative The combination of history, science, philosophy, travelogue and memoir in this book was fantastic It is one of the easiest ways to learn about something which could be quite dry if handled differently I ...I thoroughly enjoyed this book Victoria Finlay is a gifted storyteller She profiles nine different jewels pleasingly, in order of Moh s scale She discusses the geological origin, cultural history, historical symbolism and economics of each stone, but in a way that s entirely conversational and engaging Her book never feels like a lecture, it always feels like a story you d hear from a fascinating, well traveled friend over drinks Findlay is adventurous in her quest for detail, often going I thoroughly enjoyed this book Victoria Finlay is a gifted storyteller She profiles nine different jewels pleasingly, in order of Moh s scale She discusses the geological origin, cultural history, historical symbolism and economics of each stone, but in a way that s entirely conversational and engaging Her book never feels like a lecture, it always feels like a story you d hear from a fascinating, well traveled friend over drinks Findlay is adventurous in her quest for detail, often going down or at least considering going down into mines you couldn t pay me to consider for a fistful of rubies In addition to an educational read, this is a very fun book that you find yourself reluctant to put down I would recommend this boo...Another well researched book by Victoria Finlay With her books, you really have to read the preface to learn how she began her research, what s her resultant thesis, where the tale will take you Her books are classic examples of a fully developed research project Finlay organized her book using Mohs scale of hardness for gemstones She begins with the softest, amber, and ends with the hardest, diamonds The book covers where they are found, what they are made of, some history of their popula Another well researched book by Victoria Finlay With her books, you really have to read the preface to learn how she began her research, what s her resultant thesis, where the tale will take you Her books are classic examples of a fully developed research project Finlay organized her book using Mohs scale of hardness for gemstones She begins with the softest, amber, and ends with the hardest, diamonds The book covers where they are found, what they are made of, some history of their popularity and the decline of their popularity It includes myths, mysteries, and mayhem associated with the gems I didn t know the fashion for diamonds was relatively recent They used to be ignored because they aren t very pretty Just like Mother s Day was an advertising campaign to sell greeting cards, diamond engagement rings were an advertising campaign to get people to buy...In her third book Ms Finlay has mined historic literature for the mythology and mystique that surround gems of note her debunking of the curse of the Hope Diamond, for instance, is hilarious She also globetrots to the countries of a gems origin, at times literally descending into the mines Her own anecdotal experiences become part of the scintillating, like being stalled in a taxi during an elephant parade in Sri Lanka elephant parades are good for the sapphire business, as...This was a really fascinating book, each chapter telling the in depth story of the history of each particular gemstone I would recommend it for anyone interested in jewelry and or microhistories Amber, pearls, jet, peridot, emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds wer...A dense read and surprisinglyabout current events than history Each section is based on a jewel, going by the current level of value we assign them, ending, obviously, with diamonds The narrator traveled to a lot of areas to research the current jewel industry and all of its horrors an...Love this book History and Gemmology who could find a better introduction Also some ripping yarns thrown in Did I say, I love this book

Jewels
  • English
  • 23 November 2018
  • Paperback
  • 496 pages
  • 0345466950
  • Victoria Finlay
  • Jewels