Lapidary books recommendations

For those of you involved in the lapidary arts, what book(s) do you
consider the “essentials” that a library or reference collection
should have on the subject?

Karen Goeller
No Limitations Designs
Hand-made, one-of-a-kind jewelry
www.nolimitations.com

Gem Cutting - John Sinkankas
Lapidary Carving - Henry Hunt
Another title - Henry Hunt

I’m pretty sure Rio Grande has both titles by Henry Hunt. There are
lots of titles available, but if you want “how to” these three are
essential.

KPK

That’s a broad subject, from tumbling through cabbing to faceting
and carving. Are you looking for recommendations for a particular
aspect, or are you trying to cover the whole field?

Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ

For those of you involved in the lapidary arts, what book(s) do
you consider the "essentials" that a library or reference
collection should have on the subject? 

There are lapidary books? I thought you just ground your fingers to
nubs and then learned how not to do it. :slight_smile:

Seriously I found the most useful on the net. Here are
some of my favorite sites:

Rock Tumbling Hobby board - Lots more lapidary info than just rock
tumbling

International Lapidary Association - A no longer active email list
but has great archives

http://www.gemcutters.org

Kreigh’s Homemade Lapidary Equipment - General instructions on do it
yourself lapidary equipment

That should keep you busy for a while…

Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Rocky Mountain Wonders
Colorado Springs, Colorado
rockymountainwonders.com

Karen -

Well, my first mainstay was Gemcraft by Quick and Leiper; got my
first copy as a loaner in 1960 and still use it today. BUT, I use
Sinkankas’ Gem Cutting far more often. The Sinkankas book is by far
the best book generally for all aspects of lapidary. Others have
smaller niches, like Hunt’s books on carving et cetera, but for a
general reference which includes specifics on how to polish
individual types of by type, Siinkankas’ Gem Cutting is
the nuts! For beginning lapidary either will do, along with
Introduction to Lapidary by Pansy Krause or Lapidary for Pleasure and
Profit by Eric Shore.

Please contact me off-list if I can help further.

KOR,

Jim Small
Small Wonders Lapidary
Church Hill, TN

For a general gem reference, the GIA Gem Reference Guide is superb.
It show pictures of the gems, where they come from, hardness and all
the technical characteristics, nomenclature, simulants, inclusions,
how big is normal, durability. And it’s pretty easy to use. It does
assume that you have a working knowledge of gemology. For example, to
find detailed on aquamarine, you need to know that it is
a specific color designation of the mineral beryl. Along with the GIA
Gem Property charts A and B, I’m covered for

This is the reference handbook in GIA’s Gem Identification course.
This book provides basic guidelines for identifying natural, treated,
synthetic, and imitation gems. Includes a description of the
material, identifying characteristics, and enhancements, key tests
used to separate it from other materials, and tips on care and
cleaning. It appears only to be available from www.gia.edu.

If you want to cut or carve lapidary material - there are wide
choices - cabbing, faceting, carving and more.

Another type of book would be the lore of the stones - everything
from will it cure my arthritis to who got rich finding stuff in the
road.

And a fourth type - all about one type of gem - Amber the gem of the
ages - would be an example.

If you are putting a library together, lets all get together and
give her a list of 100 good books. If it is personal, I’m happy to
share the list of 20 or 30 that I use.

Judy Hoch, GG

For those of you involved in the lapidary arts, what book(s) do
you consider the "essentials" that a library or reference
collection should have on the subject? 

I like Gem and Lapidary Materials by June Culp Zeitner, Gemstones
of the World
by Walter Schumann, and Introduction to Lapidary by
Pansy D. Kraus (It was one of my first acquisitions, and I still
refer back to it…).

Ron Charlotte – Gainesville, FL

but for a general reference which includes specifics on how to
polish individual types of by type, Sinkankas' Gem
Cutting is the nuts! 

I had forgotten my books in the beginning… As far as I know,
Sinkanka’s (believe spelling is correct. Is just about THE one and
THE only as far as starting from the beginning and more. One of the
great books in it’s field.

John Sinkankas’ book, Gem Cutting. Although it is a few years old and
the illustrations are all in black and white, it covers a wide
arrangement of essentials for sawing, cabochons, carving, etc. There
is very good on machinery. It is techical enough for
plenty of reference yet very understandable. It has a good list of
lapidary materials, their poperties, and the best methods for
working them.

Rose ALene