For more specifics, read the review in Pala International’s Refractive Index Newsletter.
Secrets of the Gem Trade (2nd edition) book review: The cat is out of the bag and the gem/jewelry trade press is beginning to react. When first published in 2003, Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones was lauded as the first book to “lift the veil” as described in a review in GIA’s prestigious Gems & Gemology Magazine. Sixteen years later Secrets is still the first and only book to tackle the arcane subject of connoisseurship and grading in gemstones. Yes, there are guides, but Secrets delves deep into the ancient texts and goes in depth gemstone by gemstone.
Secrets also features paradigm images so the reader can see, gem by gem some of the finest examples of each gem species and variety. From the Renaissance onward, some of the greatest painting, Da Vinci, were varnished for depth and true color. Like the masterpieces of old, each image in Secrets (2nd edition) is individually spot varnished for accurate color rendering.