New book on spinels

[T L]

Some drop dead gorgeous examples in the photos on this site. I just ordered my book, can't wait to see the rest of it.

http://www.spinelbook.com/

 

[LD]

I must resist!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Gorgeous gorgeous photos!
Haha, look how far you've come as a spinel convert TL! Touting the latest books and everything.

 

[movie zombie]

got the e-mail from RHughes that the book was out. i'm resisting as it will depress me: high quality spinel is to die for.......and i'll never be able to afford it. sigh.

MoZo

 

[Lovinggems]

Shipping is expensive, I'll get it once my new house is built, I wish it was large coffee table book size though, imagine the photos!

 

[T L]

Well, I still think this site has some great photos, and shows some very beautiful examples, so whether you can afford it or not, one should check out the site!!

The last page in particular shows lots of examples from deposits all over the world. I think this is the first book of it's kind, which is about time!!

http://www.spinelbook.com/images/pages/spinel-pp-196-197.jpg

 

[Pandora II]

got the e-mail from RHughes that the book was out. i'm resisting as it will depress me: high quality spinel is to die for.......and i'll never be able to afford it. sigh.

MoZo

I got that email too and I got all excited opening it thinking that we now had the definitive spinel book a la 'Rubies & Sapphires' by Hughes (that I still can't afford ).

I'm sure they're lovely photos but was a tad disappointed...

 

[Arkteia]

TL - if, as you have been promising, we ever open "Spinelholicus Anonymous" group, can I humbly ask you to be my sponsor?

 

[movie zombie]

that was cruel, TL! i opened the link; page 197 dead center pink spinel.......and i don't like pink! divine, i tell you, simply divine.

MoZo

 

[chrono]

While I love eye candy, I’m hoping it’ll have more than just cursory information. Like Pandora, I’m waiting for a definitive spinel book, much like Richard’s previous Rubies & Sapphires. Please write a brief review after you receive it.

 

[Pandora II]

While I love eye candy, I’m hoping it’ll have more than just cursory information. Like Pandora, I’m waiting for a definitive spinel book, much like Richard’s previous Rubies & Sapphires. Please write a brief review after you receive it.

From what I have been told, this is a coffee table book not a book for gemmologists unless they just want eye-candy.

 

[LD]

I had the weird of experience of being confronted with a photo of a guy with a spinel in his mouth Not sure that's the best photo in the book I bought the Elizabeth Taylor book and it's along the same lines - fantastic photos but a real coffee table book!

I'd love it just to gawp at the photos but the shipping is a killer.

I want want want the spinel on page 176

 

[VapidLapid]

I think the book should come with a spinel. IF it's just a taunting picture book Id rather have a stone.

 

[Harriet]

I got a copy today, and have been drooling since. Enjoy it, TL!

 

[Art Nouveau]

I have the book. I have not had the chance to actually read the text yet, but there are lots of drool worthy gorgeous pictures of spinels in every available color, from all the locations where they are found. It is not in the same league as Richard Hughes other famous book, but I think it is more than just another coffee table book. Since I love spinels and I collect gem and jewelry books and auction catalogs, to me it's worth it to buy this book. I will post more after I have actually read it.

AN

 

[T L]

I wanted to mention that if anyone wants to buy it for $4 s&h, go to amazon.com. I was worried it wouldn't ship because I got it from there, and didn't pay the huge shipping fee on the website, but I just got email notification it just shipped. It might come pony expresss, but at least it shipped out.

ETA: I noticed it's not on Amazon anymore!!

 

[T L]

Book review:

I just got it today and there's very little to read. There's an intro by Richard Hughes, but nothing scientific and technical about spinels, like inclusions, chemical makeup, treatments, etc. . .

However, it has about every color spinel you can imagine. The color plates are truly awesome, and worth it just for the serious spinel collector so that you can get an idea of what other colors and saturations exist out there, and where they're from. For example, I rarely see spinel from Madagascar, but it can be the most awesome violet and indigo color

It has made me raise the bar a little for my spinel collecting, and there are some examples of stop light red material in there that is just luscious. Lots of Mahenge examples too. The violets, cobalt blues, and other gems are just vivid and unreal. Really makes me appreciate this gem even more, if that's possible!

 

[chrono]

Ahah! So do you know admit that there are stop red light spinels?

 

[T L]

Ahah! So do you know admit that there are stop red light spinels?

Well, never really saw any online or at gem shows. Only until I got this book.

 

[briolette]

OOoh! Thanks for the link. Spinels are my favorite stone (including the one in my icon).
Ordering book...NOW!

 

[Art Nouveau]

I finally had time to take a closer look at the Terra Spinel book and I agree with TL's review. The book is not meant to be a gemology reference book, but rather a celebration on the beauty of spinel, the precious stone. The pictures are beautiful and just about every page is a color plate. There are pictures of spinels in every color you can think of. The 50 carat pad color spinel is the prettiest that I have ever seen. There are lots of stop light red, including a picture of a big parcel of perfect octahedral crystals of red spinels. There are different shades and saturation of red, pink, purple, violet, lavender, blue and grey. I am a little disappointed that there isn't a better picture of the cobalt blue from Luc Yen, like the color of the one in Harriet's avatar. I have seen one recently that is the color of the best corn flower blue Kashmir sapphire. The only picture I found a bit gross is the one with a spinel on somebody's tongue. There are also lots of pictures of the locales where spinels are found, including Burma, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Tajikistan,Tanzania, Madagascar and Vietnam. There are pictures of the mines as well as scenic pictures and people pictures. There is a section on famous historical spinels which includes history and pictures of the black prince ruby in the British imperial crown, the Timur balas ruby in a necklace that belongs to Queen Elizabeth II, and the 398 carat red spinel in Russia's imperial crown made for Catherine the Great. Richard Hughes wrote a couple of pages in the beginning o the book. He said he wanted to include a chapter on inclusions, but was vetoed by the author. It would have been nice to have that chapter and also some information on how to distinguish synthetics from the natural stone. I am not sure how much Richard contributed to the content of the rest of the book, but I suspect his name is in there to help sell the book. If you love spinels, I think it is worthwhile to buy this book.

AN

 

[Arkteia]

I got this e-mail, and am now resisting an urge to buy it. I have read the book on emeralds, TL, per your advice, and am still fighting the itch. If I read this book on spinel, spinels will become my drug of choice, and I want to finish this GIA course first.

 

[T L]

Richard Hughes wrote a couple of pages in the beginning o the book. He said he wanted to include a chapter on inclusions, but was vetoed by the author. It would have been nice to have that chapter and also some information on how to distinguish synthetics from the natural stone. I am not sure how much Richard contributed to the content of the rest of the book, but I suspect his name is in there to help sell the book. If you love spinels, I think it is worthwhile to buy this book.

AN

That is my one huge disappointment with this book, and I don't understand why this pertinent information wasn't included, but perhaps with enough persuasion, Richard will write a book on spinels one day. One can always hope!!

 

[T L]

I got this e-mail, and am now resisting an urge to buy it. I have read the book on emeralds, TL, per your advice, and am still fighting the itch. If I read this book on spinel, spinels will become my drug of choice, and I want to finish this GIA course first.

Crasru,
The book on emeralds is much more comprehensive in dealing not just with amazing eye candy, but lots of scientific gemological information as well. The emerald book is already out of print I believe because I've seen second hand copies are going for $200 now, so I would not hesitate to get the spinel book. It's the only book I know of on spinels, and when it goes out of print, it will be very expensive. The color plates in the spinel book are quite amazing however, and it must have been expensive to print.

The other nice thing about this book is that the color plates are so vivid, you can place your own spinels next to some of them to compare, which I found useful and fun.

BTW, the red spinel on the front of the cover is over 100 carats I believe, and he calls it "The Black Prince Ruby's twin." It does have a very similar look, and both these stones are from Tajikistan if I remember correctly.