Who hasn’t checked, reviewed -or even eagerly awaited – one of Rui’s gem posts (especially about Pearls!) on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook? I am proudly a part of this group of people. I really enjoy the clear, concise and heartfelt manner in which Rui crafts his posts, and the photos he uses for these.
Thus, when Rui notified the “Gem World” of his published work -a complete Gem Glossary- many of us lifted our ears with eagerness: I for one, have never owned a Gem glossary, and the best one I had for pearls is found as part of Elisabeth Strack’s book (Pearls), yet it was only for pearls and we all do -sometimes- feel the need to examine other gemstones (I am particularly fond of ammolite, opals, amber and emeralds, after pearls of course!) and we simply do not have the time nor resources at hand to quickly find the information. This is where GemPedia comes to the rescue.
This is from the author’s site:
“GEMPEDIA is a compendium of more than 7,300 terms and definitions gathered over decades by Rui Galopim de Carvalho FGA DGA, a renowned professional gemmologist and consultant with over 30 years of experience within the gems and jewellery trade in gem testing, education and science communication. This compilation has been endorsed by Gem-A — The Gemmological Association of Great Britain, the world’s longest established provider of gem and jewellery education, and supported by the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS), one of Asia’s first international gemmological institutes.”
In its 719 pages you will find everything, and I mean EVERYTHING: from the Arcane to the Scientific, from the ancient to the newest information. Just by looking up information about pearls I LEARNED new things!
As an example: in page 78 I was reading “Bahrani Pearls” and I found out that the pearl beds 50 Km away from Manama and that some 3 thousand divers have been allowed to fish for pearls! I had been looking for information like this and I was unable to find it…until I just happened to read it here.
Another example is of the use of certain Hispanic words that I learned in the early 1990’s when I became a learner of pearls. I started reading old documents that pertained to the establishment of the pearl fisheries in Mexico (“Nueva España” in those days) and I found all sorts of archaic measurement methods with odd names, pearl shape names and other bewildering information…all strewn about in those old documents I no longer have any access to. And now: THEY ARE HERE. I have them all at my fingertips again.
The book only contains text, there are no images, diagrams or photos. It would have been a complete beast if any had been included, and would also become distracting, right? We just need and want information as accurate as possible!
And to wrap it up…I always want stories, I LOVE stories. They make the world come alive for me, they color it. And this book has an introduction by the author in which he tells one…and it is a very good story. Will not spoil it so you can take the time to read it. Muito Obrigado for this very personal story Don Rui!
So, the next point is: Do you want this book? Well, you just have to head over to the author’s site and get it: Gempedia
Update! The Pearl-Guide has secured a 20% discount code for us pearl peeps!
Code: PEARLS-GEMPEDIA
Thus, when Rui notified the “Gem World” of his published work -a complete Gem Glossary- many of us lifted our ears with eagerness: I for one, have never owned a Gem glossary, and the best one I had for pearls is found as part of Elisabeth Strack’s book (Pearls), yet it was only for pearls and we all do -sometimes- feel the need to examine other gemstones (I am particularly fond of ammolite, opals, amber and emeralds, after pearls of course!) and we simply do not have the time nor resources at hand to quickly find the information. This is where GemPedia comes to the rescue.
This is from the author’s site:
“GEMPEDIA is a compendium of more than 7,300 terms and definitions gathered over decades by Rui Galopim de Carvalho FGA DGA, a renowned professional gemmologist and consultant with over 30 years of experience within the gems and jewellery trade in gem testing, education and science communication. This compilation has been endorsed by Gem-A — The Gemmological Association of Great Britain, the world’s longest established provider of gem and jewellery education, and supported by the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS), one of Asia’s first international gemmological institutes.”
In its 719 pages you will find everything, and I mean EVERYTHING: from the Arcane to the Scientific, from the ancient to the newest information. Just by looking up information about pearls I LEARNED new things!
As an example: in page 78 I was reading “Bahrani Pearls” and I found out that the pearl beds 50 Km away from Manama and that some 3 thousand divers have been allowed to fish for pearls! I had been looking for information like this and I was unable to find it…until I just happened to read it here.
Another example is of the use of certain Hispanic words that I learned in the early 1990’s when I became a learner of pearls. I started reading old documents that pertained to the establishment of the pearl fisheries in Mexico (“Nueva España” in those days) and I found all sorts of archaic measurement methods with odd names, pearl shape names and other bewildering information…all strewn about in those old documents I no longer have any access to. And now: THEY ARE HERE. I have them all at my fingertips again.
The book only contains text, there are no images, diagrams or photos. It would have been a complete beast if any had been included, and would also become distracting, right? We just need and want information as accurate as possible!
And to wrap it up…I always want stories, I LOVE stories. They make the world come alive for me, they color it. And this book has an introduction by the author in which he tells one…and it is a very good story. Will not spoil it so you can take the time to read it. Muito Obrigado for this very personal story Don Rui!
So, the next point is: Do you want this book? Well, you just have to head over to the author’s site and get it: Gempedia
Update! The Pearl-Guide has secured a 20% discount code for us pearl peeps!
Code: PEARLS-GEMPEDIA
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