The Great Book Of Jewels

By Ernst A and Jean Heiniger
Edita S.A, Lausanne, Switzerland
1974
ISBN 0-517-18132-0

Edita S.A writes:

Through all of the recorded history, jewels have exerted a powerful influence on affairs of men. The Great Book Of Jewels is the first book to capture all the history, romance, intrigue, and enduring beauty of precious stones, from their earliest history to present. The editors, Ernst and Jean Heiniger, aided by a team of nine distinguished gemologists from the world’s foremost museums have amassed a wealth of jewelry lore and scientific fact which they illustrate with man’s most dazzling gems, all newly photographed especially for this book.

Obtaining permission to take these photographs and plotting the historical provenance of the gems required a double genius for diplomacy and persistence. It was also the source of a rich yield of anecdotes, retold in the introduction. Almost five years in the preparation, this work is the result of painstaking research, infinite patience, and thousands of miles of air and automobile travel to three continents. The gemstones you see in this book lie closely guarded in museums, private collections, and darkened bank vaults all over the world. Many have never been available for public inspection.