ORGANIC GEMS is the information centre for everything to do with gem materials of plant and animal origin. As a subscriber you can e-mail your questions to the editor, and, if we do not already have the answer, we will endeavour to find it for you through our network of experts.
ORGANIC GEMS is the only online reference source devoted entirely to the subject of gem materials of plant and animal origin, which are used in jewellery and the decorative arts. Amber, copal, jet, ivory, bone, antler, horn, rhino horn, tortoiseshell, pearl, shell and coral, and many other less recognised materials such as baleen, vegetable ivory, feathers and ammolite are all organic gem materials.
- Can you tell the difference between bone and ivory?
- Is ‘cherry amber’ natural, red amber?
- Do you know which ivories or corals are covered by trade bans?
- What is the difference between freshwater and marine cultured pearls?
- And are those beads left to you by an elderly aunt 'the real thing'......?
ORGANIC GEMS brings you information on all the various aspects of organic gem materials.
There are educational articles covering basic descriptions of the materials and how to identify them. Further articles describe their origins and their history. Articles are updated where appropriate to give the latest information, for example on fakes and treatments on the market, and on the conservation status of some of the materials. The articles are illustrated by high quality photographs.
Guest authors – all experts in their fields – contribute with articles of particular interest.
Readers are invited to participate with comments, queries and information, which are dealt with by e-mail or online, thus sharing the latest information available and widening research possibilities.
ORGANIC GEMS is suitable for jewellers, gemmologists, antique dealers and collectors, museum staff, students, enthusiasts and anyone interested in this fascinating subject.
ORGANIC GEMS has been issued every two months since the first edition appeared in December 2006 until March 2008. Following this date, articles are being published as and when they are available, and not at regular intervals. The number of new articles published annually remains the same. Published articles remain online and are not deleted. Subscriptions are payable online ( £27, or the rebated price of £22 for members of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, Gem-A).
What's in the online reference archive? Go HERE to view the full list of contents and forthcoming articles.
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