Rock & Gem.  I took out a subscription to this magazine about two years ago and I'm quite impressed, not least by the price - £10.98 for a 12 month subscription.  Mind you, that was when we had a favourable exchange rate.  Being an American magazine a lot of the content relates to material that we'll never see here, but it still makes interesting reading.  I enjoy reading about the field trips into more remote areas of the US.  Photography is really good and is helped by the fact that all pages are glazed. http://www.rockngem.com

Rock'n'Gem.  Published quarterly at a price of £10.00 per year this little magazine is, as far as I'm aware, the only remaining lapidary magazine produced in the UK and I feel that we should offer our support.  It includes articles on lapidary, minerals and fossils.  Although there's not always a great deal on the subject of lapidary it always contains something of interest.  A free copy can be obtained from their web site.  Printed on glazed paper  with good photographs.   http://www.rockngem.co.uk/magazine.asp

Gemstone and Mineral Data Book.  John Sinkankas. ISBN 0-02-094100-5.  No pretty pictures but lots of information on every aspect of minerals and gems.  Still available via Amazon.

Gem Tumbling and Baroque Jewelry Making.  Arthur Earl Victor and Lila Mae Victor.  If you want to learn the basic principles of stone polishing this is exactly what you need.  Originally published centuries ago and print quality is not great but seemingly it's still available.

Introduction to Lapidary.  Pansy D Krauss. ISBN 0-80-197266-3.  Ms Krauss is considered to be one of the major authorities on the subject.  This book covers tumbling, cabochon cutting, gem carving, and faceting.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals.  ISBN 0-394-50269-8. National Audubon Society.  My copy was purchased on a visit to California.  Not much use for locating rocks and minerals in the UK but contains a host of superb photographs and useful information that's relevant wherever you are.

Guide to Minerals Rocks and Fossils.  AC Bishop, AR Woolley, WR Hamilton.  ISBN 0-540-07429-2.  Approximately 1/3rd of this book is dedicated to fossils but the remaining 2/3rds provides a good introduction to rocks and minerals with explanations of how they were formed.  The overall content is somewhat limited.

Rocks and Minerals.  Chris Pellant.  ISBN 0-7513-2741-7.  A really good introductory chapter with a clear and simple explanation of how rocks and minerals are formed.  Each entry is provided with annotations that summarise the properties of the material concerned.  I like this one.  

Last Update 3 Jul 10