I would like to introduce Craig A.Lynch, a jewellery consultant and appraiser from Pheonix, USA, who very kindly agreed to write the foreword. I hold Craig in high regard and feel blessed to have his seal of approval. Buying Gemstones & Jewellery in the USA was published in September 2019:
“As an independent jewellery appraiser and gem consultant for more than 40 years, I’ve enjoyed the wonderful gem products of the USA. I’m delighted that Kim is sharing some of what we know and experience on a daily basis with the wider public, so that you too can share in the exciting journey.
Jewellery and gemstones have been an important part of human life for more than 100,000 years.
Long, long before the invention of writing, mankind chose colourful gems and jewellery to represent and convey complex and symbolic meanings within their lives and social interactions.
Buying Gemstones and Jewellery in the USA highlights many of the primary gemstone sources found across the USA. There is an incredible amount of gemstone variety to be found in almost every state. You can find diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires and dozens of other gem materials. A few, like benitoite and red beryl, are very important, beautiful and rare, but are found only in one mine within the USA and nowhere else in the world.
Coloured gemstone mines are different from the massive diamond mines found across the world, in that almost all gemstone mines have only small deposits. A coloured stone mine in the USA (or anywhere else in the world) is usually mined the old-fashioned way, with pick and shovel and when good material is found, it is often ‘played out’ very quickly. Often the short and limited supply from that mine pocket will be unique in colour, not found again there or anywhere else. Yogo sapphires from Montana are a good example of this.
In this book, Kim provides great advice that will aid you on your journey of discovery, as you explore deserts, mountains, forests, jewellery stores and trade shows in the USA. As a Graduate Gemmologist of the Gemological Institute of America, she has the knowledge to help you find great gemstones and her first-hand experiences at gem sources across the USA will give you insights on what to expect on your travels.
Look out for gems that ‘speak’ to you, which will provide you with your own unique symbolic meaning and treasured memories of your gemstone and jewellery adventures for decades to come.”
Foreword by Craig A.Lynch, Oullet & Lynch.
Author of Gemstone Detective