The Smithsonian Institution"s National Museum of Natural History holds the world"s greatest collection of gems. In this beautiful book, now available in paperback, Dr. Jeffrey E. Post, curator of the National Gem and Mineral Collection, discusses everything from diamonds, rubies, and emeralds to jade and lapis lazuli, as well as the Hope Diamond and other world-famous stones in the museum"s collection. More than 100 stunning photographs capture the colors and brilliance of these wonders of the mineral kingdom.