Diamonds:News

Book explains beauty of colored diamonds

More colorfully diverse than even the biggest box of crayons, the Aurora Collection of 260 colored diamonds, on display at the American Museum of Natural History since 1989, is now the subject of a 768-page book.

Gemologist Stephen Hofer spent eight years writing Collecting and Classifying Coloured Diamonds, a study of how diamond colors are perceived, measured and classified. The hardcover book includes more than 700 color photographs, charts on prices, rarity and color varieties, color classifications and definitions.

When collectors Alan Bronstein and Harry Rodman of Aurora Gems, New York, NY, lent their collection of colored diamonds to the J.P. Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems at AMNH, curators had to decide how to best classify and display the collection. The way the museum assessed each color and chose representatives for the exhibit is a basis for the book. The book is available from Ashland Press at (800) 451-2558. Suggested retail, $300.

-by Stacey King

   
  Gemologist Stephen Hofer based his book on the Aurora Collection of 260
  colored diamonds at the American Museum of Natural History.

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