COLOR ENCYLOPEDIA OF GEMSTONES, 1ST ED.
ISBN: 0442203330

Although the literature on gemstones dates back thousands of years, no-one had ever produced a comprehensive, fully-color illustrated summary of all known gemstone species and color varieties, with relevant data on physical properties, record stone sizes and name origins. This became Arem's fourth and most ambitious book project. From 1974-76 Arem researched the entire literature on gemstones and made three trips across the U.S. with portable studio equipment to capture on film examples of extremely rare gemstones in private collections. Arem perfected several new and revolutionary gem photography methods, culminating in more than 300 new photos.In 1977, after Arem’s full-time three-year effort, Van Nostrand-Reinhold published the COLOR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GEMSTONES. This highly acclaimed book quickly became a cornerstone work in the gemstone field.

COLOR ENCYLOPEDIA OF GEMSTONES, 2ND ED.
ISBN: 9780442208332

In 1987, after a second massive (2-year) full time commitment, Arem published the second edition of the COLOR ENCYCLOPEDIA. The new book had far better color reproduction than the first and more than 200 completely new photos. In addition, the text was 100 pages larger and included chapters on synthetic gemstones and thermal measurements. The second edition also contains the first comprehensive tabulation in the gemological literature of precise, machine generated measurements of the color of nearly all gemstone species and varieties. As the only full-color gemstone encyclopedia ever published, the Color Encyclopedia of Gemstones (2nd ed.) has often been called the most-used reference book in its field.

GEMS AND JEWELRY: ALL COLOR GUIDE (2ND ED.)
ISBN: 0945005091

The first edition of this book appeared in 1975 and was part of a huge series of Bantam paperbacks on natural history subjects. Over a period of several years it sold more than 1 million copies, and was printed in 4 languages. The 2nd ed. quickly became a basic textbook in many gemstone education courses around the world. In 1999 Amazon awarded this book as “Category Best Seller” in its Crafts & Hobbies: Lapidary section. A third edition, totally revised and greatly expanded, is currently in preparation. It is planned as an e-book for publication in 2014. Several chapters from this new work can be found on this website.

GEMS AND JEWELRY (3RD ED.) - TO BE PUBLISHED AS E-BOOK - FORTHCOMING

Significant changes in the gemstone market have prompted Joel Arem to create a 3rd edition of "Gems and Jewelry", and he began this work in 2011. The 3rd edition is planned as an e-book that will be available on this website in 2014. Excerpts are viewable now by clicking on the buttons on this page. Arem especially wanted to make immediately available the most ambitious chapter in the new book, dealing with synthetic and treated gemstones, because there is so much confusion about these subjects in the current marketplace. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is planning a large-scale revision of its guidelines for gemstone-related terminology, changes that will affect the gem trade for years to come. It is Arem's view that public education, and a true understanding of the technical issues involved, is more important than any set of regulations having to do with labeling. Please click on the link provided below to view this chapter in its entirety.