The Curious Lore of Precious Stones: Being a Description of Their Sentiments and Folk Lore, Superstitions, Symbolism, Mysticism, Use in Medicine, Protection, Prevention, Religion, and Divination. Crystal Gazing, Birth-Stones, Lucky Stones and Talismans, Astral, Zodiacal, and Planetary

George Frederick Kunz brings his expertise as Tiffany & Co.'s renowned gemologist to this exhaustive examination of how civilizations across time assigned profound meaning to gemstones. The book captures a remarkable moment in intellectual history: a rigorous scientific mind meticulously documenting beliefs that rationalism was beginning to displace. Kunz draws from an extraordinary range of sources: Greek and Latin texts, medieval lapidaries, Egyptian papyri, Oriental gem manuals, Eddas, and Biblical passages. The scope spans protective amulets and medicinal applications, birthstones and astrological associations, mystical properties and religious symbolism. What emerges is not merely a catalog of superstitions but a window into how humans once understood the invisible forces they believed gems could channel. For readers fascinated by the history of belief, the anthropology of magic, or the layered meanings we project onto precious objects, this remains an indispensable reference, scholarly yet imbued with the wonder it documents.