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READER FEEDBACK

“For the past 10 (or so) years, a group of artists rent out a house and
work (or not) in our makeshift studio together. This time, our retreat
coincided with the November 2015 issue of Art Jewelry (it’s a particu-
larly good issue for polymer folks).
“Our little group couldn’t quite believe Claire Wallis’ tutorial ‘Basic
Polymer Caning — with a Twist!’ Really? Simply offsetting a Skinner
blend could result in this? We had to try it! One person read the in-
structions while the rest of us followed along with clay. And yes, we
all sort of screwed up the first time, but that didn’t stop us. Once
we got it, we could not leave the concept alone.”
—Cynthia Tinapple, via email

Polymer Retreat

Book

review

Let’s deal with the obvious: this is not

a cheap book. Its price means that

anyone considering buying it will be

thinking about it as an investment,

not as a spur-of-the-moment purchase.

So the question is: Is the investment

worth it?

I firmly believe that an expert’s opin-

ion is worth paying for. And in the field

of gemology, Richard Hughes’ standing

and reputation is stellar. Hughes worked

with gifted photographers Wimon Man-

orotkul and E. Billie Hughes to create

the finished volume.

As I read through the book, I found

I was struggling to classify it. Scientific

information about sapphires and rub-

ies and sphires was interspersed with

excerpts from historical records; insight

on how to interpret lab reports shared

space with a rundown of gem sources,

country by country. And throughout

were photographs — glorious, intri-

guing, sometimes surprising (lemur!),

often challenging photographs that

contrasted the beauty of the stones

with the realities of the locations

where they’re mined.

Part scientific tome, part his-

torical document, part travelogue,

this book defies description. I can say

that it’s endlessly fascinating, either as

a sustained read or in bits and pieces.

This book belongs as much on your

coffee table as in your studio library.

And yes, if you’re a gem lover, it’s worth

the money. —Hazel Wheaton

Ruby & Sapphire: A Collector’s Guide

by Richard W. Hughes

ISBN: 978-616-91450-3-

Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand, 2014

384 pages

$149.00 (To purchase: http://www.git.or.th)

Samples made by Meisha Barbee,

Cynthia Tinapple, Dayle Doroshaw,

and Julie Eakes.