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Where do diamonds fit into the pantheon of gems? Here, we present 20 of the world's most prized gemstones, together with the properties that experts use to distinguish them from one another and from artificial lookalikes. Click on the gems at left and become, for the moment, a gemologist. Further reading Gems: Their Sources, Descriptions, and Identification (Fifth Edition) By Robert Webster Oxford, U.K.: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1994 Gemology By Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr. and George S. Switzer New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1979 Gemstones By Christine Woodward and Dr. Roger Harding London: British Museum, 1987 Photo: ©Alison Wright/Corbis The Science Behind the Sparkle | Diamonds in the Sky A Primer of Gemstones | See Inside a Diamond Resources | Transcript | Site Map | Diamond Deception Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated November 2000 |
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