The Spectroscope and Gemmology

Until 1933 the refractometer and the microscope were the two principal tools in gem testing. Then Basil W. Anderson introduced the hand spectroscope, which quickly became the third vital instrument for the U.K. gemologist. The publication of Anderson's papers in the mid-1950s alerted gem laboratories worldwide to the importance of this instrument. Today its use is universal. Anderson and his lifelong colleague, James Payne, both of the world's first full-time gemological laboratory, were the pioneers in recognizing the vast potential of the spectroscope for this purpose, and The Spectroscope and Gemmology, as the extensively edited, updated and enlarged version of Anderson's original papers, provides a vital textbook wherever gemology is used or taught. The distinguished gemologist R. Keith Mitchell has undertaken the editing and has added chapters on the Pye spectrophotometer and on lasers.