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PLEASE CLICK ON PICTURE TO READ ENTIRE REVIEW

BY MANON KAVESKY


Title: Famous Diamonds
Author: Ian Balfour
Type of Book: Hard Cover large format, coffee table size
Average Price: $95.00 better pricing available on Amazon.com or Powells.com               
In Print: yes
Pages: 335 pages
Publisher: Antique Collectors Club

A motto that we can all live with…
When I neglect to wear jewels, astute members of my family call in doctors, because it is a sign I am becoming ill” Evelyn Walsh McLean one time owner of the Star of the East and the Hope Diamond.


Brief Description of Book: The title says it all Famous Diamonds! This book tells the stories of 80 plus large and or rare colored diamonds. Who owned them, who stole them, who died wearing them, who sold them, who switched babies at birth to protect their inheritance!! There are yellow diamonds, blue diamonds, black diamonds and even red diamonds, the Hope Diamond, the Taylor-Burton Diamond, The Idol’s Eye and many more. Famous Diamonds is an armchair travel guide for those who love jewels.  

Quantity of Illustrations: Almost every page is illustrated in some manner
Score: 9

Quality of visual material: Very high quality there are photos of diamonds, famous people wearing them, paintings of people wearing them, kings, queens socialites, dashing Russian princes, maps anything to make these stories come alive
B/w: yes some archival material
Color Photos: yes
Score: 9

Quantity of Information: Lots and lots 335 pages
Is the information thorough? yes

Comments: Well told stories of famous and not so famous people and their diamonds.
Score: 8

Quality of Information: Famous Diamonds begins with a long section on the history of diamonds and diamond mining. First found 4000 or more years ago on the banks of Indian Rivers the diamond was always in demand.  Famous Diamonds does not discuss the currently high profile political subject of blood diamonds. When reading the introductory material I felt as if this book was a publicity piece for DeBeers diamond mines. However, I kept on reading and was totally caught up in the individual stories of the stones. The stories are arranged alphabetically by the name of each diamond. This is the 5th edition of Famous Diamonds and the author has updated several of the stories associated with these gems.

Score 8

User Friendly: Yes good index and table of contents
Is the book easy to read and follow? Yes it is there is a lot of information here but you don’t need to read it cover to cover to enjoy it. I suggest a diamond story per night, like a bedtime story for the jewel lover.
Score: 8
Average score


Is this book a must have?  

At the list price this book is not a must have. But if Famous Diamonds is in your budget and this is a topic that interests you then by all means, it is a high quality book that you can read more than once. The photos are really beautiful. I will be passing my copy on to a wonderful friend who will adore and treasure this book. She would give it thumbs up and 5 stars.
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