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PREFACE
Precious stones were known in India from very ancient times and references are to be found in ancient writings as the Raviayana, Mahabharata, etc., but their true nature, chemical composition and relationships were not well known. The only monumental work on Indian Precious stones is Manimala by Saurindranath Tagore, published in 1879-1881. Since then there has been no good Indian publication on the subject,
With the advance of the science of mineralogy in western countries, the study of precious stones, which are mineral products, also made rapid progress on mineralogical lines. Instead of the many popular names given to precious stones, it has been found that fewer mineralogical names should suffice. It has also been found possible to determine these correctly with some knowledge of mineralogy and the use of a few simple appliances.
The author's interest in gem-stones was aroused when he went to Mogok in connection with the geological survey of the Mogok Stone tract in 1932. Ruby mining in Mogok, besides producing rubies and sapphires, yields a number of miscellaneous gem-stones. The gem-vendors at Mogok always present to the newcomer sets of attractively arranged and coloured gem-stones. The geological survey of the Mogok Stone tract gave the author ample oppor­tunities for familiarizing himself with most of the gem-stones.
After a more detailed study of gem-stones and their occurrences, the author contributed a bulletin on 'Indian Precious Stones' to the Records, Geological Survey of India, Vol. LXXVI, No. 6. This publication was soon
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