Learn about diamonds and gems from the source: GIA, the Gemological Institute of America.  GIA developed the diamond grading system we now use, educating jewelers and consumers for the last fifty-plus years.  Basically, GIA put the "V" in "V V S."    "The Difference Between Wondering and Knowing" is the theme of their new campaign.  Their "Diamond Buying Guide" is part of this educational push.  It's on their website; check it out. 

There is also an interactive tutorial on www.GIA.edu called "How to Buy a Diamond."  There you'll not only learn what V V S means -   more importantly, you'll begin to put "V V S" and other terminology into proper perspective.  Take a look.  It's fun (drag diamonds around the page while being taught the ABCs of color, cut, and clarity) and it is gemologically correct.  Their site has a newer tutorial called "How to Buy a Gemstone."  Both lessons use dynamic, colorful visual tools.  Click on and aim straight for the basics you'll need to understand and take charge of what can easily be a confusing and stressful purchase.   

I strongly recommend these clever, 20 minute tutorials to those on the other side of the counter who sell diamonds and gems. 

Want more?  Excellent books on gemology include Eyewitness Books' Crystal and Gem, part of a series available in the children's section at any Barnes and Noble. Its graphics are dazzling.  Crystal and Gem is marketed as a book for kids.  Like many children's books, it is bigger on pictures than text, yet it still manages to accurately cover concepts such as crystallography, atomic structure, gem identification, synthetic gemstones, and optical properties.  Cally Hall's Identifying Gems and Precious Stones is similar and can be a big help when choosing a colored gemstone.    

Understanding Jewellery by David Bennett and Daniela Mascetti has been my bible for antique jewelry since it was recommended to me by GIA's Elise Misiorowski many years ago. As a bonus, the book includes photomicrographs of inclusions (from Dr. Edward Gubelin's Photoatlas of Inclusions in Gemstones) which aid in separating natural gems from fakes!  Jewelry: 7000 Years, edited by Hugh Tait also has spectacular pictures of ancient jewelry which easily could inspire the jewelry designer in you. 

Good pictures smooth the road to understanding the science of gems as well as feeding an appreciation of jewelry as art. 

These books are available at www.amazon.com.  Used copies are available at www.powells.com and, of course, on www.ebay.com.   Although we would all prefer to have it on our finger than to read about it, reading helps us figure out just what is on our finger and why it is so valuable!