THE CURIOUS LORE OF George Frederick Kunz

America's First Gemologist

- STEVE VOYNICK

Almost everyone interested in gemstones, whether from the gemological, historical or metaphysical perspectives, has read, or at least heard of, George Frederick Kunz's book The Curious Lore of Precious Stones. Published 110 years ago, this classic is still being reprinted today.

Kunz, who is remembered as America's first gemologist, was born in New York City in 1856, a time when America knew little about gems and the science of gemology did not yet exist. Over his long career, Kunz would introduce jewelers to semiprecious colored gems; write more than 400 gem related articles, books and reports; assemble world-class mineral collections; cofound the nation's oldest mineral club; and compile th first formal accounts of birthstones and the metaphysical aspects of gems. Impressive achievements for a largely self-educated man.

THE YOUNG ROCKHOUND

As a teenager in Manhattan and nearby Hoboken, New Jersey, Kunz collected minerals wherever he could find them, often at bridge and railroad construction sites. After attending public schools, he took night classes at Manhattan's Cooper Institute, although he did not graduate. Despite being limited in his formal education, he read everything available about minerals to complement his already proficient field collecting skills.

Kunz was still a teenager when he sold his 4,000-specimen mineral collection to the University of Minnesota for $400 ($8,000 in 2023 dollars). He later wrote that the sale wasn't "so much for the money but to mark myself in the eyes of the world as a real collector."

TIFFANY