A complete guide and source-book brimming with advice on collecting and preparing gems and minerals.

Robert Beard is a geologist and has collected rocks for over 30 years. He is a Contributing Editor to Rock & Gem magazine, and has written from Rock & Gem since 1993. He received his M.S. degree in geology from UNM in 1987, at a time when the mining and oil industries were flat on their backs, but the environmental cleanup industry was just getting started. In 1988 he moved to the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area to pursue a career as an environmental geologist. Since then he has remained alert for opportunities to see geology and collect rocks, minerals, and fossils, as he was taught that the best geologist is the one that has the most rocks.