Gems in the Smithsonian Author:Paul desautels To tour the Hall of Gems in the Museum of Natural history at the Smithsonian Institution is to step into a dazzling world of faceted, cut, and polished bits of the earth. in its National Gem Collection, the Smithsonian has assembled a large sampling of known gem materials. ... Paul Desautels, Supervisor and Curator...writes informatively for th... more »e layman on many of the aspects of gemology, techniques of gem cutting, and gem lore. Seeral phtotgraphic and artistic techniques have been used to emphasize the various aspects of the beauty of these stones, many of which are the largest and finest in of their kinds known.« less