Over 115 striking color photos display pyroxene group minerals in all their forms and colors. This group of rock-forming minerals is best known to collectors through well-formed diopside crystals from many localities, including in Canada, the northeastern United States, the Alpine regions of Europe, and through the gem-quality spodumene found in pegmatites from California to Pakistan. Spectacular recent finds of diopside in Pakistan, hedenbergite at Dal'negorsk, Russia, and aegirine in Malawi have added to the interest in this mineral group. Several pyroxene species are important in the gem trade, including colored varieties of spodumene (kunzite and hiddenite), green "chrome" diopside, and jadeite, one of the two true jade minerals. The informative text provides an introduction to their formation and geochemistry and a detailed entry for each mineral, including color reference photos. This book is essential for every mineral collector.