Richard W. Wise is the author of two books; the latest, The French Blue (2010) is the winner of a 2011 International Book Award in Historical Fiction. The novel is set in the 17th Century gem trade. Called "a fine piece of historical fiction" in a 5 star review by Midwest Book Review, The French Blue tells the back story of the Hope Diamond and the true life adventures of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, arguably the world's most accomplished gem dealer/adventurer. Richard Wise has been called: "One of the world's foremost gemstone connoisseurs". His first book, Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur's Guide To Precious Gemstones, published in 2003, has become both a commercial and critical success and is now considered a classic. Mr. Wise is a Graduate Gemologist. He began traveling internationally and writing about gemstones in 1986. To date, he has published more than forty articles many can be found on his popular blog, GemWise. His publications include Gems & Gemology, Jeweler's Quarterly and Colored Stone magazines. He has been Gemology Columnist for National Jeweler and a Contributing Editor to Gemkey and Gem Market News. His popular blog GemWise is considered a must read within the industry. From the ruby mines of Burma, to the Black Pearl farms of Tahiti, from the Australian outback to the Brazilian hinterlands, Richard Wise has visited most of the major gemstone producing areas of the world.Richard Wise is an international gem dealer and is President of R. W. Wise, Goldsmiths of Lenox, Massachusetts: http://www.thefrenchblue.com/rww_blog