--- product_id: 49123812 title: "Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World" price: "29129CFA" currency: XOF in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.sn/products/49123812-stoned-jewelry-obsession-and-how-desire-shapes-the-world store_origin: SN region: Senegal --- # Historical depth & cultural impact 8 iconic jewels explored NYT Bestseller status Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World **Price:** 29129CFA **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 💎 Own the story behind every sparkle — because desire shapes the world. ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World - **How much does it cost?** 29129CFA with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sn](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/49123812-stoned-jewelry-obsession-and-how-desire-shapes-the-world) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Fuel Your FOMO on Rarity:** Discover why coveted gems have sparked revolutions, dynasties, and cultural movements—don’t miss out! - • **Unlock the Secrets of Desire:** Dive into the captivating history behind humanity’s obsession with rare jewels and luxury. - • **Blend of Science & Storytelling:** Aja Raden’s unique mix of pop science and history makes learning both entertaining and insightful. - • **Masterclass in Luxury Psychology:** Understand how jewels symbolize power, wealth, and social status across cultures and centuries. - • **Eight Legendary Jewels, One Epic Story:** Explore the fascinating tales of diamonds, emeralds, pearls, and more that shaped history. ## Overview Stoned is a New York Times bestselling book by jeweler and scientist Aja Raden that explores the powerful human desire for rare jewels. Through the stories of eight iconic gems, it reveals how jewelry has influenced history, culture, and social status. Combining engaging storytelling with scientific insight, this book is a must-read for professionals and enthusiasts eager to understand the allure and impact of luxury. ## Description A New York Times Bestseller As entertaining as it is incisive, Stoned is a raucous journey through the history of human desire for what is rare, and therefore precious. What makes a stone a jewel? What makes a jewel priceless? And why do we covet beautiful things? In this brilliant account of how eight jewels shaped the course of history, jeweler and scientist Aja Raden tells an original and often startling story about our unshakeable addiction to beauty and the darker side of human desire. What moves the world is what moves each of us: desire. Jewelry—which has long served as a stand-in for wealth and power, glamor and success—has birthed cultural movements, launched political dynasties, and started wars. Masterfully weaving together pop science and history, Stoned breaks history into three categories—Want, Take, and Have—and explains what the diamond on your finger has to do with the GI Bill, why green-tinted jewelry has been exalted by so many cultures, why the glass beads that bought Manhattan for the Dutch were initially considered a fair trade, and how the French Revolution started over a coveted necklace. Studded with lively personalities and fascinating details, Stoned tells the remarkable story of our abiding desire for the rare and extraordinary. Review: Fantastic and Fascinating! - Fantastic writing and fascinating approach on the subject of jewels, luxury and desire. Raden writes in such a way that you can be laughing and learning at the same time! It’s a great book for anyone working in Jewellery retail and has helped me understand the history of why people desire to acquire luxury, and equally loading you with lots of useful history and stories to sell. Great as an interest and education read - I’ve since passed this book on to a friend and need to get another copy! Looking forward to future publications from this author. Review: A well written and enjoyable historical account of five gemstones - This book looks at a few gemstones and discusses their history and indeed some of the more lucrative items of jewelry created using these gemstones over time. The book begins with a introduction into diamonds and how their perceived value was all the marketing ploy of De Beers. The book gives a sweeping overview of some of major pieces of jewellery that have been created with diamonds - most notably Marie Antoinettes famous diamond necklace. The chapter on emeralds makes for fascinating reading from how they are formed in the earths crust to their conquest by the Spanish in Colombia. Pearls get a lengthy discussion on their formation in the innards of mollusks to the famous and their history from La Peregrina to modern day "cultured" pearls in Japan (which are still real pearls, just farmed, if that makes sense......). The story of the most expensive Easter eggs going - Russian Faberge eggs - are given some very detailed discussion with some fascinating insight how Armand Hammer of Occidental Petroleum played his part in bringing them to America. Though I found it a bit annoying/bizarre that the story was intermittently interrupted by a paragraph on the details of one of the Faberge eggs - 14 times I think. It would have been better in an Appendix. The style of the authors writing is certainly unique. She has clearly pushed the publisher hard to get across her personality which includes many subjective tongue in cheek comments such as "he makes my skin crawl". Some may find it annoying at times but I thought it was most appropriate and actually added to the enjoyment of the book. There are a couple of reasons why this book is only 4 star and not 5. She sometimes goes on far too long about how frivolous Marie Antoinette was in her personal life - while interesting - gets lost from the story of diamond necklace or indeed diamonds in general. The same could be said about the love triangle involving Mary Tudor and King Philip of Spain which goes on for 10+ pages without really adding to the story of the pearl. At the same time her research on many aspects of history is pretty decent for someone who is not a historian. But another reason for deduction of the star is that none of the historical references are referenced. There is no reference list at all actually, which in a book of such an amount of historical detail is a bit surprising. Yes it is a pain but it is necessary. Still a hugely enjoyable book and a great job to the author and publisher. ## Features - Software game 905 - Software game 906 - Software game 907 - Software game 908 - Software game 909 ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 204,138 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 37 in Antique & Collectable Jewellery 46 in Antique & Collectable Books 691 in Anthropology & Sociology Biographies | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,349 Reviews | ## Images ![Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81R7sKv1jJL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fantastic and Fascinating! *by F***R on 30 January 2020* Fantastic writing and fascinating approach on the subject of jewels, luxury and desire. Raden writes in such a way that you can be laughing and learning at the same time! It’s a great book for anyone working in Jewellery retail and has helped me understand the history of why people desire to acquire luxury, and equally loading you with lots of useful history and stories to sell. Great as an interest and education read - I’ve since passed this book on to a friend and need to get another copy! Looking forward to future publications from this author. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A well written and enjoyable historical account of five gemstones *by L***R on 20 March 2018* This book looks at a few gemstones and discusses their history and indeed some of the more lucrative items of jewelry created using these gemstones over time. The book begins with a introduction into diamonds and how their perceived value was all the marketing ploy of De Beers. The book gives a sweeping overview of some of major pieces of jewellery that have been created with diamonds - most notably Marie Antoinettes famous diamond necklace. The chapter on emeralds makes for fascinating reading from how they are formed in the earths crust to their conquest by the Spanish in Colombia. Pearls get a lengthy discussion on their formation in the innards of mollusks to the famous and their history from La Peregrina to modern day "cultured" pearls in Japan (which are still real pearls, just farmed, if that makes sense......). The story of the most expensive Easter eggs going - Russian Faberge eggs - are given some very detailed discussion with some fascinating insight how Armand Hammer of Occidental Petroleum played his part in bringing them to America. Though I found it a bit annoying/bizarre that the story was intermittently interrupted by a paragraph on the details of one of the Faberge eggs - 14 times I think. It would have been better in an Appendix. The style of the authors writing is certainly unique. She has clearly pushed the publisher hard to get across her personality which includes many subjective tongue in cheek comments such as "he makes my skin crawl". Some may find it annoying at times but I thought it was most appropriate and actually added to the enjoyment of the book. There are a couple of reasons why this book is only 4 star and not 5. She sometimes goes on far too long about how frivolous Marie Antoinette was in her personal life - while interesting - gets lost from the story of diamond necklace or indeed diamonds in general. The same could be said about the love triangle involving Mary Tudor and King Philip of Spain which goes on for 10+ pages without really adding to the story of the pearl. At the same time her research on many aspects of history is pretty decent for someone who is not a historian. But another reason for deduction of the star is that none of the historical references are referenced. There is no reference list at all actually, which in a book of such an amount of historical detail is a bit surprising. Yes it is a pain but it is necessary. Still a hugely enjoyable book and a great job to the author and publisher. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very interesting and informative *by L***N on 12 April 2023* This was such an enjoyable read. Highly recommend if you are interested in the history of jewellery and their impact on human nature. ## Frequently Bought Together - Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World - The Smithsonian National Gem Collection―Unearthed: Surprising Stories Behind the Jewels - Gemstones of the World: Newly Revised Fifth Edition --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sn/products/49123812-stoned-jewelry-obsession-and-how-desire-shapes-the-world](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/49123812-stoned-jewelry-obsession-and-how-desire-shapes-the-world) --- *Product available on Desertcart Senegal* *Store origin: SN* *Last updated: 2026-08-11*