The National Rockhound & Lapidary Hall of Fame was founded in 1987 by celebrated author and lapidary, the late June Culp Zeitner. It was created to recognize excellence in the earth sciences by inducting one or more persons each year in six categories: Minerals, Fossils, Metal Craft, Lapidary, Education, and Tribute (Deceased). Rock & Gem Senior Editor, Bob Jones, has received this honor and was inducted in the Minerals category in 1992, as was I, in the Lapidary category in 2003. Nomination forms, past inductees and information can be found at http://www.rockhoundandlapidaryhalloffame.org
In 2018, Bernie Emery was inducted into the National Rockhound & Lapidary Hall of Fame under the Education category. His nomination was submitted by me and supported by six more supporting letters from Bob Jones, Michael Seeds, Franko Zambrotto (also an inductee), Pam Jeffries, Richard Hoff, and Lynne Emery. We could have equally nominated him for the Lapidary category, but we wanted to reward him for all his incredible, selfless volunteering work as a lapidary teacher.
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Bernie is a fabulous lapidary, excelling in freeform cabochons, knife blades and knife handles, faceted gemstones, and in recent years, freeform and organic carvings, all of which he usually exhibits at local shows. He is also a graduate gemologist of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), receiving his certification in 1987.
MARYLAND GEM & MINERAL CLUBS
I have known Bernie for nearly 30 years, through our associations with the gem and mineral clubs in Maryland. He has spent his entire adult life serving selflessly the lapidary and mineral hobby as show chairman, auction chairman, and field trip chairman or leader.
This story is from the May 2020 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
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This story is from the May 2020 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
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MORGAN HILL POPPY JASPER
In California, there are very few places to collect semi-precious stones. Many locations from the past have been either exhausted of the material or the land has been developed.
THE ACORN
The briolette gemstone has the same design attributes of a regular gemstone, however, the pavilion is elongated and the crown is usually domed. This is perfect for an elegant pendant, earrings or a pendulum.
HOW TO PUT A PROTECTIVE CAP ON A CAB
To protect a specimen cab, often a cap is needed. In my case, I had a slab with the because of the color of the background and the pattern. This background had a more silicified consistency than most sandstones. It had no graininess like most sandstone, so I'm inclined to compare it to a jasper. The pattern was typical of a dendrite.
The Resilient Revival of Anne Brontë & Her Stones
For the first time, the Anne Brontë rock collection underwent complete description and identification, and along with Professor Hazel Hutchison of Leeds University and Dr. Enrique Lozano Diz at ELODIZ (a company specializing in spectroscopy analysis), an analysis of that collaboration, Anne Brontë and Geology: A Study of her Collection of Stones, was published in April 2022 in Volume 47, Issue 2 of the peer-reviewed journal, Brontë Studies & Gazette.\"
Amazing Women with Rock-Solid Careers
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The Case of the Bleeding Glacier
It's a gory sight called Blood Falls. Ever since British geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor first noted it in 1911, it has been a mystery.
Asteroid Samples Are Said to Hold Invaluable Secrets
If Only Scientists Can Pop the Lid!
Paleontologists Embrace a New Method for Seeing Fossils within Rock
Fossil bone can be delicate. Attempts to remove it from a hard rock matrix by picking and scratching or etching with acids can be time-consuming and/or may end up obliterating that which you hope to study.
Need a Map of the Ocean Floor?
Call in the Seals!
A Step Closer to Hydrogen, the "Climate-Friendly Fuel"
As I reported last June, the world is racing to find sustainably renewable, nonpolluting sources of energy to replace our carbon-based reserves of coal, oil and gas.