This story begins at a one-day event the local lapidary club I belong to hosts in August every year, in Atherton, Queensland, Australia.
It is an open-air market that features gem-dealers, lapidary suppliers, and booths showcasing everything related to rocks, minerals, crystals, and jewels. The participating vendors vary from professional gem-sellers who travel the country on the mineral and gem show circuit to “ma and pa” prospectors selling their lifetime of finds to raise money for a holiday to Canada.
We discovered this gathering a few years ago and haven’t missed an event since. Although the pocket certainly misses the money after we return home each year, with less currency but many newly acquired treasures. One particular stall at the show, run by a fellow named Gary, is one we return to every year. He sells faceted and rough gemstones from all over Australia, and imports stones not found in Australia. This little booth is like an Aladdin’s cave of color and sparkle that makes me mentally salivate.
This story is from the August 2020 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
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This story is from the August 2020 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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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.\"
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