CATEGORIES

Prehistoric Birds Take Flight and Pique Public Interest

Birds have really taken flight these past two decades—ancient birds, that is! A flurry of new research has led to a flurry of books with titles like Dinosaurs of the Air, The Mistaken Extinction: Dinosaur Evolution and the Origin of Birds, Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs, and The Rise of Birds, among others.

Uncommon Dinosaurs

Southern Continents Reveal Uncommon Giants

ZOISITE

A Massive Mineral Marked by Christmas- Like Color and Appeal

Odie House

A good friend, and wonderful artisan both lapidary and silversmith h, Odie is always fun to chat with. There is always something beautiful to see when Odie is in the “house.”

PLEASING PYROPE

Italy’s Uniquely Valuable Variety of Garne

Joplin

Field Trip Findings: Gaining More Than Mineral Specimens

GEOLOGY 101 Columnar Basalt

A distinctive volcanic structure found throughout the world has been given fanciful names: “Organ Pipes” in Namibia and Victoria, Australia; “Kilt Rock” and “Samson’s Ribs” in Scotland; “Giant’s Causeway” in Northern Ireland; “Thunderstruck Rocks” in Romania; “Devils Tower” in Wyoming and “Paul Bunyan’s Woodpile” in Utah, USA; the “Baigong Pipes” in China; and the “Cliff of Stone Plates” in Vietnam. High-resolution satellite images have even shown similar as-yet-unnamed structures on Mars.

“Finger Printing” Turquoise

Answering the Question of Provenance

10 Fascinating Facts About Opal

The name “opal” is the subject of long-standing debate. Some accounts cite the origin of the name to be the Latin word opalus, while other reports state it hails from the Greek word opallios.

Sanding and Polishing Thundereggs

Two basic lapidary machines can be used to sand and polish thunderegg halves quickly. Both involve sanding the pieces dry.

Studying Nature's Impact on Ancient Civilization and Tuning In Online to Make Sense of Meteorites

Okmok. In remote Alaska. A strange name and a strange place for what some scientists and historians now say caused the downfall of the Roman Republic and the Egyptian Ptolemaic Kingdom shortly after the demise of Julius Caesar.

San Diego Mineral & Gem Society & Museum

CELEBRATING, SHOWCASING, AND PRESERVING NATURAL AND COMMUNITY HISTORY

THE SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Hot Pink Tourmalines, Kunzites & Fossils

At the famous Balboa Park in San Diego, just south of the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society & Museum, is the San Diego Natural History Museum (SDNHM) — or the Nat as the locals call it. SNDNHM is one of the most significant natural history museums in the country.

PATRIOTIC PRIDE

Exploring Jerry Muchna’s Salute to America in Faceted Quartz

Marvelous Micromounts

TURNING TO “MICROS” FOR A UNIQUE EXPLORATION AND APPRECIATION OF ABUNDANT MINERALS IN FRANKLIN, NEW JERSEY

JOHN SINKANKAS

Award-Winning Mineralogist, Gemologist, Mentor, and Military Veteran

Diane's Oval

One of the many benefits of being a lapidary artist is the opportunity to spend time doing something you love to create one-of-a-kind art and jewelry to sell to someone who finds it enchanting or to give as a gift to someone special. It’s a win-win, whatever the reason or result.

Bluebird Chrysocolla

Bluebird Chrysocolla comes from an old copper mine in Gila County, Arizona.

Palatki Red Cliffs Ancient Painters' Palette

In the shadow of the famous red cliffs of Sedona, the ancient ruins of Palatki remain silent for nearly 700 years. The Palatki Red Cliffs is a designated World Heritage archaeological site that contains cliff dwellings, pictographs, and petroglyphs created by the Sinagua people of the Ancestral Puebloans.

Turning to the “Other” Tourmaline Crystals

COMPLEX, PLENTIFUL, AND AFFORDABLE

What New Things Are You Learning?

For many within the rockhounding community, the answer to our headline could be a combination of several technological applications. During a conversation with a reader recently, the kind gentleman from Tennessee shared with me details about his experience setting up a virtual meeting for his mineral club, and how at the young age of 74, he was selected to “figure it out,” because he was a former teacher. As he said to me, “Teaching is one thing. Technology is something altogether different.”

Something New at Biggs Junction

EXPLORING A NEW DEPOSIT DISCOVERY IN NORTH CENTRAL OREGON

Mexican Purple Passion Agate

Mexico has long been a source of brilliant colored banded and lace agates, but, for the last couple of years, one agate, in particular, has generated a lot of attention: Purple Passion!

NEVADA'S CARLIN TREND

AMERICA’S GREATEST GOLD-MINING DISTRICT

Claim to Copper Fame

BUTTE, MONTANA’S COLORFUL HISTORY OF BECOMING “THE RICHEST HILL ON EARTH”

CASTANEA CORALS

Finding Fossils from a Silurian Coral Reef

CAPTIVATING FIND AT THE CARVER AGATE FIELD

GEOLOGICAL MYSTERY DRAWS INTEREST

Pennsylvania's Pequea Silver Mines

Lancaster County’s Hub of Geological History and Modern Recreation

Removing a Bezel Set Stone

On numerous forums, I frequently see questions about how to remove a stone from a bezel setting.

Staying Connected and Inspired

In its July-August newsletter, Flatirons Facets, the Flatirons Mineral Club of Boulder County, Colorado, shared examples of how their club members are staying connected and enjoying their shared rockhounding and lapidary interests in today’s socially distant world.