CATEGORIES

Beyond Minerals

I hope mineral collectors realize the acquisition of mineral specimens is just one facet of our hobby. If you look beyond the specimens in your collection, you discover a vast and fascinating world of people and history.

ARGENTINA'S INCA ROSE

Red roses are a big part of the culture of Argentina. Since European immigrants introduced the flowers in the early 1800s, they have evolved into the beloved, however unofficial, national symbol of love, beauty and strength. The famed rose gardens of Buenos Aires are one of that capitol city's major attractions. Red roses also figure prominently in Argentinian art and festivals; they are even an economic factor as the nation's third largest export.

The Many Facets Jocelyn Zimmer

The First Female President in Five Generations of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers is Set to Sparkle

6 Steps for Forming - and Maintaining - a Vibrant Youth Group

Approximately 600 clubs belong to the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS). While most include kids under age 18 within their ranks, only a fraction boasts a full-scale youth group with deliberate programming aimed right at kids.

THE ROCHESTER SHALE: A SNAPSHOT OF ANCIENT LIFE

425 million years ago, New York was a warm, shallow saltwater tropical sea. Exotic creatures lived, thrived and died in the lagoons. The formation of coral reefs was just beginning.

The Irish Legend of Finn McCool & the Giant's Causeway

Ireland, the emerald isle, is known for its lush green hillsides, the cliffs of Mohr and on its northern Antrim coast, a stairway of basalt columns that stretches into the sea all the way to Scotland.

8 Green Rocks to Collect & Enjoy

The color green is often associated with good luck, money and health. In the gem world, green-hued stones vary in rarity, cost, durability and shine. Whether you wear green gemstones to honor your Irish heritage, celebrate springtime or to enjoy some of Mother Nature's finest work, there's a green-colored stone for you. Experts weigh in on what their favorites are and why you should be envious if they're not in your collection yet.

Arsenic: The "King of Poisons"

Few things are saddled with darker connotations than arsenic. Used throughout much of history as a human poison, arsenic has become inexorably linked with death.

Consider Museum Gifts

As collectors, we all should agree that mineral displays in museums are important. Museums have fine minerals, minerals with a history and mineral oddities. The better museum displays offer people information and provide some mineral education we seek.

ROWLEY MINE CHRYSOCOLLA

This mix of copper minerals is reminiscent of the Inspiration Mine chrysocolla. Much of what has been dug out has a beautiful color array of blues, greens, reds and yellow, plus a really nice strata pattern.\"

OPAQUE GEMSTONES

The faceting of an opaque gemstone presents a much more elegant look than a cabochon. The shape of the design is reminiscent of a cabochon, but it is faceted. It provides distinctive flashes from the facet faces.

ANT HILL GARNETS

Tiny Miners Find Big Treasures

The Formation of Quake Lake

When the Earth Shakes and the Mountain Falls

PIRATE GLASS: Castaways WORTH SAVING

Beach and lake glass, sometimes called \"mermaid's tears,\" make wonderful souvenirs not only for the naturally tumbled beauty of such pieces but also for the stories they can tell.

The Mystery & the History Jet of The Black, Black Stone

Jet is one unusual stone. Used as lapidary material for millennia, it gets no respect in mineralogical circles. Among ten common rock and mineral guidebooks, seven don't even list jet in the index. The others? One has a picture with a one-sentence caption. Another offers only a brief paragraph.

The Hope Diamond Cursed... OR NOT?

Diamonds are known traditionally as symbols of wealth, beauty and love, with one notable exception-a large, unusually colored stone that is widely believed to be cursed. Many of those who have owned or simply touched this stone have met tragedy by going insane, suffering serious illnesses, committing suicide, or losing their fortunes-even being executed by guillotine.

Diamonds

What has always surprised me is the emphasis and value we put on diamonds. Though relatively abundant, they are vigorously mined and have been promoted in a tightly controlled market to keep their value high.

ARIZONA'S METEOR CRATER

Some 50,000 years ago, an asteroid sped through space at 30,000 miles per hour, headed straight for planet Earth.

Citizen Scientists UNCOVER Thousands of Microfossils

A Portal to Earth's Past Emerges in a Remote Corner of the World

ROCK THE CAFÉ Oklahoma Sandstone Created this Route 66 Pop Culture Icon

Oklahoma is the birthplace of Route 66, and Cyrus Avery, of Tulsa, is known as the \"Father various of Route 66.\" Avery served on road-associated commissions. And in 1925, he nabbed a seat on the committee of highway officials who were creating a proposed national highway system, as well as a numbering scheme to go with the map.

PLACODERMS Armor-Plated Fish of the Devonian

As a young boy growing up in fossil-rich western New York, I would spend untold hours walking the rocky outcrops of the Niagara Escarpment, the shore of an ancient Silurian Sea, collecting hundreds of marine fossils including Brachiopods and Crinoids.

SHIELD OF THE HEART DESIGN

Learning to facet gemstones can be rewarding and fascinating. The best way to get started is by taking faceting lessons, using current reference materials, having a mentor and dedicating the time necessary to practice the skills needed to master the art.

ANOTHER LOOK AT GLASS BUTTE OBSIDIAN

Many people who make cabochons avoid working with obsidian because it is soft and fractures easily. It is a struggle to get the scratches out in the sanding steps and it can be difficult to polish. It took me a while to find the solutions to these problems.

RUBBED RIGHT: Moissanite & Silicon Carbide

When a popular artisan who has worked in lapidary since the 1950s suggests taking a closer look at their \"grit of W choice, it's at least worth checking out.

Caring for CRYSTAL PARK: Preserving this One-of-a-kind Experience for Future Generations

Sometimes after a hard rain, the glint of crystals sparkles as they emerge to the soil surface after spending millions of years deep in the earth. Visitors to Crystal Park in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Montana stand upon a treasure that amazes rock enthusiasts from around the world.

Labradorite The Northern Lights in a Gemstone

The northern lights, those glowing curtains of cyan, green, gold and magenta that brighten the night skies in the northern latitudes, are among nature's most stunning displays of color.

ALL ABOARD!

Colorado's Tourist Trains for the Geologist

BEACHES: NOT JUST SUN AND SURF

For many of us, the word \"beach\" evokes pleasant images of summers spent enjoying sun, sand and surf. But for geologists this word has a more specific meaning, referring to waterborne accumulations of sand that sometimes host economic concentrations of gemstones and other valuable minerals.

8 Fun MICHIGAN BEACH Finds

Plus Tips for the Great Lakes State Rockhounding

WHEN A NEW DESIGN MATERIAL FAILS

I love working with milky chalcedony because it is an uncommon lapidary material that has a wonderful internal glow when the project is finished.