Pasadena Lapidary Society to Hold 58th Annual Gem Show

Tourmaline found at Himalaya mine. – Courtesy Photo

The Pasadena Lapidary Society’s (PLS) annual Tournament of Gems returns to San Marino on Saturday and Sunday, March 12 and 13. This year’s show will be titled “Rocks to Riches” and will feature PLS club members’ display cases of beautiful gemstones, mineral and fossil specimens, member-created jewelry and artwork; demonstrations of lapidary techniques such as cabochon grinding, wire wrapping, bending, and other jewelry-making skills. Several dealers will be present, selling goods that range from minerals to beads and gems, lapidary tools, and everything in between. Kids can try their luck at the Treasure Wheel and Sand Scoop for goodies. There will be grab bags for sale, a silent auction will be held both days and raffle tickets can be purchased to win some lovely prizes. A new member signup, club field trip and information table will be available.

Inspiring and educational, the gem show provides an opportunity for families to explore the world of gem, mineral, rock and fossil hunting, earth sciences, and the lapidary arts without leaving town. PLS members go on field trips, find and identify specimens, then bring them home to turn dull (or pretty) stones into works of art.

This event will be held Saturday, March 12 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, March 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the San Marino Masonic Center, 3130 Huntington Drive. Admission and parking are free. For information, please call (626) 260-7239 or visit http://pasadenalapidarysociety.org/Annual_Show.html.

Carolyn oversees stone polishing. – Courtesy Photo

Wholesome Family Fun: Pasadena Lapidary Society

Unlike most people on a Sunday morning who are visiting a local farmer’s market for first dibs on excellent produce, or sleeping in, attending a little league gathering, church, or any number of activities, members of the Pasadena Lapidary Society (PLS) are cutting rocks. A peek inside PLS’ busy monthly workshop provides an eye-opening view of a dedicated group of rockhounds and artists occupied with cutting, polishing and setting beautiful cabochons from colorful agates, designing gemstone jewelry and ‘trees’, and creating one of a kind works of art from various natural material.

On one particular Sunday, several members are gathered at a table to learn how to wire wrap, led by Marcia, last year’s Club president, who’s been involved in the craft since 1991. “I started coming to the meetings first. At that point in time – I think the first fieldtrip I went on was Stoddard Wells (north of Victorville) – I went on a couple of fieldtrips and found it interesting. I saw the potential in it to do a lot of creative things. One of the former members had taught me at a workshop the basics of wire wrap and other techniques, so I expanded on that.” She recalled a field trip a few years ago: “I remember when we were out there – I think it was a mining claim (in the vicinity of Barstow) – and we were all back up there in that country and somebody said, ‘I used to wonder why all these cars were out in the desert in the middle of the night’ – who was that? I think it was Paolo. ‘Now our car is one of them,’ was what he said.”

Lending guidance to members new to lapidary technique today is Carolyn. She’s helping several members at various stages of polishing on the smaller grinding machines, using graduated grits and demonstrating the results of their use. Carolyn is a vibrant and active septuagenarian who enjoys deep sea fishing. Asked how long she’s been involved in rockhunting and lapidary, she replied: “Well, it’s been for a long time – more seriously in the last 15 years – but I started probably after high school, just taking a map and going out and seeing what I could find.” Did anyone influence her interest? She responded: “Yes, a young man I knew happened to have lapidary equipment and I did my first cabochon, and I finally started going on field trips – because I love to go camping and out into the desert – and it just expanded from there. But it really wasn’t until I joined the Pasadena Lapidary Society that I went out with some knowledgeable people who knew where things were and knew what the minerals looked like and the ‘bug’ hit me.” Her favorite materials to work with are Agates and Turquoise. Carolyn enjoys inspiring kids to embrace rock hunting and lapidary work: “I would say that one of the things that’s great about it is, you’re heading out into this desert as other people are going to Las Vegas – but one of the big advantages is that when you go out looking for rocks in the Mojave Desert, or wherever you look, you see flowers, you see animals, you see different wildlife – whereas, if you’re just driving by on the 15 or 40 and you think there’s nothing out there, there’s beauty out there – it’s a whole different world … from the smallest horny toads and desert flowers to bighorn sheep.”

Carolyn expressed the general opinion of members of the Club: “If you think you’re even mildly interested, come to a meeting of a gem and mineral club that’s in your vicinity and just get a feel for it and see what you might want to do – and also take a look at some of the lapidary creations – the jewelry – and the gem and mineral specimens on display — we’ll be hosting a gem show March 12 and 13 this year in San Marino, and that will be a wonderful place to see what it’s all about.”

Meanwhile, Junior members are scurrying about the Workshop, anxious to compare ideas with each other, their folks and others. Their contributions to the Club have been numerous — presentations they’ve made at our monthly meetings, taking the initiative to teach new junior members lapidary skills, submitting articles to both our Club and the California Federation of Mineralogical Society (CFMS) newsletters (respectively), and the numerous awards they won at the big CFMS Gem and Mineral Show hosted by PLS in 2013 at Fairplex.

Teens Paolo and Tanner have been involved with the Club for several years through their parents. Tanner was originally influenced by Paolo: “I first got into rocks, surprisingly, at Knott’s Berry Farm. There’s a little rock and gem shop there. Paolo showed me some rocks and minerals and then I went to a rock store and I bought two rocks. I think they were azurite. Paolo got me into rocks and then, for some reason, my mother got into making necklaces, then my aunt introduced me to lapidary by giving me a flyer for this club.” Tanner would like to create lapidary art work from material he hasn’t yet had access to: “Malachite – and there’s this rock that was at our annual show – Sugalite. It was big and the vendor told me that the source mine was closing down. The Sugalite was a really pretty purple – like a dark purple color – and it was so expensive – there was one piece that ran $1,300. I don’t have the money to spend on pieces that expensive but that is a rock I would really like to work with.”

Club members stringing beads and gemstones. – Courtesy Photo

Paolo interjected: “Collecting rocks wouldn’t be the same without making art out of them. “ His goal is to find and work with benitoite, California’s state gemstone, and he enjoys working with jade. He has displayed specimen cases in several of the club’s annual shows, winning top awards. He would like to be a geological engineer for mines, or, beyond that, go to another planet and study the geology there. “My favorite scientist – if it comes to geology – is James Hutton, because he came up with the rock cycle and the three types of rocks, and he formed the basis of all geology.” Paolo’s sister, Danielle, 14, spoke up: “Rock hunting is fun! You go around the hills looking for pretty rocks and nature – it’s like going on an adventure.” Her favorite rock is blue lace agate. Her other hobbies and pastimes are sewing and crochet, but “when I do lapidary work, it kind of exposes me to other things that I haven’t done before.” Their dad Ferdie began his interest in the hobby by going along with son Paolo. “I started looking at the rocks in a different way; you don’t just look at the rock; you look at the potential of the rock, and what’s in it. I’ve always been into nature anyway, and then, in December, when the Club holds its annual holiday party and we make gem trees, jewelry and other lapidary crafts – that’s when I started thinking, ‘ok, maybe there’s something in it for me’, and then I eventually joined the Club.“

In another area of the workshop, loud grinding can be heard coming from the large rock cutting machines. Members Phil and Chris are guiding first-timers in planning the best strategy for cutting a rock to yield artistic possibilities. With an emphasis on safety, members are taught how to brace the rock firmly and safely in place, then starting the saw – and ultimately cleaning up the cut slab and residue left over when done. Both men are very active in leading or participating in Club fieldtrips and sharing their vast knowledge in mineralogy.

Rex and his family have just arrived. His eldest daughter, Jennifer (14) was asked what she likes more: collecting rocks or making artwork from them. “Probably collecting them, because I can go out into the open and walk around the desert and there are so many different and beautiful kinds of agates, jaspers and other rocks.” Her favorite is Ocean Jasper: “There is an ocean jasper mine owned by, I think, China, and you can’t really get it [the product] anymore because they’re not releasing it. So it’s very rare and expensive.” Jennifer is looking forward to creating lapidary art: “I like doing cabochons – they’re easy to make. I can just slab my rocks, cut them, round them off, and then I have bindings that I use and I put them on there. I do some bead work and wire rings; bracelets to give as gifts at Christmas.” Dad Rex has been interested in rock hunting for about 10 years: “I was looking for a family venture. Something we could do together. Of course, women like jewelry – so it’s a great way to get my wife involved. I like walking around out in the country — a lot of scenery and places that you don’t see – unusual animals and flora – canyons and forest – and the desert.”

Rex’s son, Jared, 12, likes to play baseball and go out hiking on rock collecting trips. His favorite rock is Mossy Agate. He’s found it in the past at Lavic Siding (near Ludlow, CA). He explained what else he’s found at Lavic Siding: “We found different types of plain jasper; reds, blues, yellows – and it was like jasper heaven but you have to make sure that you choose carefully, because you only want to haul the best stuff back to your car. You can fill up your collecting bag before you even find the really great stuff. So it’s hard to choose what to keep and what to leave behind.” Jared plans to make his own designs in the workshop from his findings.

Among the Club’s most valuable treasures is octogenarian Sylvia, who has been involved in rockhunting and lapidary for more than 60 years and has done a great deal of traveling to collect rocks. “I took geology in junior college and had a good professor who took us out on rock trips and we started collecting. An eighth grade teacher before then had us make a rock collection and she provided everything for us to do so.” When asked what her favorite material is to work with, she responded: “I’ve had a lot of changes year to year – opals, chrysoprase – my favorite is plume agate.” She expressed her opinion about getting kids interested in this hobby: “I think the kids who come here do so because they are creating something that’s actually good for them and we teach them how to do everything, and they love the field trips – they love to go out, find their own specimens and come home and make them into something that’s gorgeous. They belong to a good group of people who are doing the right things. They can become artistically inclined as they develop over the years. It’s a beautiful hobby and family-oriented – there’s so many different facets of it that you can go in any direction you want. You can make new things that maybe no one has ever thought of before.”

The Pasadena Lapidary Society’s monthly workshop provides a meeting place for members to study the rocks, gems, and minerals they’ve found; cut, shape, polish and set their finds into an artistic or jeweled setting, and share in education and friendship their love of the hobby. Many of our adult and junior members are experts at mineral identification and highly skilled artisans who have won numerous awards in state and national federation competitions. Our annual ‘Tournament of Gems’ event showcases their talents and this year it will be held on March 12 and 13 in San Marino. Visit our website, www.pasadenalapidarysociety.org/Annual_Show.html for details.

Club members beam with pride over recently winning the first place Gold Award for our Yearbook illustrating club activities and community involvement. This award was bestowed on PLS by the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies, whose judges tallied up points from submitted entries across the U.S.

Pasadena Lapidary Society holds a public meeting the third Tuesday of each month at 6:45 p.m. in the Donald Wright Auditorium wing of the Pasadena Central Library at 285 E. Walnut Street, Pasadena 91101. Find us on the web at www.pasadenalapidary.org. Like us on Facebook ― follow us on Twitter (#PasaLapidary).

Junior members work at polishing machines. – Courtesy Photo

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