chippers’ chatter · treasures for your personal collection. our meeting will be held on friday,...

Chippers’ ChatterChippers’ ChatterNewsletter of the Chesapeake Gem & Mineral Society

Baltimore, Maryland <chesapeakegemandmineral.org>

Volume 60, Number 9October, 2016

Elsewhere In This Issue

A Few Words From Barbara ......................................... 2Meeting Minutes ......................................................... 3Member News ............................................................. 3Agates Everywhere ...................................................... 4Safety Matters ............................................................. 4Topaz - Rockhounding in Utah ..................................... 5Quick Tips & Helpful Hints ........................................... 6Disorderly Opal ............................................................ 7Pegmatites ................................................................... 8Charoite ....................................................................... 9Buying Slabs............................................................... 10Calendar of Events ..................................................... 12

Going...Going...Gone! It’s Auction Time

It’s once again time for our annual October auction - a time where mem-bers and non-members have the opportunity to sell some of their sur-plus treasures. Since our time and space are

limited, we can only auction off about 100 lots during the evening, and sellers MUST contact Bernie in advance to re-serve space. Each seller is limited to 12 lots (or individual items). Commission owed to the club for members is 15% and non-members pay 20%. Contact Bernie at <[email protected]> to reserve your spot.

All sellers are required to fill out an idenfication tag for each item or lot and attach it to the item. Sellers are also required to fill out two copies of the auction log and bring it with them. Please type or write legibly so that the clerks and auctioneers can read your writing! Forms can be found on our website at <chesapeakegemandmineral.org/newsletter.html>. The forms are shown beneath the October newsletter link.

In addition to the commission sales, don’t forget to do-nate items to the “club side” table. By doing so, 100% of the selling price goes directly to the club.

And the most important thing to remember about our auction is that you come, bid on items and leave with new treasures for your personal collection.

Our meeting will be held on Friday, October 14 with a preview starting at 7:15 pm. Bring along your enthusiasm, a friend or two, cash and/or your check book and plan on acquiring some new treasures.

Nibbles ‘N Noshesfrom Liz and Wendy Stanne

There was a good crowd for our meeting in Septem-ber. The refreshment table was full of interesting treats for ev-eryone and we appreciate all of the different foods that our members bring in for us to try each month.

We had coffee cake made with cream cheese, apple muf-

fins, brownies, pita chips and veggies and dif. There were chocolate chip cookies, and pretzels as well!

Thanks go out to the members who brought the treats for us all to enjoy.

This month is our auction meeting and our “fabulous 4 will again be providing us with the refreshments. They are: Mary Chandler, Phyllis Dyer, Lynne Emery and Patricia Smith.

Chippers’ Chatter – October, 2016

Members of the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical & Lapidary Societies

Affiliated with the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies.

The Chesapeake Gem & Mineral So-ciety was established in order to allow its members to gain knowledge and skills in various phases of the Earth Science field. Through field trips, exhibitions, and coop-eration with other societies, we endeavor to further not only our own knowledge, but also that of the general public.

Meetings are held on the 2nd Friday of each month except July & August at the Westchester Community Center, 2414 Westchester Ave; Oella, MD. Meetings begin at 7:30 P.m. and visitors are always welcome.

Dues are $15 for individuals, $25 for family memberships.

Officers:President - Barb Kays

<[email protected]>

Vice President - John Buchleitner<[email protected]>

Recording Sec’y - Carolyn Weinberger<[email protected]>

Corresponding Secretary - Patty Lortie< [email protected]>

Treasurer - Steve Weinberger<[email protected]>

Past President - Richard Hoff<[email protected]>

Directors:2016 2016-17 Jim Hooper Bob Farrar Richard Meszler Kathy Kaneda

Editor:Carolyn Weinberger

<[email protected]>

Deadline is the 15th of each month.Non-commercial reprint permission granted to

non-profit organizations unless otherwise noted.

ChesapeakeGem & Mineral

Society It is Fall and time to put on those shoes and enjoy the cooler weather. Richard is still working on some field trips with other groups; but nothing says you can’t take some hikes and search on you own as long as the lands are open to the public.

It was nice to be welcomed back to a meeting last month with another interesting talk. Those slides went a step beyond Steve and Carolyn’s mi-cro-mounts. Technology can be most “wonderous” at times. Years ago, in another life, I created a large case display at the entrance of Indiana University’s Biology Building featuring electron microscope pictures of plant pollen. The machines we saw from the Smithsonian make that electron microscope look like a child’s toy.

This month is the auction. Then, in November we have election of officers for the following year. When Liz or Kathy ask you, please carefully consider saying “yes.” Our club could probably function by a committee of members; but we have to be official. And, that leads up to the holiday season and an-other delicious meal with the Chesapeake family.

Rumor has it that the AFMS is wondering how Carolyn can manage to sell so many winning tickets in their raffle each year. The three members in our club who won four of the prizes walked out surprised and happy. The money will come right back to our club as we borrow videos and materials to use in our meetings. At the same meeting in Oregon Carolyn was elected to represent the Eastern Federation as the 5th regional vice-president. Congratulations ! It is also very pleasing to see how we are supporting the scholarship fund . Steve will announce our total contribution to the fund at the end of the year.

See you soon as you come with high hopes of finding “that special thing.”

Barbara

A Few Words from Barbaraby Barbara Kays, President

Thank You!from Lynne and Barbara

Thank you to all of our members who helped “person” our information booth at the recent Gem Cutters Guild show at the Howard County Fairgrounds.

We had a good bit of interest in the club and hopefully will have many of them attend our upcoming auction and future meetings. Several expressed interest in joining our merry group as well. Congratulations to Jat Thompson who signed up 3 new members!


September Meeting Minutesfrom Steve Weinberger, Recording Secretary pro tem

President Barbara Kays called the September 9th meeting of the Chesapeake Gem & Mineral Society to or-der at 7:40 pm and welcomed members and guests.

Since the July meeting was a picnic, there were no minutes to accept. Treasurer Steve Weinberger indicated that the club remains solvent. He stated that members wishing to see the full financial report should see him.

Chesapeake’s record of winning prizes continues with three of our membes winning prizes this year. Wendy Stanne won two prizes, Sharon Landrum won a prize and Barbara Kays won the carved soapstone bear. Thanks to all who sup-ported the AFMS Endowment Fund by purchasing tickets.

Committee Reports:•Gem Cutters Show: Lynne asked for help at the up-

coming Gem Cutters show at the Howard County Fair-grounds September 24-25. Members are needed to help at the club information booth for an hour or two on ei-ther (or both) Saturday and Sunday. A sign-up sheet was passed around.

• Sunshine: Arlene Gleason is doing well after her hipreplacement surgery.

Paul Senstad had hernia repair surgery and is doing well.

Becky Kays was at the meeting and not wearing her surgical collar!!

Lois Schwartz is having some medical issues. Carolyn Weinberger is undergoing chemo treatments

for a form of bone marrow cancer, but is very optimistic.

•Safety: Johnny Johnsson advised making sure that alltools (chisels, gad bars, hammers, etc) are in good shape. Rich-ard Hoff added that he was injured when a piece of the ham-mer he was using flew off and hit his leg causing a deep gash.

Unfinished Business - none

New Business: Barbara announced the appointment of Lynne Emery and Kathy Kaneda as members of the Nominating Committee.

Mineral of the Month: Epidote was the mineral of the month and specimens were displayed by Jim Hooper, Al Pribula, Bob Farrar and Jona-than Thompson.

from Lynne Emery

Showcase: Items in the showcase for September included cabs fash-ioned by Steve Dyer, minerals from the collections of Alex Lastner and Bob Farrar, Scrimshaw made at the EFMLS spring Wildacres session by Cathy Purdum and Lynne Emery, a Co-lumbian emerald from Fred Paras and items that received blue ribbons at the Carroll County Fair made by Karin Johnsson.

Program: Speaker Tim Rose from the Smithsonian gave an inter-esting presentation about both minerals of Maine and some of the instruments used at the Smithsonian for studying and identifying minerals.

The meeting adjourned at 9:20 pm.

Submitted bySteve Weinberger, Secretary pro tem

Congratulations to Carolyn Weinberger for a second place as editor in the AFMS large newsletters category, and also 4th place for webmaster.

We also need to keep Carolyn in our thoughts and prayers as she will be undergoing some difficult treat-ments for bone marrow cancer in the next few months. We wish her our very best.

Happy birthday wishes to the following members:Jim Hooper - 11

Thomas Caton - 21Laura Block - 23Lydia Byers -23

Marilyn Cornish - 23LLoyd Gleason - 25

Steve Dyer - 26Fred Paras - 29

Cathy Purdum - 30


Agates Everywhereby Phyllis Dyer

July 19, 2016Upper Michigan and Lower Michigan Trip

As we moved on from our adventure in Wisconsin, welanded up in Houghton where Steve graduated from Michigan Technological University. It is beautiful country and so uncluttered it warmed my heart. We had dinner in Copper Harbor overlooking the water and enjoyed a quiet evening.

The next morning we spent hours at the A. E. Seaman Museum on the campus of Michigan Tech admir-ing all the minerals and learning so much about the area (that is me that was learning!).

The next day we drove along Lake Superior to Munising, a very busy tour-ist town that is known for the Pictured Rocks. we took a boat out on the lake for about 2 ½ hours and look at cliffs about 200 feet high that are limestone and sandstone that border the lake. Erosion has formed various sculpture ap-pearances and in addition, ground water seeping through various layers like iron and manganese have added various colors staining the rock surfaces. This results in imagina-tive figures, sculptures and paintings on the cliffs.

Finally it was a Phyllis Day and we drove on to St. Ig-nace and Mackinac Island. We did the ferry ride over and then the carriage tour. If you are a fudge lover this is the place for you! I loved it for the fact that no cars are allowed on the island , but it does get a little smelly if the horse poo has not been cleaned up promptly on a very hot day.

Our last stop was in Frankenmuth about six miles off the interstate to enjoy German food in this quaint town. Since learning this was my heritage you can never have too much sauerbraten!

We left Michigan and our agate adventures and are now back in Maryland awaiting for Steve’s next adventure in rocks and minerals.

Safety Matters – The Write Rightby Ellery Borow, EFMLS Safety Chair

The write right could be re-stated as a right to speak one’s mind or write one’s thoughts. The other though for this Safety Matters article is that rockhounds, fossilhounds, lapi-dary enthusiasts, beaders, etc. are very thoughtful, caring, safety minded, and sharing people. Do you see where we are going with this article? Having reread what was just written, I’m not sure where this is going either. Please let us recompose...

Key words – right to write...safety...and sharing.

We, as thoughtful folks, as folks who generally have lots of good ideas, and folks who are concerned about their safety and the safety of their fellow rockhounds might consider, as part of their sharing nature, using the ability, the right, and even the duty or obligation (being good and proper rockhounds) to write down and share their rockhound safety ideas.

Sharing ideas and tips is part of a rockhound’s nature. What is being intimated here is the suggestion that there is a benefit to sharing those ideas with others by writing the ideas down and then distributing them to our fellow rockhounds.

What we would like to encourage with this Safety Matters article is the possibility or encouragement of editors, club officers, safety chairs to support their club members efforts to write down and share the best safety ideas of those members with the rest of the club mem-bers and the greater rockhound community in general.

We wish to reinforce and encourage, the right to write, to share member’s ideas utilizing the power of the written word. Please consider doing the right thing and writing down your and their ideas concerning safety matters in our club and regional newsletter and bulletins. Our clubs really are made of the write stuff...and that right should be encouraged.

Be safe, think safety, write safe. Your safety matters.


Topaz – Rockhounding in Utahby Bonnie Glismann from Golden Spike News, Sept. 1988

During the winter months, Topaz Mountain in Utah is covered with a soft blanket of snow, all its treasures pro-tected against the ravages of Old Man Winter. Come spring, the snow will melt and soak down into the soil. Spring rains will come and the wind and water will do their work to wash out a fresh supply of topaz crystals. Once again the mountain will give up some of its treasures for those who wish to search them out. This place has been a favorite col-lecting area for mineral hobbyists of the nation for a num-ber of years. No one ever visits the area and comes away empty-handed.

Visitors have come from every state in the union and many foreign countries. Thousands of crystals have been collected, but only the surface of Topaz Mountain has been scratched. Who knows what lies at the heart of this famous old treasure-chest?

Topaz Mountain has an elevation of 7113 ft. It is lo-cated on the Southwest edge of the Thomas Range in Juab County. Its color is a very light grey as compared with the reddish to dark brown hills around it, and is visible for many miles. It can be reached by traveling all-weather roads northwest of Delta, Utah, or by driving approximately 60 miles west from Jerico, which is just off from Highway 6/50 south from Salt Lake City. A new paved road 5 miles from Lynndyl turning at the Brush Beryllium Plant is an excellent and quick way to reach the mountain.

The approach of the mountain from the south shows the peculiar erosion that forms the abrupt steepness of the

cliffs, and the amphitheater-like canyon which has been carved from the south end. The sides of the amphitheater are extremely rugged, with projecting ledges, honeycombed cliffs and fantastic erosional remnants, due chiefly to the roaring action of the wind and typical desert thunder showers. The rhyolite, of which the mountain is made, contains the topaz and associated minerals.

The topaz crystals that have been protected from na-ture area a deep cherry wine color, somewhat comparable to the color of the highly prized precious topaz of Brazil. Unfortunately the wine color of the Thomas Range topaz is not permanent, as both the action of sunlight or heat upon the crystals result in the complete fading of this beautiful hue to colorless.

Grey opaque topaz clusters, much larger than the flaw-less topaz are found throughout the topaz area. At first im-pression, they appear as though they were formed around portions of the country rock but upon closer examination they are topaz crystals filled with inclusions of quartz. The larger topaz are exceptional, although dozens of fine crystals have been found in one of the vugs or caves. On the other hand, small weathered crystals are everywhere, glistening and sparkling in the sunlight, being visible from great distances. But when one is singled out, followed, and the topaz retrieved, the flash often comes from a fragment or a perfect crystal seldom exceeding a quarter of an inch in length. Nevertheless, fine specimens of unparalleled beauty are found by those who spend a little time and ef-fort in searching.

TopazTopaz Mountain

Juab Co, UT. Photo: Rob Lavinsky

I-rocks.com used underCreative Commons

Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Bixbyite & TopazTopaz Mountain

Juab Co, UT. Photo: Rob Lavinsky

I-rocks.com used underCreative Commons

Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.


by Brad Smith

Removing Solder From a Bezel Sometimes when you solder a bezel to a base plate, you end up with excess solder that needs to be removed before setting the stone. My choice of tool for this is

called an “Inverse Cone” bur used in a rotary tool or flexshaft.

It cuts on both the bottom and the side and is shaped so that there’s less chance of cutting into the bezel wall than if you used the more common cylinder bur shape. I find the 2 mm size useful for almost any bezel.

Depth Gauge for DrillingSometimes you need to drill a number of holes all

to the same depth. One quick and easy way to do this is to wind some tape around the drill bit so that the tape just touches the part surface when the hole is deep enough.

You can set the depth either by measuring from the tip of the drill to the tape or by drilling to the correct depth, leaving the bit in the hole, and wrapping tape around the bit at the surface level.

Note that a little extra tape left free on the end will blow away debris from the drilling.

Cutting a Bolt Whenever you have to cut a threaded bolt shorter, it’s often difficult to get the nut to thread back onto it. And the smaller the bolt, the more difficult it is to restore any dis-torted threads. The problem is easily solved with the use of a nut. Here’s how I do it.

First, screw a nut onto the bolt before cutting it. Grip the bolt by the threaded section that is to be sawed off. Then saw the bolt to the desired length, taper the end with sandpaper or file, and unscrew the nut from the bolt.

Unscrewing the nut over the freshly cut end of the bolt will straighten out any damage that sawing and filing did to the threads. Gripping the bolt by the piece to be sawed off local-izes any crushing damage to the piece that will be thrown away.

“Bench Tips for Jewelry Making” and“Broom Casting for Creative Jewelry”are available on Amazon

The White Paper Testby Jeff Graham, used with permission of the author

via Gem Cutters News, April 2004

The white paper test is something every faceter should know and use. This is par-ticularly true for a new cutter or someone who does not have a lot of ex-perience buying rough. It is essentially an easy way to get a close approxima-tion of what (color and how saturated) a piece of rough will cut like.

To do the test, just take a piece of rough you want to check and put it on a white piece of paper in NORMAL day-light. Don’t put a light behind it and get it away from any bright light source (like a show dealers halogens). Try to make sure that the light you do see is mixed - both incan-descent and fluorescent - and check to see what color (s) it is and how it looks. This is especially important if you are buying Sapphires or Spinels.

A good habit to get into is to do this test on the rough you are cutting and then compare the results. This will help you when it comes time to buy rough from a dealer.


Minerals are crystalline solids, having regular long-range arrangements of their atoms repeating predictably in three dimensions. But there are a few substances, called “mineraloids”, which have mineral-like occurrences, prop-erties and consistency of composition but not a long-range crystalline structure. One of these is opal,, a hydrated form of silica with variable amounts of included water. It is often described as amorphous (literally “without form”). Recent studies, have clarified opal’s atomic nature, subdividing it into categories such as “opal-CTÓ that read like an al-phabet soup. Recent articles, such as one on the origin of thunder eggs from Colorado (Kile, 2002), use these terms , so it is worth-while finding out what they mean.

Opal’s lack of long-range atomic structure is verified by its response to x-rays. When x-rays pass through a mineral, they are affected by that mineral’s internal atomic struc-ture. When the x-rays emerge, they make a pattern that is recorded on film or graph paper and reveals the mineral’s internal symmetry. In opal, the pattern that emerges is dif-fuse and not very regular. But “not very regular” is not the same as “random”. Some opals do show a short range ar-rangement of their atoms. This allows the subdivision of opals into categories based on the type and extent of this order/disorder. The pattern in opal apparently consists of small spheres or chains of linked Si and O atoms. These structures are surrounded by more silica in a gel-like ma-trix. The arrangement of the spheres is similar to that of some high temperature forms of SiO2 namely cristobalite and tridymite. The type of material found in the opal is the key to the alphabet soup.

Opal A is opal that is truly amorphous, having little if any arrangement of atoms. Much gem opal is of this variety.

Opal AG is the least structured, being all amorphous gel (= AG. Get it?). Opal AN has a vague network structure in the gel. A lot of hyalite opal, thought to form as vapor condensate, is of this type.

Opal CT has intermixed tridymite and cristobalite struc-ture along with unstructured gel. It gives broad x-ray pat-terns, so at least is “aspiring” to true crystallinity. Lots of common opal and some gem opal is of this variety. Within this is Opal CTm (massive structure), opal CTp (platy struc-ture) and opal CTl (fibrous structure). In case you are won-dering where the “l” came from,(or what the “l” is going on) this fibrous structured opal has been termed “lussatite”.

Disorderly Opalby Dr. Bill Cordua, via Gem Cutters News, January 2016

Opal C has a pattern dominated by a diffuse structure resembling cristobalite. Agate at the base of Uruguay am-ethyst geodes has some of this, so many of you have speci-mens of this.

Over time opal becomes less disorderly. Its structure is not one that will last, as the atoms are more stable when arranged in a real crystal structure. Burial with moderate temperatures and pressures speed the breakdown pro-cess. Eventually opal passes form Opal A to Opal CT to fine-grained quartz or chalcedony. Much chert was probably common opal at one time or another. This nomenclature allows mineralogists who study opal to focus their atten-tion of various types. Each type of opal has its own condi-tions of formation, and its orderly to disorderly pattern is often a window to those geological conditions.

References: Graetsch, H., 1994, “Structural characteristics of opal-line silica and microcrystalline silica materials” in Silica: Physical Behavior, Geochemistry and Materials Applica-tions, edited by P. Heaney, et. al., Reviews in mineralogy,vol. 29, Mineralogical Society of America, p. 209-232.

Kyle, Dan, 2002, Occurrence and genesis of Thunder eggs containing plume and most agate from the Del Nortearea, Saguache County, Colorado, Rocks and Minerals, vol. 77, #, p. 252- 268.


Pegmatites: The Mineralogical Mother Lode©2008 by Andrew Sicree, Ph.D. Used with permission of the author

Pegmatites and the collector The mineral collector often hears the term pegmatite, and a novice may mistakenly think that pegmatite is a species of min-eral to be collected. However, pegmatite is a type of rock, not a single mineral. Feldspars, quartz, and micas are the major min-eral constituents, thus pegmatites are compositionally similar to granites. Pegmatites are coarse-grained igneous rocks. Mineral grains in a pegmatite are typically about one-half inch (about 1 cm) across or much larger. Coarseness of the crystal grains in apegmatite is a major distinguishing characteristic. One can thinkof them as very coarse-grained granites.

Mineralogically, pegmatites are the mother lode of interest-ing minerals, especially silicates. In addition to a variety of feld-spars (such as albite, amazonite, etc.), there are micas (musco-vite, phlogopite, biotite, lepidolite), and quartz varieties (smoky and rose quartz). Garnets, particularly grossular and almandine, occur, as does spodumene, beryl, topaz, and tourmaline. And, depending upon the type of pegmatite, a host of other unusual minerals such as columbite, tantalite, niobite, and uraninite may also be found.

The world’s largest crystals Pegmatites have produced the world’s largest crystals. For instance, the largest crystal on record is an immense crystal of microcline feldspar encountered at the Devils Hole Beryl Mine in Fremont County, Colorado. This microcline was about 162 feet long by 118 feet high and 45 feet deep (49m x 36m x 14m) weighing an estimated 17,500 tons (15,900 metric tons). An-other large crystal was a phlogopite mica from the Lacy Mine in Ontario, Canada, that was 33 feet long (1000 cm) and 14 feet (430 cm) in diameter.

Large crystals form in pegmatites because of low rates of nucleation (meaning that only a few crystals start to grow rather than many crystals at once) and high rates of diffusivity (mean-ing that the elements needed to keep a crystal growing can rap-idly move through the fluid phase to the crystal).

Origins of pegmatites The origins of pegmatites are a topic of continued debate. Some pegmatites appear to have formed from the partial melt-ing of rocks subjected to intense metamorphism. Many peg-matites are associated with large intrusions of granite and may have formed when the granitic magma cooled to the point at which it became saturated with water. Then, under high tem-peratures and pressures, pegmatite minerals grew from a fluid consisting of silica, water, and other dissolved elements. Other pegmatites probably are not produced during water-saturated granite crystallization.

Pegmatites occur as dikes or lens-shaped bodies that appear to have been injected into the surrounding rocks. Typically, peg-

matites are zoned. Minerals nearest the exterior of the pegma-tite are smallest while those in the interior get progressively larg-er as one approaches the center. The largest crystals are found near the center of a pegmatite (a useful bit of knowledge if one is searching for large crystalline specimens).

In addition to the more common elements silicon, alumi-num, oxygen, sodium, potassium, etc., which make up feldspar, micas, and quartz, pegmatites can carry a host of other less com-mon, even rare, elements. Beryllium, lithium, boron, zirconium, tantalum, niobium, tin, tungsten, cesium, cerium, thorium, and uranium are found in pegmatites. As a pegmatite cools, rare ele-ments tend to become concentrated in the fluid phase and pre-cipitate out late in the cooling history. Thus, unusual minerals, such as those containing uranium, tantalum, or the rare earth elements, may form in pegmatites.

No two pegmatites are exactly alike, but it is possible to group various pegmatites according to shared characteristics. Several classification schemes exist. One way to classify peg-matites is by their elemental assemblages. Thus, we recognize niobium-yttrium-fluorine and lithiumcesium- tantalum families of pegmatites. These families are thought to combine groups of pegmatites with similar origins.

Economic importance Some pegmatites can be exploited commercially. As noted above, large, even huge, feldspars are common in pegmatites. Feldspar finds use, for instance, in ceramics, dentistry, and as a scouring agent. Large sheets of mica or isinglass can be culled from some pegmatites, and large amounts of quartz are pro-duced, especially smoky quartz and rose quartz.

Pegmatites are an important source of the rare earth ele-ments and niobium and tantalum. Most of the world’s beryllium comes from pegmatite beryls. They are also the most important source of lithium, which is found in the minerals lepidolite (the lithium mica), lithiophyllite, or spodumene.

Gemstones are also found in pegmatites. Large tourmalines, topazes, and gemmy beryls occur near the centers of some peg-matites. Single gem-quality topaz crystals more than two feet (60 cm) long and one foot (30 cm) in diameter can be found. Berylsmay occur as the morganite or aquamarine varieties. Gem-qual-ity apatites, fluorites, and smoky quartzes are recovered frompegmatites, too.

References: Rickwood, Peter C., 1981, “The Largest Crystals,” American Mineralogist, V. 66, pp. 885-90


Charoitevia Glacial Drifter, 11/01

Charoite is the most valuable of the colored stones from Russia. Since its discovery in 1976 in the Chary River basin in Siberia, charoite has been widely prized for its exquisite color, which ranges from dark lavender to an intense blue-violet. Inclusions of black aegerine, augite and clear and light green microline, along with sprays of metallic orange tinaksite, give tremendous char-acter and variety to charoite.

When first discovered, it was thought that charoite was a purple type of the rare mineral canasite. However, testing done by a team of Russian geologists proved that charoite was indeed a new mineral and was recognized by the Com-mission on New Minerals and Mineral Names in 1976.

Charoite first found its way to the U.S. in 1978 and caused quite a stir. Love at first sight is not an uncommon reaction to charoite, and this was the case for many folks. Due to the dif-ficulty in getting the highest quality material out of Russia, the supply was spotty during the 1980’s. Much charoite brought over from Russia in the past has so much in the way of black inclusions that it is not suitable for cabochons and beads, al-though it looks quite stunning when made into something larger like a vase or box. Lately, we have been getting the best quality material out of Russia and we hope this continues.

Charoite’s unique beauty has resulted in its use as a gemstone and an ornamental stone for making vases, dish-es, cups and other fine pieces. Due to severe weather con-ditions, mining only occurs in the months of August and September and helicopters must be used to transport it from the deposit site.To date, the deposit remains unique.

A metamorphic stone formed by complex radiation between alkalic rocks and marble, charoite occurs as large masses of interlocking crystals associated with several other rare minerals, including miserite, canasite, pectolite, and others. Its hardness is about 6 on the Mohs scale.

In the years since its discovery, the Russian people have developed such a love for charoite that it is now considered their most cherished colored stone. This is another reason it is difficult to obtain best quality charoite, and why it costs

a bit more tan some other colored stones. Aptly named, the root of the word “charoite” means “charming” or “magical” in Russian - a very fitting description of this unique and exquisite

How Long is That?from the T-Town Rockhound, 10/97

Aeon (eon) = 1 billion years; used by astronomers to estimate the age of the galaxies, stars or the universe.

Fortnight = an easy way to say 14 nights or two weeks; com-mon in Great Britain.

Moon = 29.5 days or the time between two new moons; used by the early farmers of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley and probably by our American Indians.

Generation = 25 years for man, 4 for horses, 2 minutes for bacteria; used by biologists who study life cycles.

Nanosecond = one billionth of a second or the time it takes a beam of light to travel 30 centimeters; used by scientists studying tiny atomic particles.

Add a couple of pouches of Knox Gelatin® during each change when tumbling.

This keeps grit in suspension and works bet-ter in the cutting process. In the final polish the gelatin acts as a cushion and prevents

scratching on delicate stones.from Rock Chips, Aug. 01

!


Buying Slabsby Steve Weinberger

Our website recently has had questions sent by visi-tors asking about buying slabs.. Obviously these folks are interested in cutting cabochons and I think this is great since you have much more freedom when you make jew-elry if you don’t have to stick to the calibrated cabochons which you purchase from dealers. Cutting a cabochon is a relaxing way to spend an hour or two as well and you al-ways have something nice to show for your efforts without spending a fortune on metals or equipment.

Some of the people who contacted us really don’t quite know how to go about selecting rough material. and I thought that perhaps some of our members face the same dilemma. Here’s what we do.

First, you have to get out of the habit of trying to find inexpensive slabs that will yield lots and lots of stones. The adage “you get what you pay for” rings very true here. Do you really want to sink your money into a slab that will yield 20 dull looking cabs? Or pitted ones? Or cracked?“You get what you pay for”!

Take a template along with you. These can be made of metal or plastic and contain a variety of standard shapes cut out of the material. To use them, you simply hold the tem-plate against the slab your looking at, and move it around until you find a “picture” looking back at you. Try a variety of sizes and shapes when you’re looking - sometimes a very large size won’t work out, but a smaller one will. If the slab is dry, wet it so you can see what the cab will look like when polished. Sometimes you’ll find more than one good picture in a slab too. It’s a matter of trial and error.

Once you’ve found a picture or two on a slab that catches your eye you’ll need to examine the slab. If it’s wet, dry it with a paper towel. Let it sit a minute or two under a light bulb so it dries completely. Now look for any cracks and pits, especially in the area that you’ve selected for your cab. Pits and cracks will produce poor finished stones and the material should be avoided.

Next look at the thickness of the slab. It shouldn’t be more than about 1/4” thick for regular cabochons unless you want to make something with an ultra high dome. Any-thing thinner than 1/4 will present problems when you go to shape the stone and the material could easily crack or chip.

Also look at the smoothness of the slab. If the back is rough and uneven, you probably have selected an “end cut”. This could cause problems when you cut your cabochon.

Next look at the area you’ve chosen and look at the back of the slab. Does the pattern go all the way through? If not, how altered is it from the one you’ve selected? The closer the pattern on the back of the slab is to the one you’ve chosen on the front, the greater your chance of having the scene of your finished stone be close to the one you’ve selected. If the pattern is vastly different on the back, then the pattern or scene will probably disappear as you shape and sand.

Always remember to use a light touch when grinding and sanding so you don’t put excessive wear on the wheels or add scratches to the stone. Use the full width of each wheel or sanding cloth too, so that they wear evenly and don’t create uneven marks on your cabochon as you work.Don’t throw those chips from your slab away either. Put them in a jar or box, then when you have enough, run them in the tumbler. Kids love tumbled stones and you sometimes need just a small dab of a colored stone for a piece of jewelry.

Have fun, select well and bring your finished treasures for Show & Tell.

Don’t Forget The Auction!


Auctions - Bernie & Lynne Emery

Directory (address changes)Patty Lortie

Field Trips - Richard Hoff

Greeters - Barbara Buchleitner

Hospitality - Liz & Wendy Stanne

Committee Chairpersons Mineral of the Month -

Jim Hooper

Personals/Announcements/Sunshine - Lynne Emery and

Patricia Smith

Programs - Richard Hoff, Keith Kaneda & Tony Wilner

Safety - Johnny Johnsson

Show - Bernie & Lynne Emery

Showcase - Steve Dyer

Telephone ChainLynne Emery

Phylllis Dyer

Dawn Johnsson

Mary Chandler

Liz Stanne 4

Wendy Stanne

Website: Carolyn Weinberger

Invites You to Our 2016 Auction

Featuring unique minerals from one of our member’s Collectionplus

gemstones, jewelry, lapidary rough, books, beads, fossils, and more

Sunday, October 30, 2016 Noon-1 pm preview

Auction (live and silent), 1-5 pm Cash and personal checks accepted

(Third-party checks will not be accepted)

Auction Site: Bethesda Woman’s Club 5500 Sonoma Road

Bethesda, MD 20817 Free parking at rear of building and on side streets


Carolyn Weinberger PO Box 302 Glyndon, MD 21071-0302

October: 3: Rosh Hashana (begins Tuesday at sundown)

4: Gem Cutters Guild meeting at Meadow Mill - 7:30 pm

12: Yom Kippur (begins Tuesday at sundown)

14: Chesapeake auction meeting at Westchester - 7:30 pm

14-16: Desautels Micromount Symposium at Friends School. Contact Carolyn for information and registration.

21-23: EFMLS Convention & Rochester Lapidary Soci-ety show. Rochester, NY. See <www.amfed.org/efmls> for information.

30: GLMS/DC auction at the Woman’s Club of Bethes-da. See page 11 for information.

31: Happy Halloween.

November: 1: Gem Cutters Guild auction meeting at Meadow Mill - 7:30 pm. 8: Election Day! Please be sure to get out and vote!

11: Chesapeake meeting at Westchester. Dawn & Johnny Johnson talk on their “dig” in Israel.

19-20: 25th Annual Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show host-ed by the No. Virginia Mineral Club. George Mason Univ. Hub Ballroom, Fairfax, VA.

24: Thanksgiving Day.

chippers’ chatter · treasures for your personal collection. our meeting will be held on friday,...

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