Everything is Energy

While this connection might seem puzzling on the surface, it all boils down to energy. Samantha Fey, author, teacher and co-host of the podcast, Psychic Teachers, said, “Crystals have the piezoelectric effect, so they do generate energy. They grow with their own unique vibration and lattice structures.”

This phenomenon occurs when pressure is put on particular crystals, such as quartz, causing the atoms within the stone to move, subsequently turning mechanical energy into electrical energy. This is why crystals are used in watches, televisions and cell phones. It’s this inherent energy that resonates with astrological signs.

Connecting Zodiac Crystals & Sun Signs

Those who are familiar with astrology understand the correlation with the elements — fire, water, air, and earth — and how they offer a glimpse into personality characteristics. When working with crystals according to sun signs, it’s helpful to consider the elements and how they best fit with the particular stones.

Fey used an example of the sun sign Cancer, which is attributed to the moon and is a classic water sign. “They are very watery and ruled by their emotions. Look for crystals with those similar qualities,” she said, such as moonstone.

It’s also important to understand how a stone works with a particular sign in coordination with where we are physically, mentally, and spiritually. “Our energy fluctuates up and down all the time,” Fey said. Depending on what we need, crystals can amplify or balance our actions.

While there are classic combinations of crystals and Zodiac signs, such as obsidian with those under Scorpio, in reality, there are multiple crystals per sign. The choice depends on what you need to do or learn, and this list is a good start to finding a crystal that works for you.

Aries Sign

Notoriously stubborn, Aries people know what they want and are clear about who they are. Fittingly, amazonite is an ideal crystal for this sun sign as it enhances inner strength and the warrior attitude, particularly with women going through significant changes in their lives.

“It’s called the stone of hope and new beginnings,” said Fey, and is excellent for manifesting dreams and goals.

Deb Bowen, co-host on Psychic Teachers, as well as a metaphysical teacher and author, recommends Sardonyx because it is excellent in the realm of self-control and discipline.

“It’s really good for communicating relationships,” she noted because Aries can have sticking points in this area.

Taurus Sign

An earth sign, Taureans, are grounded people who are nurturing and comforting to those most important to them. Being a bull, they are known for their stubbornness and uncompromising nature.

The beautiful light blue to green, or sometimes white kyanite is good for Taureans because it helps clear and align the chakras, according to Bowen. It also builds stability and trust and is excellent for communication. Kyanite cannot hold negative energy.

Fey recommended, ”Carnelian is a great stone for bringing in creativity, positivity and joy. It’s the cheerleader of the stones and it keeps the other stones together.”

Gemini Sign

When a “twin” is around, there’s never a dull moment. Geminis are known to have lots of energy and are very talkative. They can also be indecisive and impulsive.

The green and smooth gem serpentine is a good fit for a Gemini. “It helps you to align your soul’s purpose,” explained Bowen as it enhances the heart chakra. She noted that it also offers protection against the dark arts.

Cancer Sign

Cancer is the classic mother of the Zodiac who is family-oriented, intuitive, and a tad moody. Not surprisingly, the “crab” is their sign.

Bowen said, “Sometimes cancer folks can get sad or depressed.” Because of this tendency, she said blue chalcedony is a good choice. “It helps cancer to communicate the truth. It also dispels negative energies and activates positive changes. It’s a great stone for those who seek general positive shifts in their lives.”

Leo Sign

Leo is known to love being the center of attention with their bigger-than-life energy. They’re also loyal, generous, and loving. The funny thing is, their negative traits simply seem to be their positive traits on overdrive.

Because of this desire to shine, citrine is the stone for Leos. ”Citrine is like your own personal sun,” said Fey. This yellow-to-orange type of quartz appears charged by the sun. Unfortunately, natural citrine is a rare stone and much of what we find is heat-treated amethyst (enhanced gemstones). It’s also well-known to manifest abundance, a natural quality of Leos, and is sometimes called the “stone of success” or the “merchant’s stone.”

Virgo Sign

Logical and energetic, Virgos thrive with well-organized and practical goals, while on the flip side, they tend to overthink situations and can often seem aloof and detached.

Resembling the blues and greens of the earth, the mineral chrysocolla is often found in copper deposits and referred to as the “Stone of the Goddess,” with famous figures, such as Cleopatra, valuing its beauty and energy.

Fey said chrysocolla is like a happy-go-lucky friend. “It’s a great stone for everything. It helps people face some hard truths,” she said. She also recommended that those working with this stone visualize their goals going into the stone.

Libra Sign

The scales represent Libra’s desire for fairness and balance, which is the center of this witty, smart and outgoing soul. With Venus as their ruling planet, they are all about love but will carry a grudge if slighted.

“Libras look at both sides differently, or rather it’s difficult to choose sides,” said Bowen, who is a Libra. She said bloodstone is good because it balances everything, including Libra’s energy. “It helps level folks be present in the here and now.”

Scorpio Sign

Scorpios get a bad rap as being secretive, defensive and vindictive, but their emotions run deep (even if they don’t show it), and they are passionate about whatever, and whoever, they love.

“Malachite is the drill sergeant,” said Fey. “It’s the only stone that breaks to warn you when something wicked this way comes. It’s great for protection.” This rich green stone is also an important part of facing Scorpio’s shadow side. Fey said, “It’s like a friend that is in your face.”

Known as the stone of transition, Bowen said, “Charoite connects the heart and crown chakras.” It allows someone to focus on self-love when setting healthy boundaries.

Sagittarius Sign

Ruled by Jupiter, Sagittarius people are gregarious and big dreamers but can be blunt and preachy.

Fey recommends labradorite that resembles the aurora borealis with its color-shifting nature where one moment it looks gray, the next is shimmering blues and greens. “It helps block the emotions and stuff around you that’s not yours. It’s more like a filter. It lets the good stuff come in and the bad stuff goes out,” she said.

Capricorn Sign

With Saturn as the taskmaster, Capricorns get things done. Although they are disciplined and responsible, this can shift into a level of condescension toward others.

Amethyst is the go-to for these hardworking signs. “It cleans, clears, and heals everything around it,” said Bowen. ”It’s a balancing, protective and loving stone. It’s a great stone to connect. It fights off temptation and works with decision-making. It’s good for sleeping and it protects them from nightmares.”

Once used by the Romans to fend off the evil eye, tiger’s eye is protective and balancing. Fey said, “It works with your energy to establish a foundation and recognize patterns of things that no longer serve you. She said to place tiger’s eye on the solar plexus during meditation for courage and confidence, as well as to shift toxic energy into positive ones.

Aquarius Sign

Quirky and unconventional, the highly social Aquarians champion humanitarian efforts and relish deep conversations. Yet, they are not known for being the most emotionally open individuals and might appear aloof.

“Aquarians are ahead of their time,” said Fey. “Dark, ruby red garnets help them recharge and revitalize their energy. Write down goals and dreams for the year and place garnets on top of the list.”

The ornamental chrysanthemum stone is typically all black except for a splash of white in the middle resembling a flower. Bowen recommended it for Aquarians because ”it brings to us child-like energy and being able to live in the moment.”

Pisces Sign

The astrological fish who swim in deep waters are philosophical, intuitive and creative, yet at times, spend too much time in their own heads.

To counteract this latter tendency, aquamarine, which is often called the “stone of courage” boosts confidence for the Pisces people. Bowen said, “It’s such a beautiful stone. It helps one to always be prepared.” Legend says aquamarine was spilled from a mermaid’s treasure chest and it was supposedly blessed by Neptune.

Fey recommended fluorite to clear negative energy. Called the student’s stone, she said, “It’s created for cleansing the aura. It eliminates negative patterns and helps you to see your path more clearly,” said Fey. She also mentioned it is effective in blocking electromagnetic fields and is often kept near the computer to minimize exposure.

Picking the right stone for you is a matter of listening to the universe. “It’s really important when you buy sun sign crystals that the stone speaks deep, deep into your soul,” said Bowen.

“It’s great to read and study, but at the end of the day, you have to go with the crystal that resonates with you,” noted Fey. “Walk into a store that sells stones and see what you’re drawn to. Find your buddy and stick with it for a while.”

*The metaphysical properties discussed in this article are not intended as a substitute for traditional medical treatment. If you have a health issue, please seek a licensed medical professional. The crystals and stones discussed are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any conditions.

This story about zodiac crystals previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Amy Grisak.

The post Best Crystals for Your Zodiac Sign first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

January

Garnet has been the birthstone for January since the 15th century, at least. With a Mohs hardness of 6.5 to 7.5, it can be faceted into beautiful gemstones that wear well in jewelry. Since the term “garnet” actually refers to a group of nesosilicate gems, those born in this month can choose from a rainbow of colors.

The most common members are red almandine, an iron-aluminum silicate; red pyrope, a magnesium aluminum silicate; orange-yellow spessartine, a manganese aluminum silicate; the yellow or green varieties of andradite, a calcium-iron silicate; predominately green grossular, a calcium-aluminum silicate; and rare, bright-green uvarovite, a calcium chromium silicate.

February

From the 15th century to the present, amethyst has been the preferred birthstone for February. Amethyst belongs to a mineral family that can compete with garnet for diversity of color: quartz.

Pure quartz is colorless, as exemplified by Herkimer diamonds. The causes of amethyst’s shades of pale violet to rich purple are radiation and the inclusion of iron impurities and trace elements.

As a rule, amethyst crystals are short and stubby, and occur in large numbers, often filling a large vug a hollow petrified tree section, or lining the inside of a geode. Fine crystals that are large enough to produce a faceted gem of over 20 carats are rare.

March

The current choice of a birthstone for March is aquamarine. Aquamarine is a variety of beryl (Mohs 7.5-8). Its name was derived from the fact that the beautiful, transparent, blue-green coloration of the gem resembles that of seawater. It can be found in translucent to transparent crystals that form in the hexagonal system. The six-sided crystals are often striated lengthwise.

Aquamarine develops in metamorphic rocks and, more often, in pegmatites.

April

Before 1900, a person with an April birthday had two choices of birthstone: diamond or sapphire. During the 20th century, however, diamonds became the preferred stone.

Diamond, a mineral consisting of pure carbon, heads the list of all gemstones for its beauty and hardness. A 10 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, it is resistant to scratching and is an ideal gem to set in rings. Its hardness results from the arrangement of its atoms in cubes.

All diamonds have slightly rounded faces, and they’re so smooth they feel greasy to the touch. They can be colorless and water clear to blue, pink, yellow, brown, green or black, and transparent or translucent. They shine with an adamantine luster when held to the light.

May

There were two choices for May birthstones for several hundred years: emerald and agate. The popularity of agate seems to have waned at the turn of the 20th century, so emerald is now the favorite. It’s the green member of the beryl family of gemstones. The color varies from bright green to pale green and, sometimes, darker shades of blue-green.

Fine emeralds have a velvety surface appearance and, in the better stones, an even distribution of color. One bad trait of emeralds is a tendency to have inclusions. It’s rare to find an emerald without some slight imperfection. This in no way deters from the beauty of this gemstone, though. It can also be one way of determining whether an emerald is a simulated gem or the real thing, as manmade stones have no imperfections.

June

The contemporary choices for June are pearl, moonstone and alexandrite. Of course, a pearl is the organic product of marine bivalves and not a mineral.

Moonstone is a variety of feldspar that shows adularescence, or schiller, an optical effect that produces a milky luster with a bluish tinge that appears to move across the stone when it is tilted. The phenomenon is named after the feldspar variety adularia.

Alexandrite is a color-change variety of chrysoberyl (beryllium aluminum oxide). This is a very rare and expensive gemstone. It has a hardness of 8.5, and its crystals are either tabular or prismatic. The distinction between alexandrite and chrysoberyl is simply color. A strange characteristic of alexandrite is that it is red, purple or violet when held under artificial light, but in daylight, it looks green.

July

Ruby is the standard birthstone for the month of July. It is a corundum (aluminum oxide) gem that gets its color from the presence of chromium in its structure. An exceptionally hard mineral, corundum illustrates a hardness of nine on the Mohs scale. “Pigeon-blood” red is the preferred color for rubies, though they also occur in lighter shades, including pink. All other colors of corundum are called sapphires.

Ruby exhibits all the desirable properties of a jewelry stone: beauty, durability, optical properties, and rarity. Some rubies display a star or asterism when fashioned into a cabochon. This effect is caused by the reflection of light from numerous inclusions of minute, needle-like crystals of rutile. Corundum crystallizes in the hexagonal system with a tabular-barrel-shaped habit.

August

Current birthstones for August are peridot, the gem-quality form of olivine and spinel. Olivine makes up a large portion of the earth’s mantle. Rocks containing olivine have been brought to the surface by volcanic action and actually blown out in the form of volcanic bombs. Masses of olivine have been found in meteorites, and the Apollo astronauts brought basaltic rocks back from the moon that contained olivine.

A popular jewelry stone, peridot has a hardness of 6.5-7 and can be transparent or translucent, with a vitreous luster. Its color shades from deep green to apple green, yellow-green or olive. It’s most often found in granular nodules, forming short, prismatic crystals in the orthorhombic system.

Spinel is the gem-quality member of the larger spinel group. Its hardness (Mohs 7.5-8.0) makes it ideal for jewelry use. Its spectrum of colors includes red, pink, purple, blue and lavender. In times past, red spinel was often mistaken for ruby. A notable example is the Black Prince’s Ruby, set in the royal crown of England.

September

The birthstone for September is sapphire. This term refers to any corundum (aluminum oxide) gem that has any color other than red (ruby). Sapphires may be colorless, blue, green, yellow, orange, brown, pink, purple, gray, black, or multicolor. At Mohs 9, its hardness is second only to that of a diamond.

Heat treatment is sometimes used to give natural blue sapphires a deeper, more pleasing color. Natural star sapphires, which display the optical phenomenon of asterism, are very rare.

October

Two options for October are opal and tourmaline. Opal is a magnificent gemstone with a play of color or “fire” in all colors of the spectrum. Spaces between the tiny spherules of silica that make up the gem diffract light into its spectral colors. Red, yellow, green and blue, in strong to pastel shades, flash from the stone when it is tilted.

Opal occurs in common and precious types. Common opal does not display any reflective fire. It may have a honey-yellow, brown, gray or colorless body color that is milky and opaque. Opal (Mohs 5-6) is not a very hard gemstone.

Tourmaline, a silicate of boron, has a complicated chemical composition, in which a number of elements, including calcium, iron, sodium and aluminum, may combine. It has a Mohs hardness of 7-7.5.

It belongs to the trigonal crystal system and its habit is hemimorphic (a crystal having two ends of an axes unlike in its planes).

Because of the coloration of the individual stones, tourmaline has several names, including schorl (black), rubellite (red), indicolite (blue), and dravite (brown). Tricolor crystals are common. The popular watermelon variety has an outer layer of green around a red core.

November

The current birthstones for November are topaz and citrine. People tend to think of topaz, a silicate mineral with aluminum and fluorine, as a yellow stone, but heat-treating and color-enhancing adaptations have made blue the predominant color on the market. It is an allochromatic mineral, which means its color is caused by internal defects in the crystal and has a Mohs hardness of eight.

Citrine is the golden member of the quartz family (silicon dioxide). Though quartz in its many forms is one of the most abundant minerals on earth, fine, gem-grade crystals are not that common. Citrine is affordable and, when faceted, rivals more expensive gemstones in beauty.

December

There are three birthstones for December: turquoise, blue zircon and tanzanite. Turquoise (hydrated copper aluminum phosphate) is an opaque, blue-to-green, massive gem material. It has a relatively low hardness of Mohs 5-6, so care must be taken with turquoise jewelry.

The rarest and most valuable variety is robin’s-egg blue with black “spiderweb” veins of limonite. Fake turquoise, consisting of dyed howlite or magnesite, is common. Buyer beware.

Zircon (zirconium silicate) can be blue, black, red, brown, green, yellow, smoky, or water-clear. It has an adamantine luster much like that of a diamond, and it is often misidentified as such.

Tanzanite, the blue/purple variety of zoisite (basic calcium aluminum silicate), is a recently introduced alternative for December. Tanzanite crystals in shades of yellow to brown, green, pink, gray or blue are often heat-treated to produce a gemstone that is a beautiful and permanent blue.

This story about what are birthstones by month previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story by Kenneth H. Rohn.

The post What are the Birthstones by Month? first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Greek, Roman, Hindu, and Asian mythology glorified moonstones and often linked it with various moon gods and goddesses. Many ancient cultures believed the stone to be made from moonbeams or formed from moonlight, giving the stone its stunning luster. It’s a popular wedding gift, considered a lucky talisman, and thought to bring the wearer wisdom and the gift of clairvoyance. The moonstone may or may not be magical, but it’s definitely memorable.

What Makes Moonstones Shine

Despite certain misconceptions, moonstones don’t glow under the light of the full moon or glow at night like the moon. These stones shine much better under bright light and put off a luminescent glow reminiscent of the moon.

The play of light on moonstones appears mystical, but the scientific term is adularescence. It’s an optical phenomenon caused by the light shimmering below the stone’s surface and in between its microscopic layers of feldspar.

Moonstones are usually cut into a smooth, rounded cabochon to maximize their shimmering effect.

“Moonstone doesn’t glow under the moonlight and for sure, doesn’t glow at night,” confirmed John Chocholacek. “Moonstone was named so because of the incredible blue sheen on the mineral’s surface, which resembles enigmatic moonlight. Moonstone effect is better observed under the sun or another strong light source.”

Chocholacek’s fascination with stones began when he was just a little boy, growing up in Slovakia in Central Europe. He liked taking them home then and not much has changed now that he’s an adult. Chocholacek has been rockhounding in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Iran, and all around the U.S.

He likes to share his vast experience and knowledge with rockhounds through his website HowToFindRocks.com.

While Chocholacek has become an expert in his own right, he gets help with some scientific aspects of rocks from Olena Rybnikova (www.linkedin.com/in/olena-rybnikova-a6a0501aa). Rybnikova is a gemologist with a Master of Science degree in Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and Petrography from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine. She’s currently working on her Ph.D. in Europe and writing her dissertation on beryllium minerals. Rybnikova is an Applied Jewelry Professional certified by the Gemological Institute of America and actively popularizes gemstones and gemology.

“Moonstone is a varietal name of any mineral from the feldspar group that shows adularescence, or optical phenomenon where the light appears to billow across a stone,” explained Chocholacek. “Usually, moonstone is represented by orthoclase and albite, intermingled during formation. These fine alternating layers of minerals scatter light rays in many directions, producing the highly praised adularescent phenomenon.”

Besides the common adularescence, Chocholacek said some unique moonstone species might show additional optical effects. These can include chatoyancy (cat’s eye effect) and four-rayed asterism (star-shaped concentration of reflected/refracted light from a gemstone).

“It’s quite extraordinary when one type of gemstone displays two different optical phenomena at once,” he said. “Stars are mostly common for rubies and sapphires. In the case of moonstone, it looks really captivating when a well-defined four-rayed star floats above the gentle body color of the gem. These stones usually originate from Sri Lanka.”

Some Moonstones Aren’t True Moonstones

Although you may see numerous moonstone sites reported, sites verified as valid locations for authentic moonstones aren’t as plentiful in the U.S. Some stones touted as moonstones aren’t truly moonstones but are similar stones typically confused with moonstones.

For example, the “moonstones” found on Moonstone Beach in Cambria, California, aren’t authentic. Although these moonstones are quite lovely and have similar properties, they’re not moonstones by chemical definition. These stones contain sodium instead of potassium.

“They aren’t truly moonstones,” Chocholacek said. “They are white-colored chalcedony, a variety of microcrystalline quartz. Also, it’s challenging for moonstone, which is an optical phenomenal variety of feldspar, to withstand sea abrasion. Feldspar (6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale) is softer than quartz (7 on the Mohs scale) and has perfect cleavage in two directions. It rarely forms on beaches. Real moonstones have a blue sheen on the surface, while other stones lack this phenomenon.”

Kind of like the difference between gold and pyrites, faux moonstones are cheaper versions of natural moonstones. They’re probably not real if you find moonstones at an incredibly low price. Some fakes aren’t intentional, just natural stones with similar properties mistaken for moonstones like those found on Moonstone Beach. However, some fakes are man-made and may be fraudulently passed off as being the real thing.

Because there are many ways to fake moonstones, be extra cautious if you’re buying them online. One way to test whether you’ve found a genuine moonstone is to place it under a bright light and view it from above. If you notice a bluish or whitish glow, it’s likely the real deal.

Authentic moonstones aren’t perfect and their natural imperfections separate them from fakes. Genuine moonstones have fractures and barely discernable layers in the mineral structure but won’t have round air bubble inclusions. Fake moonstones look too perfect without any fractures or layers.

They also may display round air bubble inclusions when made of opalite, a type of man-made glass.

Where to Hunt for Authentic Moonstones

A majority of the most valuable moonstones come from Sri Lanka. Others come from Myanmar, Madagascar, Brazil, Australia, and India. These stones are nearly transparent and have a blue shimmer. However, moonstones may be semi-transparent to opaque and found in a small spectrum of colors, including white, yellow, blue, green, brown, grey, and nearly black hues. There’s also a special and particularly stunning variety called rainbow moonstone that produces several colors simultaneously.

“The rarest and most impressive type of moonstone is the rainbow moonstone. It differs from common moonstones because of its multicolored adularescence, visible on the surface. These stones come from a slightly different mineral – labradorite. Top-quality rainbow moonstones come from Canada, Madagascar, and Zambia,” said Chocholacek.

Rockhounds in the United States that want to find moonstones have several potential hunting spots. While beaches are generally a bust, head to the mountains and you may have better luck. You can find authentic moonstones in various places around the U.S. and several other countries for all the globe-trotting rockhounds.

“Moonstone as a phenomenal variety of feldspar is quite rare but at the same time, feldspars are the most widespread minerals in the earth’s crust, as well as some of the most diverse,” he said. “They’re commonly found in igneous rocks, so it’s better to search for moonstone in previously magmatic active regions but not in dry sedimentary rocks. However, don’t forget about secondary alluvial deposits like in Sri Lanka, where moonstones occur in sediments and gravels along with numerous other gemstones.”

Some popular moonstone hunting spots in the U.S. that he suggests include Rabb Canyon Moonstone Pegmatites Gemstone Mine near San Lorenzo, New Mexico; Harris Pegmatite Mine in Hewlett, Virginia; Balsam Mine in Yancey County, North Carolina; and Buford, Forsyth County in Georgia.

Moonstones Are Fragile

When searching for moonstones, remember they’re relatively soft, scratch easily, and may not hold up even to lighter taps.

Chocholacek said when searching for moonstones, you should use a small chisel instead of big hammers to avoid damaging the stones. Prized for its aesthetic beauty, one of the most popular uses for moonstones is setting them in various pieces of jewelry. Because of the softness of the stone, you must also handle, store and clean moonstone jewelry carefully to ensure you don’t ruin a nice piece.

“In addition to its softness, moonstone cleaves easily. It has two cleavage directions, which means there’s very little stress needed to shatter the stone. For this reason, manufacturers usually set moonstone in earrings, pendants, and pins, rather than in rings that are more likely to receive bumps,” said Chocholacek.

Intense heat and sudden temperature changes also can cause a moonstone to fracture and break. It’s sensitive to harsh chemicals. If you do have a ring featuring a moonstone, remove it before doing housework. Only clean moonstone jewelry with warm soapy water and never place it in steam or ultrasonic cleaners. When storing moonstone jewelry, ensure it’s kept in a cool place and in a pouch or box separate from other pieces of jewelry to prevent scratching or breaking.

Chocholacek fondly remembers his first experience with Moonstone. It was during a geology course field trip while he was completing his university studies.

“It was a huge open-pit mine for labradorite,” he said. “Labradorite, sometimes called rainbow moonstone, is really beautiful. It was raining in the morning that day, so our group entered the still-wet area of labradorite mining and slab production. It was a miracle. Water strengthened the play of color and optical effect on the surface of stones. It looked like Aurora light but from all the rocks around. Unbelievable!”

This story about what is moonstone previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Moira McGhee.

The post What is Moonstone? first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

• Canada Digs Diamonds: 20 Years, 200 Million Carats — and Counting. By Steve Voynick

• Aragonite: Adding Beauty to Ancients and Shells. By Bob Jones

• Mineral Associations: Taking Collecting to Another Level. By Jordan  D. March’e II

• Club Corner: News Briefs from Rock and Mineral Clubs

• Birthstone Fascination: Uncommon Connections of Common Stones. By Bob Jones

• Exploring Montana’s Mining Past: Out and About in the Pioneer Mountains Region. By Jim Landon

• Evolution of a Lapidary Artist: D. Robert Smith. By Antoinette Rahn

• Complex Orb Manifestations: Further Exploration of Orb Phenomena in Jaspers (Part II). By Joe Dehmer

In addition, you’ll find the following regular R&G columns: Bench Tips with Bob Rush, Rock Science with Steve Voynick, What to Cut with Russ Kaniuth, On the Rocks with Bob Jones, Faceting Focus with Jim Perkins, Dynamic Dig Discovery, Question of the Week, Picks & Pans, as well as an extensive Show Dates section, and the always popular Parting Shot.

The post Issue Highlights: July 2019 first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.