How to Store a Rock Collection for Documentation

Know what you’ve got and document it! If self-collected, record the locality and date of collection. If purchased, record when, where, from whom, and the price paid. If trading with a fellow collector, record the transaction. “Provenance” is important in the collecting world and adds value. Keep a ledger and include a catalog number on each specimen. On a personal note, as a member of a gem club, I receive collections for our club museum and it is a rare joy when donations come with numbered specimens and a catalog. You can build a catalog with a handwritten ledger or, better, with database software. Whatever route you choose, don’t just keep loose cards with specimens. I knew a lady who lived in a rambling Victorian house and kept a Victorian-style collection—a bit of everything haphazardly placed in an eclectically cluttered funhouse. Regrettably, she stored all info on loose cards and in her head. Over the years, maids vacuumed up the cards while her memory of the specimens disappeared. This left her heirs with a superb collection much diminished in value. If you have specimens you purchased, keep the cards that came with them but also maintain an updated rock collection catalog.

Assessing Your Collection

After documenting your collection, consider having it appraised. Most collections are “specimen collections” of primarily common pieces. While a fossil may be near and dear, if it’s not truly world-class, it’s not worth your time to appraise. Pare down and focus on stuff that is truly rare, unusual, or would be in demand in a market environment. Per the late-great comedian George Carlin, junk is stuff we toss, but stuff is junk we keep. Assess good stuff, not junk!

Where to Get an Appraisal

Where to get a rock collection appraisal? Many gem clubs get requests but are not qualified and as nonprofits are not allowed to provide legal appraisals. Fancy auction houses like Sotheby’s mean paying fancy fees. A good place to start is a local jewelry store with staff who are GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certified. While it’s easy to find someone to appraise jewelry or cut gemstones, it’s more difficult with specimen minerals or fossils. Gem show dealers might appraise what you’ve self-collected or purchased.

However, some warn against going to dealers because they may have an interest in purchasing your collection and provide a low-ball assessment then pressure you to sell to them. It’s best to go to a neutral third party. If turning to an outside entity, seek agencies with qualifications and those versed in the category best matching your collection. Such companies sometimes advertise in hobby magazines or on websites.

Although some auction houses sponsor “appraisal days” with free verbal assessments, most appraisals come with fees based on the assessed value. Appraisers may charge a “per-piece” fee, an hourly fee, or another rate for services. If turning to an appraiser with an especially large collection, negotiate regarding fees and what sort of documentation will be produced.

Appraisal Alternative

Alternatively, do a self-assessment. If a specimen was purchased, what did you pay for it? Keep in mind: what you paid doesn’t necessarily reflect worth. One person paid $9,000 for a sapphire only to discover it was worth $30 after a professional appraisal. That said, compare specimens in your collection against going rates via online shops like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. Search the internet and gem show aisles to see retail for “like” items.

The main thing to seek? A fair-market value you can document. Don’t go to a “We Buy Gold!” shop offering a commodity price for your carefully crafted collection of gold nuggets. What is the price fellow collectors might pay? Whatever route you choose, have a rationale behind assigned values. Use hard market data either deduced by yourself or obtained from an impartial third party, not based on sentimental value. Also, some insurance companies don’t accept self-assessments and insist on independent evaluations. This could cost you big bucks, so focus on unique pieces within your collection. Search the web for appraisers within your region.

Where to Get Insurance

After appraising a rock collection, most turn to their regular homeowner’s insurance. This can be the most inexpensive option, but while many companies are versed in insuring jewelry, not all have expertise regarding specimen minerals and fossils. And while homeowner’s insurance may provide coverage in a “personal articles floater,” such a floater may be exorbitantly expensive and most fail to offer full replacement cost. Seek better deals with specialized insurers offering “collectibles insurance.” As an example, one collector spends $120/year with a specialized insurer for a 200-piece collection worth $17,000 when her regular homeowner’s policy turned her down.

What Insurance to Get for Your Collection

You can get a rider on your homeowner’s insurance policy, but they say not to bother for individual pieces or an entire rock collection that isn’t worth at least a minimum amount. Most policies exclude or severely limit the value of coverage for collectibles, but if you have a small collection of ordinary specimens, this may be your best bet.

Alternatively, some companies focus specifically on gems and collectibles both for appraisal services and insurance for especially high-value collections. When seeking insurers—as in seeking appraisers— check advertisements within hobby magazines and/or do an internet search.

Whatever route, seek a policy insuring against theft, accidental breakage, fire/ water damage, and natural disasters. If you attend gem shows as an exhibitor, consider coverage for travel and show attendance. Finally, seek insurers versed in the unique properties involved in one-of-a-kind collectibles, including such concepts as “replacement value” versus “fair market value” or “agreed-value coverage” versus “actual or standard cash value.”

Protecting Your Rock Collection

If you wish to insure a collection, you’ll need to provide evidence that you’re protecting that collection. Store specimens in cabinets or flats. High-value items should be locked in a safe. Place small items with outsized values in a safety deposit box. Alternatively, adopt a high-strung Doberman Pinscher! As some members of my Ventura Gem & Mineral Society learned during the devastating 2017 Thomas Fire in California, even rocks burn. Have smoke detectors in every room of your home and keep them charged with fresh batteries to protect both your rocks and yourself.

Those with more means might install a sprinkler system. This is a step above, but it’s worth it when you consider what happened to the national museum in Brazil, which lacked smoke detectors and sprinkler systems and suffered a total loss of national treasure. Some choose to keep a secure location within their homes for especially valuable pieces, which can go as far as a “safe room” with a locked door and inside closets and vaults. Do your best to protect the best of what you’ve got!

Transitioning Your Rock Collection

If you’ve devoted time to documenting, appraising, and insuring your collection, you certainly want to consider what happens after you‘ve departed the scene. Do you care if your collection is broken up, or do you hope it might be kept whole? The latter is problematic unless you have an heir who shares your passion or unless you provide an endowment to a museum to pay for storage, display, and upkeep. First, consider immediate heirs. Desires should be spelled out in a will or, better, a trust. But if heirs have no interest, consider liquidating the collection in your lifespan.

If you do wish to keep it intact, build contacts with a local museum and make your wishes known. Museums want collections with clear provenance and no issues (e.g., no specimens collected from national parks or countries with human rights abuses in gemstone districts). Most cannot guarantee specimens will be put on display and can’t guarantee they won’t be decommissioned and disposed of. If you truly want your collection to have a permanent place in a museum, you may need to accompany it with a healthy cash endowment.

Continuing the Conversation…

This topic is not typically discussed within gem societies but, in my humble opinion, how to store a rock collection properly should be discussed. Our collections are a reflection of ourselves. How might we best preserve the best of ourselves for future generations?

This story about how to store a rock collection properly previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story and photos by Jim Brace-Thompson.

The post How to Store a Rock Collection Properly first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Exactly what are the lapidary arts? Succinctly put, lapidary arts are the activities involved with shaping stones, minerals and gems into decorative items such as cabochons and faceted gems.

Access = Growth

I have been playing and working in the lapidary world for the past ten years. I facet, cab and carve gemstones, sell rough materials to other lapidary artists, teach faceting and carving, along with selling ULTRA TEC faceting machines. From 1988 to 2000, I worked as a researcher and developer on the National Science Foundation project that kickstarted the birth of the Internet. I am seeing parallels between the amazing digital communications paradigm shift and the lapidary arts’ evolution. The internet is the main catalyst driving the current renaissance of lapidary arts. The other major factors propelling lapidary arts forward are design software, new equipment and materials, and the ability for people to work from home – a unique opportunity for growth in our industry.

Now information is at our fingertips and traveling to buy rough stones and lapidary materials is a luxury and an adventure. People can travel to the Bolivia mine to buy the world’s finest ametrine for gemstone faceting, but they can alternately receive photos, videos, descriptions, and pricing via WhatsApp minutes after a request. Payment takes just seconds and a purchase can be delivered in days. This replaces the old mine-to-broker-to-exporter-to-importer-to-broker-to-gemstone cutter system and negates the additional markup of price for each of these hand-offs. Being able to conduct business online is significant because it provides lapidary artists and jewelers quick, affordable, and easy access to gemstones and rough from around the world.

Learning & Sharing

Previous generations of cutters were constrained to years of training through the apprenticeship model of instruction. The internet has freed newcomers by providing access to most of the information needed to get started and the ability to purchase the necessary materials. On a personal note, I can provide remote video faceting training globally. Follow-up questions are answered via email text and messaging. Although in-studio lessons are superior, the ability to provide a live video lesson brings the cost of learning gemstone faceting down significantly.

We can share information easily, but that does not mean that it happens. As with most trades, crafts, and artistic endeavors, processes and techniques have often been secretive. I see that the new generation of lapidary artists is more willing to share their knowledge with colleagues and beginners. We are starting to understand that knowledge is power, but only when it is shared. Social media provides rapid sharing and co-development of ideas, allowing quick development of new designs, techniques, and collaborations.

Selling Online

Easily available e-commerce gives stone dealers, cutters, and jewelers the ability to sell their materials online. Using social media, we have been able to create profitable and growing businesses. We no longer have to own a physical storefront, visit jewelry store clients, or attend gem and mineral shows. In four years, I was able to amass 60,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook. The result of this social media growth translates into my gemstone faceting business being booked nine months out. The cost of presenting and selling my finished lapidary creations is now at a minimum. My faceting students can set up and sell their gemstones six months after their first lesson with minimal sales infrastructure investment.

Digital Lapidary Design

The digital benefits of lapidary are not limited to information and commerce. Over the past years, gemstone designers have used computers to calculate the mathematical equations and geometry necessary to both improve and create better-performing and spectacular gemstones. Robert Wood Strickland developed the GemCad and GemRay programs that allow any gemstone cutter to use a computer to design and optimize their gemstone creations. The recent addition of the Gem Cut Studio has made creating gemstone designs available to anyone who has a computer, the time to read the manual, and a commitment to practice. All the basics of math, geometry, and gemstone attributes (such as material hardness and refractive indexes) have been put in the CAD (Computer-Aided Design) programs. The programs/apps shorten the learning curve in gemstone design by months if not years. Of course, knowing the basic principles of these disciplines is beneficial, but no longer an obstacle to generating cutting-edge designs. These programs are tools that put current cutters years ahead of their predecessors.

Precision Lapidary Tools & Materials

Newly developed precision tools have allowed artists to work faster, more accurately, and with finer detail. There are also new materials such as better abrasives for faceting, cabbing, and carving all varieties of rocks and gems. In addition, cutters are using instruments made for different media in their lapidary work. In Henry Hunt’s book, “American Lapidary, Designing the Carved Gemstone,” the author claims that in any artistic endeavor, originality follows the introduction of new tools and techniques. With this break from tradition, we are seeing the new generation of lapidary artists developing new processes and techniques that are innovative and exciting.

An Exciting Future for Lapidary Work

All of these innovations and advancements put new and young individuals looking to create their own lapidary art business in a unique and advantageous position. The ability to build one’s own business is a catalyst in the evolution of the lapidary arts.

We have a new generation of craftspeople and artists who grew up understanding and applying the components of this digital and readily accessible world. They find more rewarding and meaningful employment with the freedom to define their lives on their own terms. The recent development of accessible individual health care and the stay-at-home mentality that COVID-19 instilled also advanced this new breed of independent workers. These shifts enabled people to work at their home studios and within a new business model. Lapidary artists can make and sell whatever they want and whenever they want and are no longer restricted by a brick-and-mortar store, corporate structure, or marketing research reports.

Driven by Industry Pioneers

A renaissance is driven by a group of pioneers. There are dozens of lapidary artists, engineers, and free thinkers who have laid the path for the new generation of lapidary artists. It’s worth your time to look at some of the groundbreaking lapidary artists in the United States. Enjoy their creations and get inspired.

Years from now, when the next generation of lapidary artists looks back at this era of lapidary advancement, I hope that they see what I am seeing – a revolution, an evolution, and a renaissance. This is what happens when advanced technology, global trade, instant communications, social media e-commerce, and a new generational shift of the paradigm exists. I invite you to be aware, open your eyes, seek out, and enjoy the magnificent and wondrous creations of our contemporary lapidary artists during these innovative times.

This story about a lapidary renaissance appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Mark Oros.

The post Exploring a Lapidary Renaissance first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Rock? Food? What’s up with the foodie name? Marketing! It’s kind of like a famous line from the classic movie, Spaceballs. “Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made.”

Grape agate is a fun marketing name for a fascinating mineral – botryoidal purple chalcedony. Plus, grape agate is easy to say, remember and visualize.

DEFINITIONS

Botryoidal – In Ancient Greek, this term literally means “bunch of grapes.” It refers to a mineral habit that is made of rounded segments. This habit is found in other minerals such as hematite, malachite, chalcedony, goethite, fluorite and smithsonite.

Chalcedony – The general term, chalcedony, refers to varieties of quartz where microcrystalline and cryptocrystalline crystals intertwine and grow together. There are many varieties of chalcedony in different colors and patterns. Chalcedony’s name is said to come from the Greek port of Chalcedon.

AGATE IDENTIFICATION FACTS

Grape agate appears as small, round nodules around two to eight millimeters across. Its colors can vary, ranging from translucent to a deep purple or lavender hue. It can also be white, gray, blue or green. (Maybe unripe grapes or the green kind from the store?) These vibrant colors are caused by traces of minerals, such as manganese and iron, that were present during the formation process.

One interesting feature of grape agate is its texture. The individual crystals that make up the grape-like clusters are usually small and spherical. They can have a bumpy or drusy surface, giving them a rough yet sparkling appearance.

When examining grape agate, you may notice tiny hollows or vugs on the surface. These are remnants of gas bubbles that were present when the crystals formed.

A NEW & RARE MINERAL

This is a newcomer appearing on the “rock” scene around 2016. Grape agate is found in only a few places on Earth — Indonesia and west of the Green River in Utah. It is a popular mineral for use as a display piece or in jewelry.

BEWARE OF MINERAL DUPES

Real grape agate is highly sought after and can be pricey depending on quality, especially the color and size. The deeper and bolder the color, the higher the price. And the bigger, the better. Beware though, some grape agate is dyed to achieve a more desirable color.

CARING FOR GRAPE AGATE

Grape agate has a Mohs hardness of around 6.5 to 7. With individual “grapes” sticking out, they can get jostled and come loose or fall off completely. Handle it with care and avoid contact with rough surfaces. When left in the sun, grape agate can lose its color so avoid setting it in a sunny spot.

This Rock & Gem Kids story previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Pam Freeman.

The post Grape Agate: A Food Look-Alike Mineral first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Gifts For New Rockhounds

New rockhounds can be easy to purchase a gift for because they’re usually still stocking up on the basics.

Rock Hammers: Start with one of the most essential tools, a rock hammer. There’s a wide range of rock hammers available with different prices, weights and materials. Good rock hammers are well-balanced and made of a single piece of hardened steel. Handle grips may be made of rubber or leather for cushioning.

Rock hammers weighing eight ounces or less are suitable for children, while those weighing 16 to 22 ounces are good for adults. The ideal weight depends on the hardness of the rocks. Hammers may have a chisel edge or pointed tip. The pointed-tip rock hammers are usually called rock picks. Either version is bound to be a hit–literally.

Starter Kits: Ready-made starter kits are available or you can customize one just for your favorite rockhound. Items for a well-rounded starter kit include:

• A heavy-duty bag to carry tools and rocks
• Rock hammer
• Two or three rock chisels
• A short-handled or collapsible shovel
• Cleaning brushes
• A jeweler’s loupe
• Safety goggles
• Sturdy gloves

Safety items to include are a whistle and compass for emergencies and guidance.

Field Guides and Books About Rocks: Field guides and books that are tailored to rockhounding as a hobby, rock identification and even places to visit make wonderful gifts. Rowman & Littlefield Falcon Guides include books on rockhounding in specific states, with many scheduled for updated releases.

GPS Units: Handheld GPS units make wonderful gifts. Yes, cell phones have a mapping system, but internet access can be spotty in places. GPS units work off a satellite so they’re less likely to lose their signal in canyons and other areas you typically lose cell signals. Units designed for hiking also include detailed topography maps.

High-quality Garmin receivers are WAASenabled, a more accurate navigation system than the standard GPS found in most phones. These can get pricey, which is why some rockhounds won’t splurge on one themselves.

Seasoned Rockhounds

Seasoned rockhounds can be a little more challenging when buying gifts for them because they usually have all the latest rock-hunting gadgets. Outside-the-box thinking can be helpful. Consider replacements for rockhounding tools that may have worn out, such as rock hammers and chisels, especially if they use them a lot. Also consider buying higher-quality items than what they currently have.

Rock Hammer Sheath: Long-time rockhounds probably have a quality rock hammer but may have never splurged on a rock hammer sheath or holder opting to toss their hammer in a collection bag or bucket or simply tuck it into their belt. Nearly all popular rock hammers fit in these holders to provide easier access.

Rock Collecting Bags: Collection bags or pouches built specifically for rock collecting make practical and well-appreciated gifts, especially if your rockhound still lugs around a five-gallon bucket. On a fruitful rock collecting day, tossing all those keeper rocks into a bucket makes it heavy and cumbersome. Durable canvas or leather rock collecting bags have adjustable straps and often fit across the body to evenly distribute the weight while freeing up hands to dig for specimens.

UV Flashlights: Many minerals glow under ultraviolet light, making it one of the easiest ways to confirm if something is the real deal. High-quality portable UV flashlights let rockhounds easily identify minerals in the field instead of waiting until they get home. Look for a lightweight rechargeable UV flashlight that doesn’t take up much room in a pack but is durable enough to handle a potentially rough ride.

Updated Books & Journals: Even seasoned rockhounds appreciate updated field guides with the latest rock, gem and mineral information. Believe it or not, things do change from time to time. Look for new editions of popular guides on the best places to hunt for rocks or ask at the local bookstore. For those who enjoy recurring reading material, consider a print and/or digital subscription to Rock & Gem magazine.

You could also opt for a new waterproof journal for cataloging and note-taking. Excellent all-weather journals have paper that repels water, sweat, mud and grease.

Fun Novelty Gifts for Anyone

Consider something a little kitschy for the rockhound with everything and/or a great sense of humor. Novelty gifts can put a smile on your rock collector’s face and give them a fun item to use while broadcasting their love of rocks. Generic gifts like socks and soap are generally boring, unappreciated gifts but not so when they have a rock-related twist.

Rock Replica Soap: What better way to scrub away the dirt after a day of hunting for rocks than with a bar of soap that looks just like a rock? Incredible geode-shaped soaps make clean-up fun and a potentially great gift for kids and/or that hard to buy for rockhound.

Keychains: Give the gift that lets rock and gem fans decorate their car and/or house keys with a keychain featuring raw or tumbled stones. Choose their birthstone or a favorite stone if they have one. There are even keychains with multiple tiny stones, like a seven-stone chakra keychain that’s perfect for metaphysical friends.

Worry Stones: These stones make great gifts for rockhounds or anyone who likes rocks and/or needs a way to relax. Worry stones, also known as palm stones, are smooth polished gemstones with a thumb-sized indentation made for rubbing. Gift one to a recipient who enjoys carrying it in their pocket for stress relief.

Bookends: For rock fans with an extensive collection of rock-related (or unrelated) books, what better way to display them than with stone bookends? You generally have a choice of materials and colors so you can personalize it to fit your rock-loving friends and family. Common bookend materials include agates (natural or dyed) and rose quartz. Other unique gifts for rockhounds include household décor items such as agate coasters and candle holders made of stone.

Novelty Shirts: T-shirts and sweatshirts with humorous and/or witty slogans are fun for any occasion, and a surprisingly large number are dedicated to rock hunting and collecting. The selection of shirts for rock collectors is constantly changing, with new designs coming out just in time for the holidays. You can also find cute rock-related socks and bolo ties featuring various rocks and gems.

Gifts For Metaphysical Friends

People who believe in the metaphysical aspects of rocks and crystals are rock collectors of a different kind. They’re also often easier for selecting gifts for rockhounds. Friends and family members who’ve just discovered the metaphysical world probably have a limited collection, providing plenty of gift-giving options. However, even advanced practitioners appreciate new and/or unique additions to their collections. Visit a metaphysical boutique and you’ll find numerous gift ideas.

Books and Guides: Visit any brick-and-mortar or online bookstore, and you’ll find numerous books about the healing properties of crystals. These include books and reference guides for beginners and advanced practitioners with detailed photos and information. You can also find this information in chart form. Popular options include:

• Crystals for Healing: The Complete Reference Guide With Over 200 Remedies for Mind, Heart & Soul Hardcover by Karen Frazier (paperback or hardback). Includes detailed photography and alphabetized references to recognize crystals and gemstones.
• Crystals for Beginners: The Guide to Get Started with the Healing Power of
• Crystals by Karen Frazier (paperback or spiral-bound). Includes comprehensive crystal profiles and healing remedies with clear instructions.

Starter Collections: Chakra therapy starter collections typically come with several Chakra stones and may include other crystals and stones with various healing properties. It’s a great option when you know someone has just started their spiritual journey with rocks and crystals. You can also create your own collection by choosing individual gemstones and crystals and placing them in a beautiful wooden box. Instead of loose crystals and gems, you can also opt for earrings, bracelets and pendants featuring a favorite stone or birthstone.

Animal Lovers: Advanced metaphysical practitioners may extend their crystal healing to their four-legged family members. A thoughtful gift might be a pet amulet worn on the pet’s collar or harness. Because different crystals have different healing properties, it’s best if you know a little about the pet. For example, practitioners recommend blue lace agate for rescue pets, but other pets also find the stone calming. They also recommend black onyx for outdoor pets and increasing strength and stamina.

Gifts For Rockhounds: Kids

Kids and rocks often go hand-in-hand, or you may encourage rock hunting to increase a child’s interest in the natural world and playing outdoors. When buying gifts for rockhounds, buying for kids is generally the easiest task.

Rock Books for Kids: National Geographic is an excellent provider of rock-related gifts for your little rockhounds. It’s also a popular source of kid-friendly reading material, including books on rocks. New books for kids in 2022 include:

• National Geographic Readers: Bling! (L3): 100 Fun Facts About Rocks and Gems (Paperback) January 4, 2022
• Weird But True Know-It-All: Rocks & Minerals (Paperback) February 15, 2022

Kid-Sized Rock Tools: Rock hunting feeds many kids’ natural desire to play in the dirt, making it an easy way to encourage outdoor play. Purchase a ready-made kit or create a mini pack of rock-hunting tools perfect for those little hands. Tool kits for kids can include:

• Small pail and bag for tools and rocks
• Rock hammer
• Sand scoop
• Colander or sieve
• Safety goggles
• A kid-sized rock tumbler to polish rocks

Rock Kits: Get them started with a kit containing hundreds of different stones to identify. Kits usually contain a collection of real fossils, geodes, jasper, rose quartz and many more rocks and gems. They also frequently come with a book or suggest a book to accompany the kit. You can also opt for a dig kit, which comes with fewer gems but has tools to dig them up.

Rock Projects & Crafts: There are all sorts of kits online for crafts and other projects using rocks. One popular option is a rock painting kit that lets kids paint the rocks included and the stones they find themselves. Another option is a Mohs hardness kit with samples.

When All Else Fails

Gift cards aren’t very personal but work well as gifts for rockhounds in a pinch when you have no idea what to get the rock lover(s) on your list. Surprisingly, many shops with rocks and rock-related gadgets offer gift cards or certificates. However, if the ones closest to you don’t, a generic gift card works, too. On the plus side, you know they’ll get something they really want because gift cards let them choose for themselves. Other options include tickets to a nearby rock and gem show or an envelope of cold hard cash to pitch in for their next rock-hunting adventure.

Bonus Gifts for Rockhounds: Stocking Stuffers

When thinking of gifts for rockhounds, stockings are great for those little tools that rockhounds invariably lose in the field, like rock chisels. These come in various sizes and lengths and should be specifically for working with rocks, or they’ll quickly break. Stockings are also a good place for those cute rock socks you saw online or some good sunblock to help protect their skin from all those hours spent outdoors. A new pair of safety goggles, sturdy gloves, or even a set of shoestrings for their favorite hiking boots also fill stockings well. Small rocks (not lumps of coal) make fun stocking stuffers, then, for giggles, throw in some rock candy and Pop Rocks, and you’re good to go!

This story about gifts for rockhounds appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Moira K. McGhee.

The post Gifts for Rockhounds first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

What is the difference between a mineral and a rock? A rock is an aggregate or mix, of one or more minerals. Here are some fun facts about minerals to enjoy…

René Just Haüy

2022 was the bicentennial of the death of René Just Haüy (2/28/1743 – 6/3/1822). Not a name many of us know, but Haüy was a French mineralogist and is important because he is known as the Father of Modern Crystallography. He studied crystal structure, applied his theories to mineral classification and wrote several books including the Traité de Minéralogie.

To honor him and the importance of minerals in our world, the International Mineralogical Association named 2022 the Year of Mineralogy.

What are Mineralogy & Crystallography?

Mineralogy is the study of everything about minerals including their crystal structure, physical and chemical properties. Crystallography is the study of the structure and properties of crystals.

How Minerals Are Formed

Minerals are formed in four main ways:

• From Magma – Hot, molten lava cools and crystallizes to form minerals such as topaz.
• From Water – Chemicals in saturated water precipitate, or separate, into solids. An easy example is salt, halite, that’s left behind after ocean water evaporates.
• Alteration – As minerals react, slowly or quickly, with their environment they form different minerals. Cuprite forms when it’s exposed to oxygen.
• Metamorphism – Exposure to heat and pressure alters the chemistry of a mineral to become a different mineral such as rubies.

Glorious Gemstones

Gemstones used for jewelry can be considered at the top of the mineral world. They are rare, valuable, popular and prized for their mineral colors which can be quite vivid once they are cut and polished.

FYI – Not all gemstones come from minerals, for example, pearls and amber. Gems can be precious meaning they are the rarest and most valuable. There are only four precious gems; diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Gems that are also popular for jewelry but not as rare are called semiprecious…think amethyst, agate and turquoise.

The rating of precious or semiprecious was made long ago. Today, some semiprecious stones can be worth more than precious stones. Also, it doesn’t take into account scientific classifications of minerals. For example, emeralds are a type of beryl. Aquamarines are also a type of beryl.

Fabulous Diamonds

The word diamond comes from the Greek word adamas which means “invincible.” That’s certainly an accurate description given that diamonds have a Mohs hardness of ten!

According to National Geographic Kids Weird but True Rocks & Minerals, “On Earth’s surface, diamonds are rare. But go down around 100 miles below the surface and it’s a different story. Some scientists have estimated there may be more than a quadrillion tons of diamonds locked in rocks in Earth’s interior.”

This story about celebrating minerals appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Pam Freeman.

The post Celebrating Minerals first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

The rocks that animals consume are called gastroliths which literally translates to “stomach stones.” Gastroliths can be found in a range of animals including birds, reptiles, fish, insects, and even some mammals. Any type of stone can become a gastrolith; it just has to have been swallowed to join that club.

Why Do Animals Eat Rocks – Herbivores

What is an herbivore? It’s an animal that primarily eats plants. (Did you know that rocks and minerals play a role in plant growth?) So why do animals that eat rocks include herbivores? Though animals that eat stones are not all herbivores, those that are, have a special reason to consume rocks. Plant material is made up of cellulose. Cellulose is one of the most abundant, yet hard-to-digest materials found in plant material.

Cellulose is difficult to break down inside the body with only stomach acid. Why do animals eat rocks? Because stones inside an animal’s gizzard help to break this material down further before transferring it to a second stomach for additional digestion. This process smooths the stones over time. Many animals then regurgitate these smooth stones in favor of more jagged ones to help with the breaking down of food.

Why Birds Eat Rocks

Birds are the most common group of animals that eat rocks. These rocks aid in their digestion. Folks who raise birds are familiar with this as many supplement their feathered friends’ diets with grit, which are very small stones with uneven, blunt edges.

Birds don’t have teeth, or stomachs like mammals, instead, have a gizzard which is a muscular mass attached to their version of a stomach. The gizzard is where their food is ground up and mashed with the aid of the stones that they have swallowed.

Most avian consumers of stones are ground-dwelling or flightless birds. Chickens, turkeys, ostriches, and even penguins routinely swallow jagged little rocks while they are out and about foraging for food to help their digestion. Research has found that in ostriches, between one-fifth and one-half of their stomach contents are gastroliths.

These account for about one percent of the bird’s total body mass. It is speculated that the ratios and percentages are similar for other birds too (at least the ones that eat rocks).

There are some flying birds though that have been documented to be stone-eaters.

Crows and parrots are known to eat small rocks to aid their digestion. Some swimming and flying birds like ducks are also known to eat small grit-stones to help them break up their swallowed food. It is very likely that all birds swallow stones in some capacity to help break down their food.

Why Reptiles & Amphibians Eat Rocks

The need for birds to swallow rocks is pretty well understood. The same cannot be said though for reptiles. The prevailing theory for decades was that for swimming reptiles like crocodiles, swallowing rocks helped with their buoyancy. Given that they like to hover just below the water’s surface, this might be a plausible reason. A bellyful of rocks could help weigh themselves down enough so they don’t float all the way up to where they can be easily seen by their prey.

Much recent research about why do animals eat rocks, however, has suggested other hypotheses for this behavior in reptiles. Scientists have found that gastroliths make up less than two percent of the body mass of reptiles. They calculate that for the gastroliths to have the previously believed effect of achieving buoyancy, that number should be more than six percent of the animal’s body mass. The act of breathing, filling, and emptying their lungs with air, has more of an effect on buoyancy than the two percent of their body weight comprised of stones.

Current speculation about why do animals eat rocks is that the swallowed rocks help to stabilize the reptiles’ bodies in the water, reducing the tendency to roll from side to side. Though not reptiles, frogs eat rocks too.

Like birds though, the hypothesis is it helps them break up the insects they eat to get more nutrients from them. Earthworms are another animal that consumes rocks. Their internal digestive muscles, along with teethlike structures known as “grinders” break up plant material so that nutrients can be extracted from them.

Why Do Animals Eat Rocks – Sea Life

A variety of sea life eats rocks. Fish, clams, seals, and even whales are known to eat rocks, though in some cases it is believed to be inadvertent. Like crocodiles, it was once thought that sea lions, seals, walruses, and whales swallowed rocks to make diving easier.

Like other hypotheses that have arisen in recent years, the thinking for these sea creatures is that since many find their food on the ocean floor, they inadvertently scoop up rocks while scooping in on their food. This is seemingly more probable than swallowing rocks to help them dive.

The problem with the rocks as a diving aid hypothesis is that they would have to swallow huge rocks to make a difference. There is no evidence that they seek out and swallow big, heavy rocks.

Several species of bottom-feeding fish are also known to eat rocks, though again, it is not entirely known if this is intentional to aid in digestion, or accidental consumption while grabbing food off the seafloor. Other possibilities have arisen to explain this phenomenon in swimming mammals.

Alleviate Hunger

It is possible that some of these, and possibly other animals that eat rocks, do so to help alleviate hunger. Taking up space in their stomachs could potentially make them feel more full. Another conjecture is that they, like birds with their gizzards, swallow rocks to help their digestion (sans gizzard) and to break down the wide range of items that they may accidentally swallow.

One of the more unusual sea-dwelling rock eaters is a type of clam found in the Philippines, Lithoredo abatanica. The name roughly translates to “rock shipworm from the Abatan River.” Many would not recognize this animal as a clam.

It is fattened, worm-like, translucent, at least four inches (10 cm) long, with a shell complete with shovel-like projections. It is not akin in either appearance or bloodline to the familiar Quahog or Atlantic type of clam, but instead is a member of the shipworm family. These clams eat wood, but the newly discovered Lithoredo abatanica eats limestone, not wood. It burrows into rock and excretes sand. It is not yet known if these creatures actually derive any nutrition from these rocks.

The consumption of gastroliths by animals is a more common practice than most people would realize. Whether it be for digestion (with or without a gizzard), buoyancy, diving, deriving minerals, or feeling full, it is a widely practiced behavior in the wild animal kingdom. The next time you see a small, unassuming, round stone on the ground, it may well have been on quite a journey inside of any number of animals before finding itself at your feet.

This story about why do animals eat rocks previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Chris Bond.

The post Why Do Animals Eat Rocks? first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Whether teaming together for all-female outings, or introducing the world of rocks and minerals to the next generation, women bring a new perspective, and sometimes a different approach, to this age-old endeavor.

Following Her Calling

For some rockhounding women, their affinity for interesting finds started at an early age.

“Ever since I’ve been little, I spent time at Crystal Park, (a recreational area in southwestern Montana where natural crystals abound),” said Brianne Scott, founder of the informal group, Rockhounding Women Montana.

Even though rocks were in her DNA from an early age, Scott went another route, instead earning a degree in Elementary Education, but it wasn’t the right fit. “It’s tough to be in the classroom all day long,” she said. So she stepped away from the profession and started collecting more rocks, mostly for the fun of it.

During her excursions around her Butte home, she said, “ There’s one piece that I have that’s a really neat little piece.” She said she spotted it caked in dirt, but discovered it was a combination of feldspar, smoky quartz castle-like structures, and albite, all coated with epidote. “It’s my favorite because of the complexity of it. It’s so unique.”

“I found myself with an overabundance of rocks,” she said, “ That’s how I got introduced to the rockhounding groups in Montana.”

Finding Other Rockhounding Women

Scott also discovered other groups on social media. Being able to trade or buy specimens not found in her area is one benefit of these connections, along with the opportunity to learn from others’ experiences.

“The biggest thing I’ve noticed about rock people is they are so friendly. I really get that sense of community,” Scott noted. “That’s where the lady rockhounding group started. I’ve gone digging with a lot of boys, but wanted to find more women.”

“We did one field trip in the summer. A group of us gals went to Crystal Park and went digging for the day,” she said. Scott is already lining up field trips, as well as learning opportunities for any of the women who want to participate. “It’s knowing what to look for on your hikes.”

Scott loves hanging out with any rock enthusiast, but women’s groups are sometimes less intimidating to new rockhounds. “I noticed a lot of the men are very technical with things,” Scott explained, which isn’t always conducive to a newbie. She believes women have a broader view of the landscape and notice what’s going on around, or in, the ground.

“Really it’s still a good partnership with men and women. It’s just a different dynamic,” she said.

When it comes to women, or really anyone, who wants to step into this fascinating world, Scott’s best advice is, “Reach out to folks. You’ll be able to find someone who is more than willing.”

Teaching the New Generation

While some rockhounding women are born with rocks in their pockets, others grow into it. Becky Weldy, a high school science teacher in Covington, Ohio, said her interest began during her post-graduate work. At that time, Wright State University offered a Master’s Degree program to educate teachers in geology.

“The professor opened my eyes to it,” Weldy said, particularly because the courses were far from mere academic musing with field trips in the Ozarks, Finger Lakes of New York, as well as the east coast of New Jersey.

Now she offers college-level courses in a high school class, enlightening the students to see beyond the textbooks. “I think a lot of the kids don’t seem to travel as much,” noted Weldy who aims to inspire them and bring the outdoors inside through her curriculum.

Field Trips & School

Weldy plans several field trips throughout the academic year, including visiting the Ohio Caverns, which are geological wonders in and of themselves, as well as Caesars Creek State Park in Waynesville. She said the area was developed by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1938 as flood control. The dam formed Caesar Creek Lake, which at 115 feet deep is the deepest in Ohio, and the spillway is rich in fossils such as trilobites and horn corals. This whole area is known throughout the world as a hotspot for geologists. A permit is required, but she turns the day into a multi-course study for her students.

Weldy also strives to bring her geology studies to the school. ”My other big project is behind our football field in eight acres of woods,” she said. Several years ago, teachers began working to turn the area into a working land lab cutting through new trails, spraying out the invasive honeysuckle, and replanting native trees.

Of course, the elementary kids already love exploring the space, plus Weldy incorporates the natural area into her geology classes with her 11th and 12th graders where they’re able to conduct real-world tests.

“It brings it into perspective to see and to touch,” she said. ”It is eye-opening to a lot of them.”

She hopes that even though she didn’t experience the wonders of geology until later in life, her students will have a jump on an appreciation of the rocks and minerals.

Rocks in Her Pockets

Dr. Kerry Griffis-Kyle, Ph.D., is an associate professor teaching classes involving complex ecosystems at Texas Tech University. Throughout her career, Griffis-Kyle primarily focuses on living things, but rocks are what make her happy.

She laughed when remembering her move from Syracuse to the Southwest when the movers picked up a particularly heavy box and wondered what could be in it. It read: “Rocks and Dead Things.”

Griffis-Kyle said, “That’s what it was because I am a biologist!”

The landscape at her home in Lubbock, Texas, is extraordinarily flat so for years she brought home larger specimens to add visual interest. Now that she is delving into the art of rock tumbling, she has shifted her focus.

“With the rock tumbling I’m picking up smaller rocks,” Griffis-Kyle noted. This focus on tumbling also requires a different form of attention. She’s learned to use a flashlight and black light to inspect the stones for structures within them. But she added, “I need to be better at identifying them. Some rocks are toxic. Some have mercury or uranium in them.” She pointed out that rocks with bright yellows and greens are particularly important to identify and handle properly.

Social Media Connections

In this new endeavor, she said that social media connections, especially with rockhounding women, are invaluable, whether it’s choosing the best rocks or specifics on using the tumbler. It’s a combination of art and science where a strong streak of experience goes a long way.

“I’m paying attention more to where the resources are,” Griffis-Kyle noted. When choosing where to camp, rockhounding is at the top of the activity list, and she enjoys visiting New Mexico. She said the state does an excellent job explaining where you can find different rocks and where it’s permissible to keep them.

She pointed out, “State by state you have to pay attention to what is allowed. Most of the time it’s okay to pick up a few rocks for personal use on federal land, but you can’t pick up fossils and artifacts. And never pick up anything on Park Service or DOD (Department of Defense) land.”

Always a scientist at heart, Griffis-Kyle appreciates the geological processes it requires to create colorful and unique specimens, but in the end, she said she looks for rocks because they make her happy. ”It’s kind of like art appreciation. Different things speak to different people.”

Gaining Knowledge in Groups

Although Valerie Steichen brought home rocks throughout her life, it wasn’t until she attended a rock and gem show in Missoula, Montana, that she noticed the long list of field trips hosted by the Hellgate Mineral Society. She was immediately on board.

“ They’re looking for young members,” said Steichen, noting the reality is many people within the group are over 70 years old, a common trend of these types of groups. There are lifetimes of knowledge waiting to be shared with the next generations, which is one of the main reasons Steichen appreciates the group.

“The main reason I go is so I get to walk in the forest with a geologist and learn,” she said. And besides the fieldwork, the club offers numerous educational workshops to keep everyone sharp.

Joining the Men

Whether it’s potentially the older membership and generational differences or an intimidation factor for women who are new to rockhounding, Steichen noted that when they go on field trips, the group is roughly 90 percent men.

But she is quick to allay concerns and encourages rockhounding women, and younger people in general, to join a local mineral or gem hunting group. “All of them are friendly,” she said.

Besides the innate knowledge of the landscape and the minerals found within it, Steichen noted, “What really struck me is their responsibility for nature.” She appreciates the knowledge of how to ethically dig for minerals, which is a growing concern in some regions when, at times, visitors take too much or do not practice Leave No Trace principles. By digging with one of these well-educated groups, new enthusiasts learn how to protect the resources for everyone.

For Steichen, one of her favorite finds is agates, which is the state rock for Montana. “I think I can pick out agate at a mile away. They look like ugly rocks, but they have billions of years of a story to tell,” she said.

And while the finds are beautiful, there are stories behind each one. Steichen said, “I remember where I found the rocks. There are memories to it and it means something.” So whether she is rock hunting with the Mineral Society members or looking for agates with her family, Steichen is the mineral matriarch who passes on this knowledge to anyone who wants to learn.

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

The post Rockhounding Women first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

At an early age, John became curious about his uncle’s line of work, but his queries were often met with vague responses. As an adult, he devoted much time and effort to researching his uncle’s history.

The following is John’s perspective of that history, a few stories of the everyday life of the scientists, plus a quick rundown of naturally occurring radiation, including radioactive rocks, present in our lives today.

Philip Grant Koontz

Uncle Grant met his wife, Florence Eyre while both were undergraduate students at Hastings College in Nebraska where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1927. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska before earning his doctorate in physics from Yale.

After graduating, Grant served as an associate professor of physics at Colorado State University. Here is where the history becomes clouded in secrecy. Sometime during Grant’s tenure at Colorado State, he met and assisted Arthur H. Compton on Mt. Evans in his studies of cosmic rays.

In 1942, Grant was asked by Compton to join Enrico Fermi and the other scientists in Chicago at the “Metallurgical Lab,” for the creation of the Chicago Pile (CP-1). Shortly after the Chicago scientists achieved a sustained nuclear reaction, Grant and his family were spirited off to Los Alamos, New Mexico. Now the secrecy was stepped up.

Science, Secrecy & Real People

While both in Chicago and Los Alamos, the scientists worked feverishly on what is now called The Manhattan Project. But as history and several photos handed down through the Eyre family prove, those scientists were real people with families and interests outside of their laboratories. While still in Chicago, Uncle Grant and Aunt Florence hosted a picnic at their home. Family photos show that Enrico Fermi, his wife and young daughter, and a few unidentified scientists attended.

Once at Los Alamos, Grant took photos of several of the scientists collecting selenite in an area outside of the compound. Rockhounding must run in the family! But everyday life was hard for both the scientists and their families. All mail to friends and relatives was sent via a post office box in New York City and was carefully censored to remove any reference as to where they were, what they were doing or even anything about the weather. Grant could never tell his wife where he was going when he disappeared for days while testing bombs at Trinity Site or the Nevada Test Site.

Once some of the secrecy was lifted, Grant liked to tell a story about how he and a few of his fellow scientists discovered a hole in the Los Alamos compound fence. For fun, instead of simply telling the authorities about the security breach, a few scientists took their family dogs for a walk outside the compound. They signed out at the gate, proceeded to the hole in the fence; crawled under the fence and proceeded to sign out at the gate a second and third time before the guard caught on and they finally told him about the hole.

An Atomic Timeline

It’s time to tell the real history of these men. An easy way to do that is by using a timeline of their achievements.

The culmination of all of this work was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, which effectively ended WWII. Our world was forever changed and the discoveries of these scientists are still present in our day-to-day lives.

Rockhounding

Radioactivity didn’t just appear in our lives with these discoveries, it was always naturally occurring in our rocks and minerals. The most common radioactive minerals found in nature are uranite, thorite, pitchblende and carnotite.

One of the byproducts of atomic bomb testing is “trinitite.” Scientists gave this name to the desert sand which fused into glass caused by the heat of the first atomic bomb test on July 16, 1945, at the Trinity Test Site, outside of Alamogordo, New Mexico. Uncle Grant sent several samples to John’s dad, a chemist who cast them into paperweights made of Lucite plastic.

Radioactive Food, Medicine & Household Items

Probably the most common food containing a radioactive isotope (K-40) of potassium is bananas. Not to worry, you would need to eat 70,000 bananas to get the equivalent radiation of a chest CT scan. Small amounts are also found in potatoes, kidney beans, sunflower seeds or any food containing potassium.

On the other hand, Brazil nuts contain small amounts of radium isotopes approximately 1,000 times higher than those found in other foods. Some salt substitutes contain small amounts of radioactive potassium (K-40).

Many generic brands of antidiarrhea medication contain kaolin clay that has elevated levels of uranium and thorium.

Still, no worries, as you would have to consume over 1,000 pounds a year to exceed the current EPA maximum exposure level. The name brand of this drug has discontinued use of kaolin clay.

Ionization-type smoke detectors contain small quantities of americium-241. Never try to disassemble one of these units.

Kitty litter contains bentonite clay which is measurably radioactive. The contents include uranium, thorium and potassium-40. Also, potassium chloride water softener salt contains measurable amounts of potassium-40. A standard 50-lb. bag would never make it past the highly sensitive radiation monitors used at nuclear power plants.

Radioactive Collectibles

Uranium Glass

Early civilizations used minerals to add color to their glass and pottery. Uranium, or Vaseline glass as it is sometimes called, was not known to be radioactive until 1896. However, some earlier glassware contained radioactive colorants for over 2,000 years. It is usually yellow to green and is fluorescent under UV light. It contains two to 25% uranium oxide and is slightly radioactive.

Uranium glass is collectible and was made into various items from everyday glassware to bowls, knick-knacks and souvenir items. The bowl this author’s grandmother used to make gelatin in every week as well as her special occasion stemware is still a part of our family’s collection.

Orange Fiesta Tableware

Uranium oxide has been added to ceramic glazes for many years to color pieces orange-red. The Homer Laughlin Company used it to produce their bright orange Fiesta tableware from 1936 to 1943. Its use ended in 1943 when the company’s supply of uranium oxide was commandeered by the U.S. government for use in atomic weapon production. To this day, all of these original pieces are fairly radioactive and should NOT be used for food purposes, but only as radioactive collectibles.

Lantern Mantles, Metal Alloys & Welding Rods

Non-nuclear uses of thorium compounds are limited. Thorium oxide is the coating used on gas lantern mantles in older camping lanterns. It’s what causes the lanterns to incandesce at high temperatures. Several types of nickel alloys have thorium oxide added to them to increase their strength.

Thorium oxide is also used as an additive to some tungsten-based welding rods. TIG welding rods are available with a 2% thorium content to help in arc stabilization and are slightly radioactive.

3M Model C-15 Tape Dispensers

Next time you wrap a present, take note of your tape dispenser. If it is old and exceptionally heavy, it may be one of the 3M company dispensers made in the 1970s. These models were filled with monazite sand for ballast. Monazite is a radioactive mineral containing thorium.

More Items

There are more radioactive collectibles than can be listed in detail, but here are just a few more:

• Firestone Brand Polonium Spark Plugs from 1946 to 1953—contain polonium

• Radium watch and clock hands—contain radium

• Glow-in-the-dark gun sights—contain tritium

• Military ballistic projectile penetrators— contain depleted uranium

• Cloisonne jewelry with orange or yellow glaze—contains uranium oxide

• Radio Brand Golf Balls 1910 to 1930— contain radium

• Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab Kit, sold in 1951-1952 as a child’s educational tool, was deemed to be dangerous and taken off the market. They are still available on the internet for upwards of $2,000 to $4,000—contain samples of autunite, carnotite, torbernite & uranite

Plan a Visit

Hands-on learning opportunities about the Manhattan Project and the Atomic Age are available with planned visits to various sites across the U.S. The National Park Service sponsors sites at Los Alamos, Hanford and Oak Ridge. You may want to visit the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos. Special tours of Trinity Site and the Nevada Test Site are available on a limited basis and may require registration and possible security clearance.

Radioactivity has been and always will be present in our world. To the rockhound, if handled and stored properly, radioactive minerals and collectibles can provide an interesting addition to mineral collections.

This story about radioactivity previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Sue Eyre.

The post Radioactivity, Rocks & The Men Who Handled Them first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Minerals are all around us and even within us. Consider iron in your blood or calcium in your bones. While humans have always sought food products, we’ve always used rocks. Our ancestors used cobbles as hammers to crack nuts. We later learned to use obsidian, chert, and flint to knap knives and spear points and to spark fire. We’ve moved on from the Stone Age to the Copper, Bronze, and Iron Ages. Minerals and related earth resources continue to enable contemporary life and the built environment in which we live. They include metals, nonmetallic minerals, and fossil fuels. How little we appreciate this fact of life!

Take the Common Pencil…

Something as simple as a pencil requires more minerals than you might imagine. While a pencil casing is painted wood with a hollow core, the rod within the core is a combination of graphite (carbon) and kaolinite (clay). The more kaolinite, the harder the rod. This is why we have #2, #3, and other pencil grades that leave either a wide dark streak or a slender light streak. While the pencil eraser is a natural or synthetic rubber, it may contain pumice to provide grit. Holding that eraser to the pencil is a tube constructed of aluminum (from bauxite) or brass (from copper plus zinc, or sphalerite). Four to six minerals in a common pencil. Who knew?!

To appreciate the number of minerals used in everyday life, deconstruct other objects. A salt shaker often has an aluminum top (derived from bauxite) and a glass body (from sand, or silicon dioxide) and is filled with salt (halite) crystals. Although it’s on its way out, an old-fashioned incandescent light bulb has a glass exterior (made from silica, soda ash, lime, coal, and salt), a brass or aluminum screw-in base, a tungsten filament, copper and nickel lead-in wires, molybdenum tie and support wires, and an aluminum heat deflector.

Explore Minerals Contributing to the Build Environment

Here are some fun and easy exercises to introduce kids (and yourself ) to the many minerals contributing to our built environment.

Match the Product to the Mineral

An Interactive Display & Quiz

Perfect for a school project…Construct an interactive display showing everyday items at the back and the minerals that went into them at the front. For instance, a soda can at the back and a specimen of bauxite (aluminum ore) at the front, or matches at the back and sulfur at the front. Provide a quiz for kids to fill out to match a mineral to a product.

Spin the Wheel!

For more immediate interactive fun, have a board laid out with squares numbered and stocked with different economic minerals. Kids spin the wheel. They then need to name a product made from a mineral on the number where the wheel lands. If they guess correctly, they keep the mineral. Stick with fairly easy and obvious choices (e.g., a copper nugget matched to plumbing pipes) and have a poster or chart nearby that kids can consult.

The Home Scavenger Hunt

In a school classroom, rock club meeting room, or a home, gather kids around a flipchart, chalkboard, or whiteboard. Encourage them to look around and list everyday things and the rocks and minerals that went into them. If using an old-fashioned chalkboard, you can start with the chalk and the slate of the chalkboard. You might go throughout an entire house, or focus on a particular room.

Here are just a few examples: a brass lamp, windows made of silica, many things made of plastic derived from petrochemicals, fireplace bricks derived from clay (kaolinite), a tin cup, a gold wedding ring, walls made of plasterboard comprised of gypsum, steel nails, and screws in the furniture and paint on the walls containing diatomite as filler.

A Hardware Store Scavenger Hunt

Take a field trip for a scavenger hunt at a hardware store. To get started, here are a few things to seek:

• aluminum and tin siding or roofing (from bauxite or cassiterite)

• bricks and ceramic products (from fired clay, or kaolinite)

• diatomaceous earth for swimming pool filters

• drill bits and saw blades used for cutting tile, concrete, etc. (from diamond)

• electrical wiring, pipes, and plumbing fixtures (from copper)

• glass (from silica sand)

• plaster and drywall (from gypsum)

• rough and crushed rocks and stones for ornamental use (scoria, limestone, marble, etc.)

• sand for mixing with concrete, for sandboxes, etc.

• slabs of various sorts (granite, marble, etc.) for kitchen countertops

• steel and iron nails (made from iron ores like hematite)

Make Your Own Collection

Entire collections can be made of the raw materials of our built environment. Many common minerals are inexpensive and readily available from show dealers. As a start, consider pennies and a copper nugget; nails and hematite; fluorinated toothpaste and a fluorite crystal; laundry detergent and borate minerals; table salt and halite crystals; matches and sulfur.

Learn More!

Several websites provide handy tables linking minerals to everyday objects. Here’s a sampling:

• Minerals Education Coalition

• Women in Mining

• United States Geological Survey (USGS)

• American Geosciences Institute (AGI)

• Gemological Institute of America (GIA)

• National Mining Association

• AFMS Future Rockhounds of America Badge Manual

How Minerals Shape History

As we humans progressed from the Stone Age to the Electronic Age, we’ve seen all sorts of ages in between dominated by a search for earth resources. Consider gold rushes, wars of conquest for mineral-rich colonies, and “titans of industry” (Carnegie, Rockefeller, Peabody, Getty). Our current age is obsessed in a quest for minerals for electric batteries built with lithium, and cobalt. These resources are eagerly being sought to move us from a carbon-emitting petroleum-dependent economy to one based on clean energy.

However, keep in mind that clean electric energy still requires dirty mining. If you think we can get to a so-called no-cost energy future, think again! There will always be a need for mining and minerals, along with a cost to pay. How we ultimately balance such costs is what matters. Think we can live without minerals and all that goes into extracting them? Think again. Think wisely.

What Made It?

Pencils or smartphones are just the beginning. There are thousands of minerals and even more applications of those minerals. Here’s a tiny selected sampling…

This story about the minerals used in everyday life previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Jim Brace-Thompson.

The post Minerals Used in Everyday Life first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

This stone, paradoxically celebrated for its beauty yet feared for its curse, is the Hope Diamond. The size of a walnut and a deep blue gem in color, it is the world’s best-known diamond. Over its 370-year-long, often murky history, it has become immersed in legend, stolen at least twice and cut four times. Its owners have included sultans, kings, bankers, jewelers, thieves, a popular stage performer, and a fabulously wealthy heiress.

Since 1958, the Hope Diamond has been a major attraction at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington D.C., where it has been viewed by more than 100 million visitors and is currently valued at over $250 million.

Plucked From the Eye of an Idol

The Hope Diamond’s strange story began in 1653 when French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier visited India’s Golconda Sultanate. There he purchased a crudely cut, triangular, flat, blue diamond of extraordinary size—115 carats. According to legend, this diamond, now known as the “Tavernier Diamond,” had been cursed since it previously had been plucked from the eye of a statue of a Hindu idol.

After returning to Europe in 1668, Tavernier sold the diamond to King Louis XIV of France, who ordered the stone recut. Tavernier wrote extensively about the gem before his death in Moscow the following year—when he was reportedly dismembered by a pack of wild dogs.

The “French Blue” and the Guillotine

The 1691 French crown jewel inventory describes the recut stone as “a very big, violet (the period term for “blue”) diamond, thick, cut with facets on both sides and in the shape of a heart with eight main faces.” It weighed 67.1 carats and was valued at the equivalent of $4 million in 2023 dollars. Formally known as the Blue Diamond of the Crown of France and popularly as the “French Blue,” this smaller stone, with its enhanced symmetry and additional pavilion facets, was substantially more brilliant than the original Tavernier Diamond. The French Blue was likely the first large diamond to be cut in a modern brilliant style.

Louis XIV had the blue diamond, along with a 117-carat red spinel and 195 smaller diamonds, set in an elaborate pendant that symbolized the Order of the Golden Fleece, a Catholic order of chivalry. Despite this prestigious setting, the idea that the French Blue was cursed gained credibility with the misfortunes of Louis XIV. Five of his legitimate children died in infancy. And the king himself died in agony of gangrene in 1715.

Setting the Stage

Ownership of the French Blue then passed to Louis XV, a monarch who enjoyed great popularity early in his reign—but his good fortune did not last. He engaged in costly wars that drained the French treasury, weakened royal authority, and set the stage for the French Revolution. Louis XV died a hated man in 1774.

The French Blue then became the property of King Louis XVI and his wife, the infamous Marie Antoinette, both of whom often wore the stone. But when the French Revolution erupted in 1789, the monarchy fell and, in September 1792, Louis was beheaded in a public execution. Marie Antoinette also died at the guillotine four months later.

A Convoluted Trail

During the French Revolution, the blue diamond, now widely believed to be cursed, was stolen from a royal warehouse and never seen again, at least not as the French Blue. The history of the stone then became uncertain. In 1812, just as the statute of limitations regarding the theft took effect, a 45-carat blue diamond appeared in the hands of London diamond merchant Daniel Eliason. Amid widespread accusations that this diamond was actually a cut-down version of the stolen French Blue, Eliason committed suicide.

In 1820, Britain’s King George IV acquired the diamond. Following his death in 1830, his bankrupt estate sold the stone to pay off debts. Attention then shifted to London banking heir Henry Philip Hope, who some suspected had secretly bought the diamond from French thieves in the early 1800s. Hope publicly listed the stone in his 1839 gem catalog—only to die just months later.

The Hope Diamond

The blue diamond remained with the Hope family for the next 57 years, the last owner being the American actress, playwright, and concert-hall singer May Yohé (Mary Augusta Yohé, Lady Francis Hope), whose writings and stage productions often called attention to the stone’s purported curse. The diamond was sold in 1896 to settle Yohé’s pressing debts. Many believed that the celebrated singer herself fell victim to the stone’s evil power: After enduring two disastrous marriages, she died in poverty in 1938.

The blue diamond, now known as the “Hope Diamond,” next passed through the hands of several gem merchants and jewelers, and two Ottoman sultans. The stone was then acquired by the prestigious Paris jewelry firm Cartier and director Pierre Cartier, a renowned wheeler-dealer in the gem world, who immediately began seeking a buyer and a quick profit.

On to America

The story of how the Hope Diamond came to the United States began in 1896 in the gold-mining camp of Ouray, Colorado, where prospector Thomas F. Walsh bought two abandoned claims for back taxes. This purchase turned out to be one of history’s greatest bargains, for the original claim owners had somehow overlooked a massive deposit of phenomenally rich gold ore.

In 1898, Walsh’s daughter Evalyn married Edward “Ned” Beale McLean, heir to The Washington Post newspaper fortune, and became an internationally known socialite with lavish tastes, especially for fine gems. When Thomas Walsh died in 1910, he left his fortune of $3 million ($90 million in 2023 dollars) to his 24-year-old daughter Evalyn Walsh McLean.

Pierre Cartier

Having previously sold fine gems to Evalyn, Pierre Cartier knew that the heiress, now in receipt of her fortune, was a prime candidate to buy the Hope Diamond. Pierre’s first attempt to sell her the stone failed. But he tried again, this time with the diamond set in a striking modern mount surrounded by a three-tiered circlet of dozens of smaller white diamonds.

Also astutely guessing that Evalyn would be fascinated by the stone’s purported curse, Pierre recounted—and likely embellished— its more disturbing details. In 1911, amid great publicity, Evalyn bought the Hope Diamond for $300,000 ($9 million in 2023 dollars). Enamored of the stone, the heiress frequently wore it at balls and parties, at times hanging it around the neck of her Great Dane or hiding it in the furniture and challenging her guests to “find the Hope.”

But in the end, Evalyn also seems to have paid dearly for owning the Hope Diamond: Her husband died in a mental hospital, her firstborn son was fatally struck by an automobile at age nine, and her 24-year-old daughter died of an overdose of sleeping pills.

Harry Winston & The Smithsonian

In 1947, New York City diamond merchant Harry Winston purchased the Hope Diamond from Evalyn Walsh McLean’s estate.

For nearly a decade, Winston displayed the stone on his popular “Court of Jewels” tour across North America, showing it at charity balls and on television shows. He ordered a minor recutting of the stone’s pavilion facets to further increase its brilliance—the fourth and last time that the Hope would be cut.

In the mid-1950s, mineralogist George Switzer, an associate curator at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian), proposed establishing a national gem collection with the Hope Diamond as the centerpiece. Switzer asked Harry Winston to donate the stone to the Smithsonian. In 1958, Winston, intrigued by the idea of a national gem collection and perhaps even more so by a monumental tax write-off, agreed.

Winston sent the Hope Diamond from New York City to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., by registered, insured first-class mail. And what happened next convinced many that the Hope’s curse was still alive. Shortly after hand-delivering the stone, United States Post Office letter carrier James Todd was seriously injured in two back-to-back automobile accidents—before losing his house to a fire.

New Look at an Old Stone

For centuries, no conclusive proof existed that the Hope Diamond had been cut from the French Blue, or that the latter had been cut from the Tavernier Diamond. But in 2007, a Paris museum curator discovered a lead cast of the French Blue from which researchers prepared a three-dimensional, digital image. Comparisons with images of the Hope Diamond proved that the Hope had indeed been cut from the French Blue.

Researchers then computer-imaged the Tavernier Diamond based on Jean-Baptiste Tavernier’s detailed drawings from the late 1660s. Image comparisons confirmed that both the Hope Diamond and the French Blue had once been the Tavernier Diamond

A museum cataloging label also indicated that the lead cast of the French Blue dated to 1812 when the stone’s owner was a “Mr. Hoppe of London,” strongly suggesting that Henry Philip Hope had acquired the diamond not long after its theft during the French Revolution, then recut it to disguise its identity to avoid a French repossession lawsuit. After apparently passing the diamond on to Daniel Eliason, Hope seems to have reacquired the stone 25 years later shortly before his death.

“Proof” of the Curse?

Researchers have also learned that the Hope Diamond, when exposed to shortwave ultraviolet light, glows like a burning red ember. While many blue diamonds exhibit this same fluorescence, none match the Hope’s fiery intensity. Gemologists attribute this unusual fluorescence to traces of boron that also produce the Hope’s distinctive blue color. This boron interacts with other trace impurities, enabling electrons within the stone’s crystal lattice to absorb energy from ultraviolet light, and then release it as visible red light.

While gemologists agree that this fluorescence adds to Hope’s uniqueness, intrigue, and mystery, others attribute its eerie red glow to a demonic presence.

Despite the dark legends that still surround the Hope, this celebrated blue diamond has certainly not cursed the Smithsonian, which has benefited enormously through worldwide attention along with substantially increased gifting and visitor attendance.

This story about the Hope Diamond curse previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Steve Voynick.

The post The Hope Diamond Curse first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.