SLO Gem & Mineral Club

News

If you have photos of field trips, member activities, mineral, gem or related crafts that you would like to share here, please email them along with explanation text for each photo to webmaster@slogem.org.

  • November 8, 2023 Meeting

    San Luis Obispo Gem and Mineral club meeting at the SLO Senior Center, monthly on the second Wednesday at 7pmWe had a great showing for the meeting this month, which included volunteering people for elected positions within the club. Kim and Mary have been wearing too many hats for years and were ready to hand over the reins.

    • Dan signed up for CFMS liaison.
    • Mary continues as show chair.
    • Kim will cover meeting planning, donations, emails, field trip coordination, and start a junior rockhound program. He reluctantly continues as president.
    • Mike is considering taking on the junior rockhound program where kids can earn badges and prizes.
    • Tammy was volunteered to continue as vice president in absentia.
    • Robbie is willing to take on treasurer if he can have a better list of the duties.
    • Jeff continues as editor and secretary.
    • Tamar continues as webmaster.
    • Hospitality – no takers.
    • Jim as correspondence secretary.

    We watched a movie about Oregon sunstone.

    People shared rocks and crafts. Little Colton won an award!

    Sharing discoveries at the SLO Gem and Mineral club meeting

    There’s also the silent auction each month with so much cool stuff for practically pennies.

    Silent auction at SLO Gem club meeting

  • Attention K – 12 Teachers

    Our September “Gems By The Sea” show met our goals as a fund raising event.  Now we would like to donate a portion of the “Gems By The Sea”  show profits to our San Luis Obispo County K-12 schools in support of education.

    If there are materials on your wish list that you would like in order to enhance your lessons — books, DVDs, equipment, samples etc. – the San Luis Obispo Gem And Mineral Club wants to hear from you.  We will consider requests up to a maximum of $500.  Preference will be given to items directly related to earth sciences or the role that mineral resources have played in history as well as today’s society and then to other STEM related items.

    Email treasurer@slogem.org with your needs. Please provide a description of what it is you are requesting as well as approximate costs.  Include your name, school email address, school name, school mailing address, grade(s) taught and the contact information for  the school principal.

    The San Luis Obispo Gem and Mineral Club wants to make a difference in the education of our kids.

     

  • 2023 Show Summary and Info

    2023 Show Summary and Info

    Thanks to everyone who helped make our show last weekend a success. Things were a lot smoother this year. Last year we had ridiculous
    restrictions and limited access to the building due to COVID. Also last year, there was much pent up demand for events after two years of
    cancelations due to the pandemic. This was probably a more normal year. Saturday was busy, but not a madhouse. Sunday was a bit on the slow side. Even so, the dealers seemed happy. Hopefully we will do even better next year by having the show on the later weekend.

    people looking at vendor booths at a gem and mineral show in San Luis Obispo, California
    SLO Gem and Mineral Club’s Gems by the Seas show 2023!

    The displays, demonstrations and volunteer help throughout the show was great. I hope that the folks who showed up to work found it a positive experience. Expenses, like everything else have increased. We continue to purchase supplies to make a better show and those costs also added up. Many of the items we have had to buy for the show are one time purchases and will not be part of the expenses for future shows. Other than a few more work lights to brighten up the admission table there isn’t much else added to the shopping list. When the club had its 2019 show we had only 5 extensions cords and a couple A-frame signs. Now the club has nearly all the needed supplies for the show, plus we have learned a lot about how to put on a show. We have come a long way over three shows.

    A few receipts have yet to be added into the totals, but it appears that we have $3,400 profit from the show. This will cover our operating expenses
    for the coming year and have funds to provide some mini-grants to local K-12 schools.

    I have put in a reservation request to SLO county for the Vets’ Hall for September 27 – 29, 2024. Mark your calendars. Plan your vacations. Let’s aim for 100% member participation in the 2024 show.

    Meanwhile, if you have feedback — good or bad, please feel free to share it. info@slogem.org

    All of our volunteers (and you know who you are) made this show happen. Thank you for all the hard work and looking forward to even more participation next year.

    -Mary Rafferty

  • 2023 Dealer List for Gems By The Sea

    The 2023 Gems By The Sea show will happen in just three more weeks.  We are expecting these two dozen dealers to participate in the show.

    Amber Gifts
    Gem trees, cabs, rocks, jewelry, fossils

    Bruce Autolitano

    Beads Zone
    Semiprecious stone beads and findings

    Elethea & Cliff Brewen
    Jewelry, finished rock, rough rock

    Crystal Monster
    Minerals, fossils, gemstones, beads & jewelry

    Crystal Rapture
    Crystals, quartz, minerals, dream catchers

    Nicolette Deichler

    Diamond Diane Consulting
    Gemstones, some jewelry, appraisals and gem ident servies

    Eloina’s jewelry creations
    Stone jewelry, mineral specimens, UV flashlights

    Rick Hicks
    Specimens, slabs, rough rock, jade, jewelry, supplies

    Jade Coast Jewelry
    Jade jewelry – earrings, pendants, rings — gold & silver

    Joy Discovers
    Tumbled stones, natural crystals, sets of geodes or fossils mostly geared toward children

    Karin Gray
    Jewelry and gem stones

    LaserGlass Art Corporation
    Petrified wood, mineral specimens

    Donnie Moore

    Paradise Jewelry
    Various jewelry, hand made, artifacts

    Mary Rafferty
    Unique faceted gemstones

    Redstone Minerals
    Rocks and fossils

    Rubicon Crystals
    Carvings, towers, rough stone, polished stone, specimens and jewelry

    Rocks & Relic
    Minerals, fossils, meteorites, polished stones, decorator stone items

    Sister Stones
    Gems, minerals, amber, meteorites,fossils,jewelry, beads

    Stone Medicine Design
    Sterling silver & gold jewelry with gemstones

    True West Silver Works
    Cabs, handmade sterling jewelry

    Nancy Valentine
    Jewelry and mineral specimens

  • Classifieds – Faceting Machines For Sale

    Classified – For Sale to support the club, which is a nonprofit focused on earth sciences education.

    Facet Machine – Ultra Tec V2 faceting machine.

    Ultra Tec V2 faceting machine

    Ultra-Tec is still in business in Santa Ana and has a good reputation for customer service. And the Ultra Tec faceting machines are considered to be upper end machines. This machine also has an assortment of accessories, a set of topper cutting laps and a lot of polishing films, plus some other laps (some of which may be suitable only as paper weights). There are a couple of parts which may need to be replaced from the manufacturer unless they turn up in the buckets of rocks we still need to sort before the show. (I found dops and an index wheel mixed in with the rocks. ) Asking $1000 for club members.

    “Seattle” Fac-Ette GemMaster

    “Seattle” Fac-Ette GemMaster

    This machine has a number of laps, an assortment of index wheels, a tool box with some of the smaller accessories such as dops, allen wrenches, wax and so forth. Unlike the portable table models of that era which have a cone drive mechanism, this type has a belt drive and must be mounted as the motor drops down below the base. It has been used for demonstrations in the past for local club shows. (Photo is from one of those events.) Along with Ultra Tec, the Fac- Ette machines are the high end machines and both have scores of cutters who would not consider switching to a different machine. The manufacturer for the GemMaster retired and closed the business, so these machines now only appear on the second hand market. Asking $1500 for club members.