Rock Hounds: Discussions

Do you collect hunt your own specimines? If so do you keep them as specimines or do you cut for jewelry and stuff?

personally I like both specimines and special ones get cut and turned into jewelry when I have time.

I'm hoping to take a trip up to the benitoite mine close to me one of these weekends to dig around up there.

What's near where you all are?

Hi Everyone,
I just signed up for this group today and I am so glad there is a group, I've been reading the posts and have already learned a few things.

I was wondering if any of y'all have ever been to the annual gem show in Tuson that is in the happens the beginning of February? If so, would it be advantageous for someone new to all of this rock hound and lapidary stuff to go to? If so, is it hard to find a hotel room?

I live in Western Kentucky and there aren't any places close to go rock hunting. I don't even know if Kentucky has any indigenous rocks or gems. If anyone knows this please let me know. I got started with all of this watching Cash and Treasures on the Travel Channel. I've been on disability for almost 10 years now because of a very rare hereditary disorder I have and thought that it would be a good hobby for me to start.

I was also wondering if anyone had ever been to Hiddenite, North Carolina to search for the emeralds and other gem stones they have there? If so, did you find any? Also, has anyone been to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, if so did you find any diamonds there?

Those two places are close enough for me to drive to that I could go and spend a long weekend hunting. If anyone knows of anywhere else that's not to far from me to go, if you would please let me know I would be forever grateful. About the only thing to go hunting around here is for arrowheads, which I've done and have found a few.

To all of you that read this, Thanks.
Bea

P.S. Sorry for the double post, I screwed up somewhere.

Before I was even in kindergarten I loved rocks. My grandpa Art picked up rocks on his Iowa farm such as agates and Indian artifacts. He had a big tree in his front yard surrounded with rocks he collected in Iowa, California, etc. Sometimes he'd let me pick one out of the pile for me to keep. First he'd explain what kind of rock it was and where he got it from. I still have geodes, petrified wood, agates, arrowheads, etc. that he gave me.

In first grade my teacher gave me a hammer to crack open rocks during recess. I wanted to see sparkles inside of ugly rocks. While growing up I walked along rivers, railroad tracks, gravel roads, farm fields, etc. looking for rocks. During my teenage years I boxed up all my rocks and forgot them for many years.

Finally in my 40's I dug out my rock collection to show my husband. He was amazed at my variety of specimens and encouraged me to display them. Once again I am truly facinated with rocks, minerals, fossils, and Indian artifacts. During a week's vacation I got on EBAY and bought lots of beautiful mineral specimens. I got hooked and I can't stop. An extra bedroom has now become my nature room as I call it. I've displayed all my specimens on the walls, on shelves, and on the floor. I hung pictures that I took all over the country of mountains, sunsets, waterfalls, fjords, and the Statue of Liberty to compliment my display specimens.

Now I have gotten my niece, Megan to appreciate rock collecting. I've given her some of my specimens to start her collection. Neighbor kids from my block love to come over and look at my collection. Getting children involved in natural formations on this earth is wonderful.

Get the passion flowing in others for God's wonders. Teach others what this Earth has to offer. That is my story...Now tell yours!

I found a stone: Translucent, beige and big (approximately 2" by 1 1/2"). The 1st person that looked at it told me it was quartz and the next told me it was harder than quartz and suggested it might be topaz. After having a few tests done at a gemologists it was determined to have an RI of 1.6+ and that it was flourescent. Just the other day another person suggested it might be "champange topaz".
I found it west of Yuma, AZ, east of the Imperial Dunes in SW California, and just north of the Mexican border.
Any ideas of what it is or where I might have an analysis done?

Check this listing out I've bought his rough before it's really good, I'm bidding but not that hight like 5 something, I normally wouldn't post on something I'm bidding on but I have close to 4 pounds of boulder opal rough right now. There is another place I'm bidding on (other type stones) I will post the link when the auctions I'm bidding on end and I get the rocks, don't know that person yet. Too hot here to work my rocks much right now, it was 106 yesterday! Oh here's the link-

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=350065466925&ssPageName=STRK:MEBI:IT&ih=022

super nice guy.
Thanks homey's from the hood

Hey...I am looking for a site where I can purchase cutting and faceting tools online. Does anyone have suggestions? Living here in Atlanta I get up to North Georgia where I have found great emeralds that have been faceted, rubies, citrine, moonstone, large sapphires, smokey quartz, etc..and it's expensive to have someone else do the work.

I'm new to this neighborhood, but I've been selling beach stones for rock polishing on ebay for three years. I literally collect them one-by-one off beaches in the Puget Sound of Washinton state. The rocks are very colorful: yellow, green, red, peach, orange, plum, lavender. Many are mottled, marbled and veined. They are stunning when polished. I'm not a rock expert, but I have a rock polisher, and I have good eye for what will polish.