Strata Gem

May 2002

 

President’s Message

 

We had a really nice meeting, our members are back from Quartzsite.

We have received just about all of our contracts from our dealers, and the demonstrators are all set.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on our next field trip.

Try to think of some new ideas for craft day. We always have such great wheel prizes.

Spring is in the air I hope, I know everyone will be busy in their yards. So don't over do and get hurt. Watch your backs, be very careful. I hope everyone is in good health.

I would like to thank the club for the fruit basket and the members who took the time to visit, send plants and bring me lunch. I am very lucky to have good friends.

 

Always remember to enjoy life's journey,

but leave no tracks.

 

Donna M. Chavez

President

 

Tooele Gem And Mineral Minutes

Tooele Senior Citizens Center

April 9, 2002

 

The meeting was called to order by president Donna Chavez every one was welcomed.  The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved.  The treasurer report was read and approved.

We were glad to see most of the snowbirds were at the meeting.  Dennis reported on the club newsletter competition, the Strata placed in the competition, two articles also placed, Dennis asked every one to write an article for the newsletter.

 Janet brought a sample of the orange ribbing for our vests, Ardith said that she could use it, so far we have about six people who want a vest.  It was decided to order the patches, the club gave Mat the option of getting twelve patches or getting twenty four if we can get a price break on the larger quantity.

Jay asked the members to save the one- half pound margarine containers Melva wants them to make prizes.  Jay talked to Shubert about getting permission for the club to collect iron pyrite on the mine dumps up Ophir canyon. He said it would be ok, the club decided to go to Ophir for iron pyrite on May 18th this will be a day trip, we will meet at the intersection of SR73 and Ophir canyon road.  We talked about getting new lightweight tables, we are still looking for the best price we can get.

We have all the show dealers’ contracts back except for one, we have our demonstrators selected. Mary Helen will bring the treats next month.  Jay checked the grab bags we have about1500, filled and ready to go. We also have about fifteen hundred bags that we can fill, we decided to have some more bags sewed, Jane will do it for 10 cents each.  Leona got the club a bunch of tumbled stone to use.  Dennis will explain all about different ways of casting silver at our next meeting, he will also set up a class later so we can learn how to do it.  Mickey Miller won the door prize.  The meeting was adjourned.

 

Minutes submitted by

Larry Wilson

Secretary 

 

Members New

 

Address Correction:

 

 

Get Well Soon:

I hope I have everyone. Phil Salm is in the hospital with back problems. Jay Wood had or is having eye surgery. We wish them a speedy recovery.

 

Field Trip:

May 18 for Pyrite in Ophir. Details on page 6.

 

May Meeting Program:

Talk about Direct Casting (silver casting using - salt, bean & broom). I have had a VERY hectic month, Hopefully I will have some examples by the meeting. If you would like to preview what I will be talking about, you can find how to articles at www.utahrockhounds.com & click on projects.

 

Direct Casting Class:

I haven’t had a chance to set up a place to hold the class, but I hope to have it on May 25^th at 10:00 AM. The demo will last about an hour, if you wish to try it you need your own silver (about ½ to 1 oz.) or if you wish to buy some I can pick it up for you. If you wish to attend call me at 801-968-3766 or toll free (877) 386-1941 & let me know if you will need silver.

May Fieldtrip

Pyrite in Ophir

 

Jay Wood has received permission to go on the Ophir tailings to collect pyrite. We will be going on May 18 at 10:00 AM and meet at the State Road 73 and the turn off to the mine. If you plan on going, you may want to contact the club so we can contact you if there are any changes.

Directions from Tooele: South on Vine St. & Main in Tooele, go approximately 12 miles and turn left on SR 73. Go approx. 4.5 miles to Ophir Canyon RD. We will meet on the SR 73 and the road up to Ophir (just up road, 40 foot across the cattle guard there is a place to pull off the road). If you are late the town of Ophir is another 4 miles up the road.

Gem Show Calendar

 

If you know of any events coming up, PLEASE let me know as soon as possible. If anything is wrong PLEASE let me know as soon as possible.

 

May 11-12 Grand Junction Gem & Mineral Club Show, Two Rivers Convention Center, 1st and Main, Grand Junction, CO

 

May 11-12 Reno Gem & Mineral Society Show, Reno Livestock - Events Center Exhibit Hall, 1350 N. Wells Ave., Reno, NV

 

May 25-26 White Mountain Gem & Mineral Club Show, Blue Ridge High School, 1200 W. White Mountain Blvd., Lakeside, AZ

 

June 8, 9 Natrona County Rockhounds Club Show, Parkway Plaza Hotel & Convention Center, Casper, WY.

 

June 15-16 North Idaho Mineral Club, Kootenai Co. Fairgrounds Government Way & Kathleen Coeur d'Alene, ID

 

June 20-23 Mile High Rock & Mineral Society Show, Sears Court, Westminster Mall, 88th & Sheridan, Westminster, CO

 

June 22-23 The Natrona County Rockhounds Club Show, Parkway Plaza Hotel and Convention Center, Casper, WY

 

Aug 9-11 Contin-Tail Show, Buena Vista Fairgrounds, Buena Vista, CO.

 

Aug 31- Sept. 2 The Grant County Gem & Mineral Society Show, Silver City Recreation Center, 1016 North Silver St., Silver City, NM.

 

Sept. 13-15 Denver Gem & Mineral Show, sponsored by the Greater Denver Area Gem & Mineral Council, Denver Merchandise Mart Expo Hall, 451 East 58th Ave., Denver, CO.

 

Sept. 27-29 Tooele Gem & Mineral Show, Tooele City Recreation Complex, 400 W. 400 N., Tooele, UT.

 

Oct. 11-13 The Huachuca Mineral and Gem Club Show, Oscar Yrun Community Center, Sierra Vista, AZ

 

Oct. 19-20 Hells Canyon Gem Club Inc. Show, Nez Perce County Fairgrounds 1229 Burrell Lewiston. ID

 

Oct. 19-20 Chaparral Rockhounds Show, 500 South Richardson Roswell, NM

 

Nov. 9-10 Lake Havasu Gem and Mineral Society Show, Lake Havasu City Community Center, 100 Park Ave, Lake Havasu City, AZ

 

Club Calendar

 

·   May. 14 Monthly Meeting 7:30 PM. Discussion on direct casting. There will be a class if there is enough interest.

·   May 18 Ophir Fieldtrip - Pyrite

·   May 25 Direct Casting Class, call Dennis Chapman if you want take the class (see page 2).

·   June. 1 Organize rocks for Grab Bag Fill.

·   Jun. 8 Grab Bag Fill/Meeting 9:00 AM. at Jay's House.

·   No Meeting In July 

·   Aug. 17 Monthly Meeting Held In Conjunction With Annual Crafts Day & Steak Fry. Location: Pavilion in Settlement Canyon.

·   Sep. 10 Monthly Meeting 7:30 PM. 

Dec. Christmas Party, (date pending).

How To Price Your

Handmade Jewelry

By Cindy Bernnan, Arlington Gem & Mineral Club

 

As an appraiser of jewelry and gemstones, I am called upon daily to analyze the values of a wide range of items, for an unending variety of reasons. I thought it would be helpful to the AGMC members to know how the process works, as an aid for establishing value for their won jewelry creations.

Whenever anyone asks me to tell them “What’s this worth?” If only there were a “one-size-firs-all” value, my life would be much simpler, my library much smaller, and I wouldn’t ask “Why?” The market place is a wide and varied forum for the buying and selling of goods, and many purposes, relationships, and circumstances can influence the value dramatically.

For example, let’s imagine a beautiful, high quality, handcrafted sterling silver pendant set with a rare pietersite. The piece is gleaming and polished, displayed all by itself in a dramatically lit case, in an exclusive galley in the mountains. The staff is expertly trained and caters to an upscale clientele. Upon purchase, the pendant is put into a velvet box, and polishing cloth tucked into the signature bag along with it. The salesperson gives the customer a statement of replacement for insurance purposes and instructions on how to return the piece if it ever needs repair. The price tag of this pietersite pedant? $300? $500? More?

Same pendant, different circumstances. Imagine the same piece of jewelry, but now it is tarnished, scratched, thrown into a shoebox, dumped on a table in the yard next to an eggbeater and an old pair of bowling shoes. Now how much is the price tag on this pendant? $3? “Would you take a buck for that, lady?”

These are two widely different markets, and two common markets where jewelry is sold at retail. Retail, by the way, is simply a descriptive term of a particular type of transaction, an item sold to the end consumer, not for resale. Retail is not a price! In the first instance, the retail price is influenced by added value—the prestige, the box, the warranty, the knowledgeable staff; in the second example, value has been subtracted—the piece is selling far below the intrinsic value of the materials.

For most of us, pricing our jewelry will fall somewhere in between these two extremes. (If you’re planning a garage sale, though, let me know.) When pricing your jewelry, think first in terms of a retail transaction, the highest level of the market you can claim. Think: ADDED VALUE. I know you would like a simple formula, but I’m not going to do that.

Instead, I’m going to send you shopping. Keep a notebook and record the retail prices you see on silver jewelry. Some of it is handmade; some of it is not. Some of it is made in countries where labor is very inexpensive. Keep catalogs, clip out pictures. Go to museum gift shop, Neiman Marc us, Service Merchandise, art fairs, the Internet—and collect data. It is important to write it down, with your observations: “6/10/99 Art fair, low grade lapis cab about 14 x10, in thin gauge silver, sloppy bezel, $25, huge inventory of them” or “7/3/99, Neimans, David Uyrman sterling cable bracelet, amethyst cabs with 14K trim, $1200.”

This gives you an important feel for the market. What sells where and for what price. As you look at this jewelry, ask yourself how your creations differ. Is your quality better than what you’re seeing? Heavier gauge? How does yours measure up to really expensive, commercially produced jewelry? Are your ideas more creative than most? Do you do production pieces, or are each of your pieces one of a king? What kind of guarantee will you offer?

What is your unique vision worth? You’ve got something else in there besides raw material—your time and your talent. Consider the investment you’ve made in equipment and education. Bringing your jewelry to the market also has a cost—advertising, phone, rent.

The moment of truth arrives. One of your acquaintances admires the pietersite pendant (or bolo) around you neck. “You made that?!!? Can you make me one too?” “Sure,” you say. “How much is it?” she asks. You tell her the price readily, with confidence. She gasps. You tell hew how reasonable it is for handmade work, how many hours it took you, how you cut the stone yourself from rough you had shipped directly from the mines, etc. But whatever you do, don’t waffle and cut the price. Your work is worth every penny you’re asking! Be creative is you have to (“OK, $50 cash and 20 jars of your homemade strawberry jam”), but don’t sell yourself short.

There are, of course, other types of transactions that may require different kinds of pricing strategies. In the preceding example, your customer wanted one pendant for herself. If she wants to commission you to make five for her daughters, use a discount with discretion. Remember, she is the end consumer of your product and, as such, she is the highest level of the market for you. That is terrific!

But suppose she says, “Say, I like your jewelry. I’m opening an art gallery and I’d love to feature your work.” Now you need to decide whether you would like to sell on a wholesale basis or offer your work on consignment.

A wholesale transaction is simply a purchase made for resale. Like retail, it is not descriptive of a price. WHOLESALE IS NOT A PRICE! What is confusing is that wholesale prices are generally less than retail prices, but NOT ALWAYS! For example, I recently bought a couple of pieces of ulexite for the kids at the AGMC Show, about $1.00 each. A few weeks later, I saw a “close-out” at a retail craft store. Five pieces of ulexite for $1. I also know where I can buy ulexite from a dealer who sells only wholesale accounts at $3.50 each.

The advantage of selling wholesale is twofold. First, your wholesale customer buys a larger dollar amount or quantity of items to qualify for the substantial price reduction (usually half or more of the retail price). Most wholesale suppliers set a minimum purchase for establishing an account. Second, and ongoing and mutually profitable relationship frees you to make more jewelry instead of interacting with the public. That is also terrific!

If you choose to do consignments, my advice is to find the middle ground between your wholesale and retail price. Leave room for the consignor to make some money, but let them know that they’ll get a better price if they purchase outright from you. Have your price structure prepared in advance. There are more risks for you in a consignment sale. Get everything in writing! State clearly what your terms are and that the receipt is NOT a bill of sale. Specify the date of return. Ask for references if you are unsure. Consignment may be a good way to “test the waters,” to see how well your jewelry sells in that venue, and what retail prices can be supported.

One more thing in closing: You’re probably wondering how to price your jewelry to your friends, family, and fellow AGMC members. Using your established retail price, you can always give a “professional courtesy” or “friends and family” discount. But don’t call it wholesale.

 

From The Rockhound Gazette, 3/02

Via Osage Hills Gems 4/02

Kids Corner

Going Huntin’

By Kristen Regehr, Junior Member

 

A huntin’ we will go, a huntin’ we will go, I hope to find a pretty stone, a huntin’ we will go.

Hi. My name is Kristin Regehr. I am a member of the Young Pioneers 4-H Club. This is my third year in 4-H and this will be my third year in the geology project.

Today I want to tell you how you can have a safe, fun, and productive rock-hunting trip. A good thing about rock hunting is that the season is always open. I have been rock hunting when it was over 100 degrees and during this last Christmas vacation, I went rock hunting when it was 12 degrees when I got up. Brr! But, you never know when you will find that special specimen that makes it worth all the heat or cold. One of my favorite specimens is a pyrite specimen that I found on a cold, muddy day in March.

The first thing you need for your hunting trip is to be sure that you have permission to go out to the area where you want to hunt. If it is private land, talk to the owner to ask permission, make sure you don’t leave any trash, leave gates and fences the way you found them, and then sent the owner a thank you note. If you are on public land, like a state park, you may need to buy a permit or have special permission to rock hunt along roadways.

The next thing is to make sure you are dressed for the occasion. If it is cold, dress with lots of layers. I was dressed warm on our Christmas outing, but I had so much on I could hardly move! When it is warm out, be sure to wear sunscreen and wear a hat. Speaking from experience, it is NOT a good idea to wear shorts when you are rock hunting! There are too many scratchy weeds and bushes! Wearing jeans will not only keep you from getting scratched up but it can help keep ticks from getting on you. Long sleeved shirts will help with this also. You should spray your clothes with an insect repellent to keep ticks and mosquitoes away. I like to wear some slip on boots because it seems that many times you are hunting where it may be wet.

Once you get to the collection site, having some tools can help make your trip more successful. You will need a bucket or some type of large container you can carry larger specimens in. You will also need some zip lock bags and small containers like film canisters for small specimens. A rock hammer and screw driver are useful for digging specimens out of the ground or breaking off a piece of a larger rock. Be sure to ware safety goggles anytime you are striking with the hammer to keep small pieces of rock from hitting your eyes.

 

Some basic safety rules are also necessary for a good rock-hunting trip.

1)   Always be careful when crossing or hunting alongside a road. You or someone in your party should be wearing orange safety vests when hunting along side a busy road.

2)   If you are hunting in an area that is steep, be careful that you don’t knock rocks down on top of someone that may be below you.

3)   When raising a large rock, lift it up away from you so that all the snakes and scorpions will crawl away from you rather than up your leg.

4)   Make sure you have plenty of water to drink. And finally

5)   Don’t wander off too far from your group. Some of the hunting areas get rugged and you need to be able to stay in contact with the rest of your group.

 

Once you have collected some specimens, the sooner you identify them the better. Many times the leaders are knowledgeable about the specimens in the area and they can help you identify what you found. If possible, it is good to know ahead of time what you are looking for. A manual like the one provided on the State Geology trip can be very useful in trying to find good specimens.

Going on a rock-hunting trip can be great fun. You get to go to areas that are really beautiful that you might not get to go to otherwise. You get to go with other people who don’t mind whether it is 100 degrees or 20 degrees. And you never know when you may find the best rock ever!

Finally, the most important piece of advice to remember for a successful rock-hunting trip is this

GO TO THE BATHROOM FIRST!!!

 

Thank you. Are there any questions?

 

RESOURCES:

·   Jones, Harold E. Exploring the World Through Geology, Feb 1971, Cooperative Extension Service, Kansas State University.

·   McPherson County 4-H Project Leaders for Geology

·   Personal Rock Hunting Experiences

 

From RMFMS, 4/02, via the February 2002 edition of the Post Rock, the publication of the McPherson Gem & Mineral Club, McPherson, KS

Via Osage Hills Gems 4/02

How About a Hug?

 

A hug a day increases the heart rate and circulation and aids in an all-around feeling of being “O.K.” It is a long established tradition that we need (4)hugs a day for survival, (8) hugs a day for maintenance and (12) hugs a day for growth!

 

From Outcroppings 12/01 & 1/02

Via Golden Spike News 2/02

Sick Meteorites

By Bill Cordua, University of Wisconsin, River Falls

 

Meteorites have broken off asteroids, whirled through space for billions of years, survived a fiery passage through the earth’s atmosphere and bashed into the planet’s surface. After this turbulent history, on would not expect these meteorites would meet one of their greatest dangers residing in a cabinet in a museum. Yet it is here that they “catch” the dreaded “lawrencite disease” Once caught, the meteorite turns rusty, exudes green or brown goo and eventually falls to pieces. Only an air-tight sealing in dry nitrogen gas seems to hold off final destruction. These meteorites need to be on life support!

Of course “lawrencite disease” is not a biological condition like human diseases and it is definitely not catching! It is a kind of chemical weathering that afflicts meteorites that contain the mineral lawrencite. Lawrencite is iron chloride (F_eC₁₂). It is a soft green to brown hexagonal mineral that forms small masses or coatings along the boundaries between the iron-nickel alloy minerals (such as taenite and kamacite) that make up the bulk of iron meteorites. The taenite and kamacite are what show up as the brightly shining tabular crystals seen on polished iron meteorite surfaces. The lawrencite films along the grain boundaries don’t often show up on these polished surfaces, at least not at first. They will soon make their presence known as the meteorite is exposed to air and water

Lawrencite shows a property called "deliquescence” This means it absorbs water from the air and liquefies. The liquefaction produces the brown to green gooey sludge which begins to form around the shiny metallic alloys. This sludge consists of iron oxides plus hydrochloric acid, which attacks the other iron minerals, making more sludge and so forth. Eventually the affected areas spread, wedge apart and alter the other minerals and eventually reduce the meteorite sample to a pile of rusty debris. There is no cure - short of sealing the meteorite away.

A meteorite type called pallasite is particularly vulnerable to these conditions. These meteorites contain deep green clear olivine crystals set in a matrix of nickel-iron alloys. Slabbed and polished samples of pallasites are beautiful and expensive. However, if the lawrencite disease strikes, the sample deteriorates rapidly, with the olivine crystals falling out as the alloys rust away Always look for incipient rusty or gooey areas along grain boundaries before buying one of these!

So it goes with meteorites foolish enough to leave the safety of pure space for the impure chemical soup we lovingly call our earth’s environment.

 

References:

·   Norton, 0. Richard, Rocks from Space, Mountain Publishing Co.

·   Palache, C., H. Berman and C. Frondell, 1951, Dana ‘s System of Mineralogy, 7th edition, vol. 1 and 1i, John Wiley Publishers. New York

 

Via http//www uwrf.edu/~wc0l/leaverite.html, 9/10/01

from Leavente News, 1995, (Seen in The Tumbler 1/02.)

Via Hy Grader 2/02