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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

K. Kish OGMS Editor

P.O. Box 246 Oxnard, Ca.

93032

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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

The Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society is a non-profit organization formed to increase our knowledge in geology,

mineralogy and other such related fields in the earth sciences. We classify, cut, grind and polish rocks and minerals for

our personal collections and to display at club shows. We learn from each other through club speakers, programs and

monthly fieldtrips. We co-operate with other clubs to encourage others to participate in our activity.

The Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society is a member of the State of California Federation of Mineralogical Society and the

National Federation of Mineralogical Society.

Meeting held: 1st Wednesday of each month at 7:30 P.M. Potlucks: 6:30 P.M.

Pebble Pups meet each month at 6:00 P.M. prior to the meeting

Place: Performing Arts Center, 800 Hobson Way, Oxnard, CA (Thousand Oaks Room)

Dues: $15.00 per adult; $2.00 per junior member (age 12 to 18 years)

OGMS Officers for 2016 President Donna Knapton

1st Vice President (Program) Louisa Carey / Jean pSmith (co-chair) 2nd Vice President (Show) Diane Cook

3rd Vice President (Field trips) Bob Driskell, Larry Knapton, Adrian Ruiz, Carolyn Howe (co-chair)

Recording Secretary Laura Driskell

Treasurer Miriam Tetreault, Stephanie Hagiwara (co-chair)

Appointed Officers Corresponding Secretary Laura Driskell

e-mail:info@oxnardgem.com

Displays/Exhibits Open

Editor Karen Kish

e-mail:info@oxnardgem.com Education Director Donna Knapton

e-mail:info:@oxnard.com

Federation Director Louisa Carey

Historian open Hospitality Candy Marshall, Janice Albertsen

Librarian Carolyn Howe

Member at Large Adrian Ruiz

Membership Secretary Carolyn Howe

Public Relations Norb Tackman

Parliamentarian

Pebble Pups

Laura Driskell

Louisa Carey

Refreshments Scholarships

Candy Marshall, Laura Driskell Kay Hara

Sergeant at Arms Bob Driskell

Ways & Means

Webmaster

2016 Show Officers

Chair

Publicity Exhibitors

Vendors

Larry Knapton

Stephanie Hagiwara

Diane Cook

Open Open

Miriam Tetreault

Classes: Silversmithing & Casting: Nancy Bogart, Jean p-Smith

Lapidary, Opal & Wirewrap: Kay Hara, Brett Johnson

Location: Durley Park, 950 West Hill Street, Oxnard, CA 93030

Editor: All members are encouraged to offer an article of interest or any suggestions as to what their interests

are and what they’d like to see in the Rock Bag. Remember it is your bulletin! Articles can be submitted by

an e-mail attachment or in writing by the 3rd Wednesday of the month. Thanks, Editor

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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

President’s Message

Hello, Everyone!

Just back a couple of days from the big Agate show in Wisconsin. We saw some beautiful agates. They had the best of the Lake Superior, Fairburn, Dryheads, Patigonian and Mexican agates, the most fabulous agates from all over the world! They were beautiful to see, but I was left with the same feeling as I have had the last few years at Tucson. The days of improving your collections with the bargains at big shows are getting fewer and farther apart. The excellent agates that would fit in a perky box (1 in X 1 in X 1 in) were hundreds of dollars. A nice looking one, 2 X 3 inchs, was from $400 to $1000. Up until about 10 years ago you would go to Tucson to pick up two or three nice new specimens from exotic places you weren’t likely to make it to, for your collection. The cost now is so prohibitive; you go to shows to LOOK at the beautiful minerals. It looks to me like the BIG Dealers are buying to sell to other BIG dealers who keep a specimen a couple of years, then sell to another BIG dealer (at a profit of course). There are still some reasonable materials out there—but you have to look hard and be on your toes now. An alternative is to be alert at our local shows and silent auctions. I saw an excellent piece of Dinosaur bone, red, yellow, and green in one piece, sell at a LuNeal auction not long ago for less than $10. We saw a very comparable (maybe not as good) on the trip for $850. Adrian got a dino coprolite at the last auction for less than $10, and on the trip $60.min. Jim B.T. bought a full cycad bulb that had been through 2 auctions with no bids for $100 that could easily sell for $1000 on the internet. Use our local shows and auctions to your advantage! Or better yet—go on a field trip and get your own!!!

Program for the August Meeting:

“A Country Fair with Open Air”

There will NOT be a general meeting at the Performing Arts Center in Oxnard.

Instead Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016, Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society will be joining the fun

at opening day of the Ventura County Fair.

If you would like to volunteer to help in the Gem & Mineral building for 4 hours you get a

free fair ticket. The help is needed and very rewarding. It consists of making sure people

don’t bring drinks and food in, keeping the glass clean and sharing the love of our hobby

with kids and adults. Some that may be seeing gems and fossils up close for the first time.

Please contact Superintendent-Diane Cook (805)-648- 3376 x 173 or (805)-889- 1209 or

myself to get on the list. Reserve your time slot now and then stay to check out all the

other wonderful things the fair has to offer.

Rocks Rock,

Louisa May Carey

VP-OGMS

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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

August Pebble Pups Program Calling all Pebble Pups!

If you are not at the opening day of the Ventura County Fair Wednesday Aug. 3rd 2016 we

would love to have you come to Pebble Pups and make some new friends and some rock animals

using all kinds of fun material including googly eyes.

Newcomers always welcome and never go home empty handed.

The meeting will be held in the Thousand Oaks room of the Oxnard Performing Arts

Convention Center (800 Hobson Way, Oxnard) the first Wednesday of the month at 6:00pm

Rocks ROCK!

Louisa

Field Trips

AUG 3 OGMS Ventura County Fair Night (OGMS) Wed 8 AM · Hosted by Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Field Trips

Oxnard, California 93030

SEP16 Greenhorn Mountain OGMS) Sep 16 - Sep 18 · 2 guests

Frog Meadow Campground

Oxnard Show Update

Hi Everyone – just an update on our 2016 Show – the Show dates will be November 19 & 20, 2016 with set up on

Friday, November 18th. Our theme this year will be Feldspar – highlighting Labradorite and Amazonite. There

are still some positions that need to be filled, so please if you are interested in volunteering and helping the club

with our Annual Show, please contact me.

Diane Cook (805) 647-8517 or johndianedaisy@yahoo.com Thank you.

Is it Hard or Tough? The terms “hardness” and “toughness” are sometimes confused when comparing qualities of gemstones, and

there is a great deal of difference. Diamond is by far and away the hardest, for it will scratch, cut, or polish

any other stone. But for toughness (resistance to chipping and breaking), jade has it beat by a country mile.

A diamond will easily cut and scratch jade, but a jade hammer can crush diamond to powder. The cross-

matted structure of jade makes it almost impossible to break. Never fear if you accidentally drop a solid jade

cabochon on cement. If it breaks, better check it, it’s probably not jade. The Chinese used jade as an anvil

just as we use steel; sometimes the same anvil was used for several generations. Jade, used for axes and

hammer-like tools centuries ago, was a practical, useful, and highly valued material. From Mineral Mite,

6/00; via The Conglomerate 10/15, via The Backbender’s Gazette 1/16, via WGMS 2016-04, via Delvings

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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

2016 VENTURA COUNTY FAIR

AUGUST 3 – AUGUST 14, 2016

Fair theme: A Country Fair with Ocean Air

GEMS & MINERALS DEPARTMENT Superintendent – Diane Cook

(805) 889-1209 or (805) 648-3376 x 173 gemsandhobbies@venturacountyfair.org

Entry Guides are on the fair website: www.venturacountyfair.org Click 2016 Fair, then up on top drop down menu, click on Fair Entry Guides, then scrow down to Gems & Minerals Entry Guide – there you will find all the classes and rules for your entries. Single specimens, cases, jewelry, beading, silver smithing, a Division and Class for everyone! Share with

the public the great treasures we all enjoy.

Fair cases and spaces for personal cases are limited. Please call for reservation of space or case between June 4 and June 20, 2016 to Diane Cook at (805) 889-1209 between the hours of 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM. No one is guaranteed a space or case without confirmation from Diane Cook, Superintendent.

Class Notice

Sept.16 -18

2016 CFMS Show & Convention, hosted by El Dorado County Mineral & Gem Society, County Fairgrounds, 100

Placerville Drive, Placerville, CA.

Show Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily

Show Site:

www.cfms2016show.com Map/Directions

CFMS Schedule, Saturday, Sept. 17; all in Marshall

Bldg: Breakfast with Editors & Webmasters - starts 7:30 a.m.

Directors Meeting follows Breakfast at same location.

Banquet: Happy Hour 6:00 p.m. / Dinner 7:00 p.m.

All Registration Forms are posted on the SHOW WEB

SITE(all are due by Aug 1). Site also has a link to Lodging.

Book early!

info@eldoradomineralandgem.org or telephone (530) 676 – 2472 California Federation of Mineralogical Societies

00

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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

Tips from Brett

SHEET & WIRE STORAGE The more you work with jewelry, the more problems you have finding the piece of metal you need. My pieces of sheet were generally stored in various plastic bags, and the wire was in separate coils. Few were marked, so it often took me a while to locate that piece of 26 gage fine sheet I bought last year, especially since I usually take my supplies back and forth to classes. A tip from a friend helped me organize everything. I bought an expanding file folder from the office supplies store (the kind that has 13 slots and a folding cover) and marked the tabs for each gauge of metal I use. Then I marked all my pieces of sheet with their gauge, put them in plastic bags, marked the gauge on the bag, and popped them into the folder. I usually store coils of wire loose in the folder, but they can also be bagged if you prefer. I use one tab for bezel wire and one for the odd, miscellaneous items. The resulting folder is really convenient when I want to take my metal out to a class or workshop, and it's colorful enough for me to easily find in the clutter of the shop!

------------ LITTLE BALLS I often use little balls of silver and gold as accent pieces on my designs. They can be made as needed from pieces of scrap. Cut the scrap into little pieces, put them on a solder pad and melt them with a torch. Then throw the balls into a small cup of pickle. If you need to make all the balls the same size, you need the same amount of metal to melt each time. The best way to do that is to clip equal lengths of wire. But there's an easier way to get a good supply of balls. Some casting grain comes in near perfect ball form. Just grab your tweezers and pick out the ones you need. When you need larger quantities of balls, pour the casting grain out onto a baking pan, tilt the pan a bit, and let all the round pieces roll to the bottom. Bag the good ones, and pour the rest back into your bag for casting. Balls can be sorted into different sizes using multiple screens.

========================================= "Bench Tips for Jewelry Making" and "Broom Casting for Creative Jewelry" are available on Amazon

Top story

Bottom story Bottom story

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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

CFMS Earth Science Study Camps

CFMS offers opportunities to learn lapidary and jewelry-making techniques.

Camp Paradise is located in Northern California's Plumas National Forest near Clipper Mills

2016 Camp Paradise Week 1: August 28 - September 3

Week 2: September 4 - 10

APPLICATION

Blast to the Past

Harris House “Fieldtrip” Jan 2009

Some recognized Ray Ramirez,

Lowell Foster, Jim Brace- Thompson,

one of the Boulch Brothers

Bishop Garnets Fieldtrip April 2008—

Lee Leighton

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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

Minutes

Minutes of the July 13, 2016 OGMS Board Meeting

Call to order, 7:20 pm, Louisa Carey, 1st VP, Presiding. Only five board members attending, a quorum (5 out

of 7).

Motion to accept the minutes from June 2016 Board Meeting, as printed in the Rock Bag, by Miriam

Tetreault, seconded, approved.

Programs: August, VC Fair Field Trip. September, Scottish Agates by Jim and Nancy Brace-Thompson.

Treasurer’s Report: Discussion of bills and deposits. Outstanding checks, two. Motion to pay bills, Carolyn

Howe, seconded, approved.

Field Trips: August 3, VC Fair; September, Rose Quartz; October, Trona and Jade Cove.

Correspondence: Cards from Opal show in November, newsletters and catalogs, etc. Keep members who

have life struggles in your thoughts.

Membership: One new member application, misplaced, need to find it. Need to talk to possible new vendor

for badge quote.

Pebble Pups: Progressing through the badge program. Louisa may be getting some donations from George

Fox, of cut and polished stones to discuss with PP. Will be talking about trilobites for August meeting, for

those PP not attending Fair.

Classes: on break for summer. Members Night passwords went out for the 20th. Classroom open for Fair

entry work on Thursday, if Brett is notified.

Old Business:

1. By-Laws review; the format will be refined and sent out via email for Board Members to read.

New Business:

1. Arts Festival at the PACC, August 12th and 13th. Stephanie can help part of the time. We need to hand

out club brochures and Pebble Pup info, and if anyone wants to demonstrate a skill to interest the

public in classes, they should contact the PACC.

2. Scholarship Committee should consist of members in good standing. Need to review whether all

Committee members are renewed.

Next General Meeting, August 3rd, at the Fairgrounds. Next Board Meeting, August 10th, at the PACC.

Meeting adjourned by Louisa Carey at 7:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Laura Driskell

Recording Secretary, July 29, 2016

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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

Minutes of the July 6, 2016 OGMS General Meeting

Meeting called to order at 6:35 p.m., Louisa Carey, presiding.

Tonight’s program is the Summer Potluck. Pebble Pups and parents attending have been playing Mineral Bingo with

Louisa and winning prizes. The Pups also received some of their badges/certificates from the Prehistoric section they

have been working on, including the wonderful dioramas that are going to be entered into the Ventura County Fair.

Thanks to all the members who brought the wonderful food for the potluck. We had approximately 60 attendees at the

dinner.

Louisa told us about the “Rock Grab Bag Sewing Circle” event, happening at the Driskell home on Wednesday, July

13th, and Sunday the 17th. Anyone with sewing, cutting, or stringing skills is welcome. The program for August is the

Ventura County Fair Field Trip! This has been a fun and educational activity for the past 3 years. By going to the

Fairgrounds and helping out at the Gem & Mineral Pavilion (the Santa Rosa Hall) for 2 or more hours, you can earn a

ticket to enjoy the rest of the Fair! Contact Bob Driskell at www.facebook/OGMSexcursions.com or 805-320-0602. Or,

Superintendent Diane Cook, at 805-340-9026. Diane will leave tickets for you at Will-Call, and you need to check in

with her when you arrive at the Fairgrounds.

No other business was conducted, and the meeting was adjourned at 8.00 p.m., by Louisa Carey.

Respectfully submitted, July 29, 2016

Laura Driskell, Recording Secretary

Rocks via Wikipedia

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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

August Birthstone is Peridot

Via Wikipedia

TIGER EYE HISTORY & FACTS:

First of all, tiger's eye, tigereye, tiger eye and tiger-eye are all accepted ways to write this name. Tiger's Eye is a durable quartz composite with the usual quartz hardness of 7. It begins as the fibrous blue mineral called crocidolite, which is comprised of iron & sodium. Most of us know crocidolite as asbestos. The transformation begins when quartz becomes imbedded between the fibers of crocidolite. This process will result in one of two gemstones. A blue stone is called Hawk's Eye or the golden brown stone called Tiger's Eye. During the process, the asbestos is completely dissolved. But the quartz takes on the fibrous formations and the blue color of crocidolite. This creates the parallel lines within the gem which gives it that ever shifting play of light and movement the stone is so loved for. This is also known as chatoyancy, the gleam that rolls across its surface, much like the eyes of a cat. Even though the iron & sodium dissolve, traces of hydrated oxide of iron deposit between the crocidolite and quartz, creating the golden color that is common to Tiger's Eye. How much of this hydrated mineral is deposited will determine how Golden brown, red, green or blue, Tiger's Eye and Hawk's Eye will be. The rarer blue Hawk's Eye will have only the slightest amounts. The varying amounts of hydrated oxide of iron, actually cause several colors and mixes of color. When the color is a greenish gray, it is called cat's-eye quartz. A golden yellow reflection on a brown stone, is called Tiger's Eye. If the stone is blue gray or bluish, it's known as Hawk's Eye. Redish brown, or mahogany colored stones, are known as bull's-eye or ox-eye. Up until recently tiger eye has been considered to be pseudomorph but new evidence proves otherwise. it has long been thought that the crocidolite fibers were replaced with quartz much like the replacement that happens in petrified wood. New evidence proves this may not be the case and that quartz and the crocidolite co-exist.

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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

Tiger eye has a fibrous structure and in the lapidary shop must be oriented properly to get the chatoyancy and/or the "cats eye" effect. Cuts must be exactly parallel to the length of the fibers to get the full chatoyancy. If the saw cut is perpendicular, or 90% to the fibers, you end up with a lifeless, dark brown to black stone with no chatoyancy or light play at all. Orientation of cutting is critical to getting good chatoyancy and color out of tiger eye. These fibers in Tiger Eye may be up to about two inches long and very thin. Most are only 0.001 millimeters, or 0.000039 inches in diameter and are not always straight making it even harder at times to cut good chatoyant stones. TREATMENTS: In most cases, but not always, red tiger eye is not a natural occurrence. It is usually the result of heating and can be done using the kitchen oven. Here's a basic recipe for heat treating tiger eye. To protect the tiger-eye from thermal shock during heating, cover slabs of ordinary, gold tiger eye in fine clean silica sand, at least 3" all around the slab. Place the metal container in a cold oven and increase the temperature by 50 degrees every hour until it reaches 400 degrees. Then turn the oven off and DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. Allow plenty of time for the container to cool all the way through. (If you heat treat tiger eye to sell BE SURE you let it be known it has been treated, it's only right and it's the law.) The Rockhounder June 2016

California State Mineral

As one might expect, gold is the official state mineral and was so designated in 1965. In the four years following the discovery of gold by James Marshall in January of 1848, California's population swelled from 14,000 to 250,000 people. Miners came from all over the world and extracted 28,280,711 fine ounces of gold from 1850-1859 which would be worth approximately $10,000,000,000 today. Although production is much lower, present day prospectors can still pan for gold in California's streams. Today there is still about 80% of the gold remaining in the gold-fields of California's 'Mother-Lode'. Gold in its purest form has a color of gold-yellow, hence its

name. Gold is a very malleable mineral with a hardness of 2.5; one ounce of gold can be pounded into a sheet so thin that it will cover a football field and you can shine a light through it. It is 19.3 times as heavy as water. It can form crystals that are octahedrons, dodecahedrons, cubes, as well as dendrites and massive. Via Rocky Review 10/13, via M. Teteault

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Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society, Oxnard Ca. August 2016, Volume 54, Issue 5

Poems

The Call of Autumn

I feel the call of autumn days. They beckon me to come;

The blistering heat has disappeared. More tolerant is the sun.

I like to smell the desert sage, And feel the crunch of sand, I like to see the distant hills

And sand dunes close at hand. I like to breathe the clean, crisp air,

Untainted by the works of man. I like to walk on hill and plain,

And gaze as far as eye can span. I like to hunt for desert stones,

Well hidden from a casual stare, And sink my pick into a bank, And feel a geode lying there. I feel the call of autumn days.

I will not answer no. I’ll pack my stuff and load my car,

And to the desert go. Via Rhymes of the Rockhounds

By Charles G. Schwietzer