JJJJJJJJJJJJJJ

GULF COAST MINERAL, FOSSIL & GEM CLUB

P.O. Box 1404; Venice, FL 34284-1404

 

www.mineralfossilgemclubvenicefl.org

NEWSLETTER

VOLUME 7 NUMBER 1 & 2: October-November 2007

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

PURPOSE

     The purpose of our club, organized in 1967, is to foster an interest in minerals, gems, fossils and lapidary arts, to give people with these interests the fellowship with each other and a chance to interact with informative meetings, programs and activities and to present our hobby to the community at our annual show.  We also try to foster an interest with the children of our community and to share our knowledge through programs and displays in the local schools and libraries.

½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½

MEETINGS

     Meetings are held the first Monday of the month, October through May, except as noted below, in the Meeting Room at the Venice Public Library, 300 S. Nokomis Avenue, Venice, FL.

ANNUAL DUES ARE $10 FOR SINGLES OR $15 FOR FAMILIES

 

REGULAR MEETING DATES: 2006-2007 CLUB SEASON

Monday          7:00pm            Oct 1, 2007     Show & Tell: Club Members                                   

Monday          7:00pm            Nov 5, 2007    Speaker: Herbert Knodel—Amber

Monday          5:30pm            Dec 3, 2007    Dinner Meeting, Gift Exchange                               

Monday          7:00pm            Jan 7, 2008     Discuss Show; Speaker:

Wednesday 7:00pm            Feb 6, 2008     Silent Auction; Display:

Monday          6:30pm            Mar 3, 2008    Speaker:

Monday          7:00pm            Apr 7, 2008     Speaker:

Monday          6:30pm            May 5, 2008   Dinner Meeting; Speaker:

       

CLUB SHOW January 26 & 27, 2008; Sat. 10am to 5pm; Sun. 10am to 4pm

 

CLUB OFFICERS

President and Liaison with AFMS: Allen Brown (941) 926-4171; allen_brown19467@msn.com

Past President: & Newsletter Editor: Geraldine Vest (941) 408-1711; Gvest201@yahoo.com

Vice President: Ursula Jablonski, (941) 484-9956; ujjablonski@comcast.net

Secretary: Barbara Walker (941) 488-1302              

Treasurer: Tom Granata (941) 484-1533 sunshine5585@earthlink.net

Assistant Treasurer: open

Webmaster: Duane Daniell (941) (941) 375-8858 duanedaniell@yahoo.com

Educational Committee: G. Vest, T. J. Granata, R. G. Campbell (813) 754-6987 rareearthmaster2021@yahoo.com

Senior Trustee: Tom Ladd (941) 755-6428

Senior Trustee and Show Chairman: Ralph Marble, (941) 922-2135 marblesgems@verizon.net

Trustee: Gifford Smith (941) 698-0183 gif@gls3c.com

Trustee: John Mort (941) 794-2185 mayjohn008@aol.com

Trustee: Meyer, Katrina: (941) 484-1435 wiredwonders@yahoo.com

GULF COAST MINERAL, FOSSIL AND GEM CLUB

 

9ÝRö(²z©Ofb†‰Š‹Žvõº¸µL²¯Èñå"â‡poj@(Q—h

FIRST MEETING—MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2007 AT 7:00PM—The Meeting Room at the Venice Public Library, 300 S. Nokomis Avenue, Venice FL.  This is our annual WELCOME BACK and “SHOW & TELL” meeting.  If you were fortunate enough to find an interesting new rock, mineral or fossil—share your joy with other club members.  If you purchased any faceted gemstones, new cabs, or made finished jewelry, show them to us.  If you visited any interesting places (or your kids and grandkids) and took pictures—bring them.  To the dealers in our club—if any new materials are on the market bring some if you have any or tell us about them.      If anyone has gems, mineral, fossils or jewelry for sale, please bring it—we can set up a table. REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED—Cold drinks and “home made” goodies will be supplied by the club officers for the October meeting.

 

PLEASE BRING ITEMS FOR THE OCTOBER RAFFLE

 

SECOND MEETING—MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2007 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM SPEAKER: Herbert Knodel TITLE: Amber   REFRESHMENTS will be served—Cold drinks will be supplied by the club and “home made” goodies will be supplied by those volunteering at the October meeting.

 

 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

MESSAGE FROM YOUR TREASURER

 

œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ

MESSAGE FROM THE OUTGOING PRESIDENT: GERALDINE VEST

     If you missed the May meeting, you missed elections.  Allen Brown was elected president and Katrina Meyer was appointed as a trustee; the other club officers did not change.  Not being president frees up some time in my schedule and I will be offering two or three classes starting in January.  I will do a beginning gemology class, an advanced gemology class, and a mineralogy class if enough people are interested.  I will discuss this at the November meeting and have a sign-up sheet for those interested.  I do not care whether I offer the courses during the day or in the evening—please let me know your preference.

     I will not be at the October Meeting since I will be on a trip with my son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, Xury, age 11, and grandson, Xander, age 13.  We are flying from LA to Australia, first to Melbourne, next to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, then flying to Sydney before returning to LA.  I needed to research opals and learn a bit about Austrian opals—I am putting some of the information that I found useful in this newsletter.

     I will be back for the November meeting, but not in time to do a November newsletter—so this is a combined October/November newsletter.

     I am sure that all of you are reading about the state budget cut—if our Venice library cannot stay open in the evenings we may need to find another place to meet.

 

 

œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ

MESSAGE FROM THE NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT: ALLEN BROWN

Another summer has come and is almost gone before we know it!  I hope everyone had a good summer, perhaps visiting friends or relatives and at least one trip to the beach or a little relaxation time in the shade. However, October will soon be on us and that means we will soon have our first club meeting of the 2007-2008 year. As is our tradition, the first meeting will be a show and tell about our summer activities and hopefully some lapidary/rock stories. Please come to the meeting with some interesting stories of what you did this summer. Also, bring any new or old items that you would like to show the club members. A table will be available to put any “for sale” items on during the meeting. Feel free to invite friends or relatives to come to the meeting as we enjoy meeting new people and they may find they are interested in becoming a member. See you all at the October meeting.

 

œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ

CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES TO OUR MEMBERS CELEBRATING:

Birthdays:

JUNE: Alice Tholen [6/1], Diane Prokop [6/7], Gifford Smith [6/9], Helen Dunham [6/16], Nancy Hintlian [6/21], Trish Morehead [6/23]

JULY: Barbara Walker [7/2], Fred Buti [7/2], Ralph Marble [7/5], Allen Brown [7/28], Jim Davis           [7/28]

AUGUST: Dr. Eugene M. Gillum [8/12], Tom Rogers [8/16], Charlotte Coffey [8/16], Doug Chevalier   [8/21], Lou Zark [8/27], Flo Harms [8/28], Evalyn Jones [8/31]

SEPTEMBER: Tom Ladd [9/1], Joe Winesette [9/2], Richard Dry [9/5], Ruben Ledbetter [9/6],             Thomas             Granata [9/10], Karen K. Harris [9/11], Pat Stelzer [9/15], Helen Gardner [9/18]

OCTOBER: Mary Libcke [10/3], George Artis [10/11], Geraldine Vest [10/14], Abigail Rose Young [10/14],             Elizabeth Howe [10/19], Mayoma Mort [10/22], Herbert Knodel [10/28]

NOVEMBER: Walton Peters (11/2), Barbara J. Smith-Todaro (11/5), Angela Reichert (11/7), Mary       Simmons (11/12), Captain Robert Morgan (11/13), Duane Daniell (11/15), Mary Simmons (11/12)   Jan K.             Turzanski (11/23) Barbara Knodel (11/27) and Wayne Tholen (11/28)

 

YAnniversaries:

JUNE: Thomas & Elizabeth Rogers [6/1], Don & Donna Budd [6/12], Walton & Vivian Peters [6/16], Richard & Lila Stevens [6/24], Jack & Mary Simmons [6/26], Charles & Roberta M. Clark [6/27]

JULY: Frank & Pat Stelzer [7/28]

AUGUST: Jan & Darlene Turzanski [8/6], Thomas & Kathy Granata [8/8]

SEPTEMBER: Ralph & Eileen Marble [9/2]

OCTOBER: Stephen & Mary Libcke [10/4], Fred & Rose Buti [10/6], John & Mayoma Mort [10/9]

NOVEMBER: Doug & Nancy Chevalier (11/7), Eugene & Jane Gillum 11/25

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Florida Society of Goldsmiths 2008 Winter Workshops

The Northeast Chapter of the Florida Society of Goldsmiths presents their 12th Annual Winter Workshops at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, FL from Sunday, Jan. 6 through Thursday, Jan. 10. 2008. Instructors and workshops include: Tom Benham - Chasing and Repoussé for Small Scale Jewelry; John Cogswell - RINGS! RINGS! RINGS!; Andy Cooperman - Imaginative Captures; Cynthia Eid and Betty Helen Longhi - Bracelets and Brooches: A Dual Workshop on Shell forming and Hydraulic Pressing; and J. Fred Woell - Lost Wax Casting Jewelry and Its Potentials. Complete course details and registration forms for the 2008 Winter Workshops may be downloaded at: www.fsgne.com or www.fsg4u.com.

 

Gemology Classes Online

The International School of Gemology is now offering several online gemology education courses that students can combine to become a registered gemologist. The ISG was originally an Allied Teaching Center for the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. More information on the classes and program can be found online at www.schoolofgemology.com.

 

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

UPCOMING SHOWS 2007

 

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Note: Club members get free admission to the Frank Cox Shows—show your membership card to the ticket collector.

 

Oct. 5-7, Sarasota, FL - Frank Cox Productions. 175th Gem, Jewelry, and Bead Show. Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail (Hwy. 41). 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. 941-954-0202, frankcox@comcast.net, www.frankcoxproductions.com.

 

Nov. 2-4, Sarasota, FL - Frank Cox Productions. 176th Gem, Jewelry, and Bead Show. Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail (Hwy. 41). 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. 941-954-0202, frankcox@comcast.net, www.frankcoxproductions.com.

 

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

Oct 13-14--ORLANDO, FLORIDA: 16th annual show, "Fossil Fair"; Florida Fossil Hunters, Central Florida Fairgrounds, Bldg. A, 4603 W. Colonial Dr.; Sat. 9-5, Sun. 10-4; adults $3, children $1; fossils, rocks, gems, minerals, artifacts, related equipment, books, silent auctions, raffles, children's dig pit; contact Valerie First, 4603 W. Colonial Dr., Orlando, FL 32708, (407) 699-9274; e-mail: vjfirst@aol.com; Web site: www.floridafossilhunters.com.

 

Oct 27-28--TAMPA, FLORIDA: 48th annual show; Tampa Bay Mineral & Science Club; Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. Hwy. 301 N; Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; adults $5, students $4, children under 6 free; silent auction, displays, demonstrations, wire wrap classes, PMC classes, kids' sand mine; contact Jan Hendershot, 11316 Leprechaun Dr., Riverview, FL 33569, (813) 671-9556; e-mail: jan.hendershot@verizon.net; Web site: www.tampabayrockclub.com.

 

Nov 3-4--STUART, FLORIDA: Show; St. Lucie County Rock & Gem Club; Martin County Fairgrounds, 2616 S.E. Dixie Hwy. (A1A); Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5; adults $4, children under 12 free with parent, discount coupon on Web site; demonstrations, displays, finished jewelry, lapidary supplies, minerals, beads, cab and facet rough; contact Norm Holbert, 455 S.W. Balfour Ave., Port St. Lucie, FL 34953, (772) 873-0787; e-mail: normholbert@bellsouth.net; Web site: www.rockworkshop.org.

 

Nov 10-11--MELBOURNE, FLORIDA: Show, "Parade of Gems"; Canaveral Mineral & Gem Society; Melbourne Auditorium, 625 E. Hibiscus Ave.; Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5; adults $4; contact Anita Lane, 720 Central Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901, (321) 723-0742; e-mail: lanesfinejewelry@aol.com

 

UPCOMING SHOWS 2008

 

Jan  1-2-SPRING HILL, FLORIDA: Show; Withlacoochee Rockhounds; Slovene American Club, 13383 County Line Rd.; Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-5; adults $3, teens $1, children 12 and under free; minerals, fossils, gemstones, demonstrations, handcrafted jewelry, lapidary equipment, gem and mineral auction, Aaron's Breastplate replica, famous diamonds of the world, dealers wanted; contact Jerry Johnson, 387 Martina Dr., Spring Hill, FL 34609, (352) 688-7819; e-mail: hisnibs@earthlink.net.

 

Jan 11-13--LARGO, FLORIDA: 32nd annual show and sale; Pinellas Geological Society; Largo Cultural Center, Parkside Room, 105 Central Park Dr., one block east of Seminole Blvd.; Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-5; cut gems, silver and gold jewelry, inlay work, intarsia, wire wrap, beading, cabochons, mineral eggs, rocks, minerals; contact Hugh Sheffield, 2440 Southshore Dr. SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33705, (727) 894-2440.

 

Jan 26-27 Venice, FL—Gulf Coast Mineral, Fossil & Gem Club—35^th annual show, Venice Community Center, 300 S. Nokomis Ave.  Hours: Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. 10am-4pm, admission $3 each day Show chairpersons: Ralph & Eileen Marble, (941) 922-2135

 

Feb 8-10--MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA: 31st annual show, "Symphony of Gemstones"; Central Brevard Rock & Gem Club; Kiwanis Island Park, 950 Kiwanis Park Rd.; Fri. 1-6, Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5; admission $3; rough and cut gems, minerals, fine jewelry, equipment, supplies, books, beads, demonstrations; contact Forrest MacNab, (321) 453-6379

OPALS

By Robert G. Campbell

OPALS

By Geraldine M. Vest, Ph.D., FGA, G.G.(GIA) & Robert Campbell G.G. (GIA)

     Paul B. Downing, Ph.D. has an international reputation as an opal expert and cutter (He has received three AGTA “Cutting Edge Awards” for opal) who has traveled extensively in Australia and throughout the United States. He has written four books on opals: Opal Cutting Made Easy, Opal Advanced Cutting & Setting, Opal Adventures, and the fourth, Opal Identification and Value from which I quote.  “When I think of opal, I think of bright flashes of color bouncing up at me, changing when I move the stone in my hand.  They are mesmerizing.  These flashes of color are what set precious opal apart from any other gemstone.  The brightness of these flashes differs from stone to stone and even from place to place in the same stone.  Opals with faint flashes of color are technically precious opal, but the really brilliant flashes are what determine that the opal is a top gem.” ⁽¹⁾

INTRODUCTION ⁽²⁾

     Philemon Holland introduced the word opal into the English language in 1601 in his translation of Pliny’s Natural History (77AD).  Pliny writes, “Of all precious stones, it is opalus that presents the greatest difficulties of description, it is displaying at once the piercing fire of carbunculus the purple brilliancy of amethystos and the sea-green of smaragdus the whole blended together and refulgent with a brightness that is quite incredible.”  Carbuncle was used to describe garnets but it also might have meant any red stone—ruby, red spinel, red tourmaline, possibly rose-quartz...  Amethystos described amethyst or purple-sapphire.  Smaragdus referred to many green stones: not just emerald, green beryl or green-aquamarine, but quartz—chrysoprase, prase, plasma, green jasper, gem silica containing included copper minerals like chrysocolla, malachite, conichalcite, or malachite, green-turquoise, green sapphire, and possibly peridot.

     The term “opal” traces back through the French opale, to Latin opalus, to Greek opallios, to Greek opallios, to Sanskrit upala. Note, the Greek term came after the Latin term.

     Many European museums and those in the United States of America have huge collections of Roman antiques, but the collections do not include opal; thus, Pliny’s term opalus may not have been our current term opal. ⁽²⁾

     In 1976, the late Dr. Fred Pough, one of America’s foremost mineralogists and author of several best selling mineral books, published his opinion on opals.  “The earliest opals seem to have been those from Hungary (now eastern Slovakia); they were white and had a good play-of-color.  The name is an ancient one and can be found in Pliny…but there is some question whether Pliny’s opal is the same as today’s stone of the same name.  It was suggested that an irised rock crystal, that is one in which there is a crack that displays Newton’s rings of color, is the stone which the Romans called opalus.”

     In 1938, Louis Leakey reported that he had found 6,000-year-old beads and artifacts in Kenya.  Initially he said they were opal but in 1950, scientific identification determined they were quartz and feldspar.  Unfortunately, people still remember the false legend of Roman opals.

WHAT EXACTLY IS AN OPAL

     The fact that opals were amorphous, did not have a crystal structure, and that they contained silica (SiO₂) and water was known since the 1800s.  However, until the 1965 study by a team of Australian scientist, led by P Darragh, under high magnification, using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) no one really understood opals—and why some of them showed a play-of-color (POC). Play-of-color is the rainbow-like colors displayed by an opal generated by diffraction and interference of light.  They discovered that opal consisted of closely packed silica spheres with diameters averaging 0.15 to 0.3 ¼m (a micrometer [¼m] is one thousandth of a millimeter [mm] or “1mil = 25.38 microns”), somewhat smaller than the wavelength of visible light, which ranges from 0.4 to 0.7 ¼m. ⁽²⁾

     Later studies determined that the silica gel spheres produced POC only if the diameters are uniform in a particular area and in the range of 0.1 ¼m to 0.2 ¼m.  Some common or potch opals contain U and are fluorescent.

Silica Gel Spheres ~0.5 ¼m	Sphere Size (diameter)	Resulting Play-of-color (POC)
	Less than 0.1 ¼m	Common or potch opal no POC
	Uniform and 0.1 ¼m	POC = blue
	Uniform spheres between 0.1 ¼m & 0.2 ¼m	POC = mostly blue and green
	Uniform spheres 0.2 ¼m	POC = all colors including red
	Larger than ~0.3 ¼m	Common or potch opal no POC
	Assorted sizes	Common or potch opal no POC

Patches of spectral colors seen in opal, synthetic opal, and some plastic imitations; POC comes from the combination of two optical effects—diffraction and interference.

		Diffraction small holes between atoms	Interference reflected from small spheres
	When light bends, it also breaks up into spectral colors.  This mechanism is called diffraction. Interference happens when light passes through layers of different materials, which can make the light go “out-of-sync” like films of oil on water.  [Produces constructive and destructive interference]
	PROPERTIES (3) Chemical composition SiO2.nH2O usually with 3% to 10% water, but it could be as high as 20%. Type Mineraloid, silicate Refractive Index (RI) 1.450 typical, range 1.37’1.47, Mexican opal 1.37—1.43 Hardness (H) 5’6.5 Specific Gravity (SG) 2.15 typical, range 1.25’2.23 Fluorescence LWUV and SWUV inert to strong: white, lt. blue, green, yellow, greenish brown; may phosphoresce Toughness Poor to fair Polish luster Sudden temperature changes may cause cracking, crazing, or fracture and POC may be lost Fracture Stable, but damage may result in long time use of strong lights or direct sunlight Fracture luster Attacked by hydrofluoric acid and caustic alkalies Phenomena Cat’s-eye (rare) Cleaning methods Ultrasonic—never; steamer—never; warm soapy water-safe
	OPAL TERMS (1) (3)