Note: Meeting times have changed do to budget cuts at the Venice Library—they must close at 8 pm instead of 9 pm—so we have changed our meeting times!

FOURTH MEETING—Monday, January 7, 2007 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Update: Ralph Marble—2007 Show Speaker: Tom Ladd—How to Make a Cabochon REFRESHMENTS will be served—Cold drinks will be supplied by the club and “home made” goodies will be supplied by Phil McDaniels, Eileen Marble, Kathy Young, Allen Brown.

Set up for dinner	Making food selections	Cutest desert—a mouse
President Allen Brown as Master of Ceremonies		Some beautifully wrapped packages
Gif Smith & Florence, Ross Young in back	Ralph & Eileen & granddaughter Abigail opening presents	Ralph’s youngest granddaughter & Kathy proud mother
Overview	Rob Campbell taken by Duane Daniell	Elizabeth Howe with Ursula Jablonski [Vice president]
Darlene Turzanski [former treasurer]	Jan Turzanski opens a “surprise” present while Leslie Somos watches	Overview

Overview	John & May Mort, Leslie & Susanne Somos	WOW!
Overview	Overview	Tom Ladd and some of his goodies
This ceramic tree was really traded	Wow look at the wrapping	Eileen—speechless—words fail me
Florence with a tea set	Barbara [secretary]& Gordon Walker	Charlotte Coffey & Duane Daniell
And who has number…	Stanley Craig at the center	Yes!  One more chocolate mouse

CLASSES IN: MINERALOGY, BEGINNING GEMOLOGY, GEMSTONE IDENTIFICATION

     The classes will be taught by Geraldine Vest, Ph.D., FGA, GG (GIA) assisted by Rob Campbell, GG (GIA); and also John Mort, gemologist (GIA) in the gemology course.  Both Rob and John facet stones and are lapidaries.  The courses will be taught at the Vest residence and the only cost for club members is for the handouts.

    The organizing meeting will be 1:30pm, Sunday January 6, 2008.  Classes will begin in January—if you are interested, contact Geraldine Vest: phone (941) 408-1711 or e-mail Gvest201@yahoo.com.  Since many of the people that wish to take the course work during the week, we are considering either Saturday or Sunday afternoons.  A possibility is: Mineralogy starting at 1:00 pm; followed by Beginning Gemology ~2:30 pm, then Gemstone Identification ~4 pm.  All days and times may change at the organization meeting.  The minimum numbers of students needed to teach the courses—10 students each in the Mineralogy and Beginning Gemology Course.

Signed up for Mineralogy: [1] Arnheiter, Priscilla; [2] Arnheiter, Lyle; [3] Frybarger, Debbie; [4] Goetz, Bill; [5] Hollar, Cathy; [6] Young, Ross; [7] Mort, John; [8] Winesette, Joe

Signer up for Gemology I: [1] Arnheiter, Priscilla; [2] Arnheiter, Lyle; [3] Brown, Allen; [4] Coffey, Charlotte; [5] Daniell, Duane; [6] Frybarger, Debbie [7] Hollar, Cathy; [8] Libcke, Mary, [9] Libcke, Steve; [10] Young, Ross and possibly Friedlander, Bruce P. and Pope, Ann

Signed up for Gemology II—Gemstone Identification: [1] Brown, Allen; [2] Daniell, Duane; [3] Jablonski, Ursula; [4] Mort, John [5] Leslie Somos

I will offer an optional exam in each course.  If you take and pass the exam, you will receive a very nice certificate from the club.

MINERALOGY CLASS

Geraldine M. Vest, B.S. (Materials Engineering), Ph.D., FGA, GG (GIA)

     This course is open to any club member interested in learning more about minerals—there will be something for the beginning collector through the advanced collector.  This is meant to be a fun course  for learning about minerals.

     In the mineralogy course, everybody will be expected to participate, to some degree, on the topic for that lesson.  Each of the students will give a short presentation on the information they have investigated or read on the given mineral; everybody can bring mineral specimens and do a show-and-tell, especially if the specimens were self-collected.  If you are a beginner and do not have any minerals here in Florida you are still welcome and you can learn a great deal from the discussion.  A list of a few basic books, available at Books A Million or Barnes & Noble will be handed out; my copies are available for examination.

     I will furnish any appropriate technical and scientific information including information on the identification of minerals.  As a group, we will compile a chart of properties of chosen minerals. Methods for measuring hardness and specific gravity will be demonstrated and student can practice measuring properties of some minerals.  Class members will also spend some time looking at mineral details under my zoom microscope.  Other diagnostic mineral properties will be discussed, and spectra and x-ray diffraction will be explained.

     For ease of comparison, and to show similarities among certain types of minerals, we will use the system of grouping minerals that Dana developed.  In the United States and many other countries the Dana system of classification is the mineralogy standard.  He grouped all minerals into 9 Classes; for example Class I includes all native elements like copper, silver, gold, platinum, sulfur, graphite, diamonds and alloys including meteorites.  We will start with Class one—what’s not to like about gold and diamond crystals.

     Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic substances with a chemical composition (or a small range of compositions to allow for solid solutions), a definite internal atomic arrangement called a crystal structure and physical properties within narrow limits.  We will not be discussing synthetic materials made in the lab; however, if any questions arise in the class I will attempt to answer them.

     At some point in the course, we will discuss rocks because most minerals are components of rocks.

     My special interest in minerals is in their various habits—what form they assume under what circumstances [ex. pyrite forms cubes, pyritohedrons, octahedrons, and other shapes—under what conditions does a particular form occur in nature or when does silica form opal, chalcedony, or large quartz crystals].  Besides collecting beautiful or interesting specimens and classifying them, other favorite interests are twinning of minerals, causes of color in minerals, fluorescence in minerals, etc.

GEMOLOGY I CLASS

Geraldine M. Vest, Ph.D., FGA, GG (GIA)

     This course is open to any club member interested in learning about gemstones.  We will discuss the following gemstones: amber, andalusite, apatite, azurite, beryl, calcite, charoite, chrysoberyl, coral, corundum, diamonds, diopside, feldspars, fluorite, garnets, gypsum, hematite, howlite, iolite, ivory, jade, lapis lazuli, malachite, micas, natural glass, opal, pearl, peridot, pyrite, quartz (including chalcedony), rhodochrosite, rhodonite, serpentine, sodalite, spinel, spodumene, sugilite, talc, topaz, tourmaline, turquoise, unakite, variscite, zircon, zoisite, and synthetics.  (I am willing to add others to the list, since Robert Campbell and I are writing a book on the topic we have a few very unusual gemstones—some of our rare ones may be very tiny, but they look a lot bigger in the microscope.)  I will have handouts on these gem materials, including their properties, and with what other gemstones they can be confused.  We will discuss treatment to enhance color, synthetic gemstones, and imitation gemstones.

     Diagnostic inclusions in gemstones will be discussed and how their presence in a particular gemstone can be used to determine country of origin—in some cases.  I collect inclusions in quartz, so we can look at those inclusions in the microscope—some have colorful names like “beetle-legs”, others are called “soap-scum” by some US gemologist but we will use the British term of “tiger-stripes” in amethyst and citrine. (I studied gemmology in London, England before I studied gemology in the US with the GIA.)

     Natural gemstones have natural inclusions—very different from the inclusions in lab grown synthetic materials.

     Spread throughout the course will be demonstrations of gem testing equipment, what information can be obtained from various instruments, and how it is used in gemstone identification.  Some of these can be built at home from simple materials. 

The last time I taught this course to club members there were about 200 pages of handouts.  You will need a thick notebook and tabs to put the info in alphabetical order.  I will discuss gemstones in class and you can read the additional info later.

GEMOLOGY II CLASS

GEMSTONE IDENTIFICATION

Geraldine M. Vest, Ph.D., FGA, GG (GIA)

     This course is open to any club member that has taken Gemology 1 or has equivalent knowledge.  The course will review information on gem testing equipment learned in Gemology I—10x loupe, heavy liquids for SG measurements, use of the balance for measuring SG for larger stones, Chelsea color filter, dichroscope, polariscope, spectroscope, refractometer ( both GIA and the British Rayner Dialdex), microscope for learning about inclusions, UV lights for fluorescence, Geiger counter, and the diamond tester.

     We will spend a bit of time looking at inclusions in gemstones, especially those that are diagnostic for natural gemstones—zebra stripes in natural amethyst and citrine, 3-phase inclusions in emeralds from Columbia, lily pads in peridot, horsetail inclusions in some demantoid garnets, centipedes in moonstone.

     After explaining some of the current processes of synthesizing materials in the lab—we will also  spend time looking at inclusions in synthetic gemstones—for example, the undissolved powder and gas bubbles in flame fusion synthetics like ruby and blue sapphire and inclusions in flux-grown material.  Problem—in some of the latest techniques of crystal growth, inclusions may not be obvious.  Laboratory identification is required.  We can discuss some of the new diffusion techniques—like beryllium diffusion in sapphires and rubies; and some of the new high-temperature and high-pressure treatment of diamonds—they can now make diamonds “whiter”.

     The course will also review the theory presented in the first course and a give bit of additional material.  Charts of “measurable properties” will be compiled of gem materials by color—ones that are usually transparent and faceted; additional charts by color will be compiled for gemstones usually cabbed.

     Then the fun begins as we discuss techniques for identifying individual gemstones; or how do you quickly identify a bag of a mixed stones—for example a bag containing faceted yellow topaz and citrine.

Students should have a 10x loupe and a bit of common sense.

     The article on Opal will be concluded in the February newsletter.

Geraldine Vest