March Birthstones: Aquamarine and BloodstoneAquamarineby Sigrid Stewart Photos by Steve Blyskal other photos with attribution This lovely blue stone is named for the Latin phrase “aqua marinus” or water-of-the-sea. In…
Rare Minerals of Myanmarby Sigrid Stewart East of the Rahkine Mountains along the Bay of Bengal, across the valley of the Irrawaddy River, south of the mountains of Yunnan, China,…
The Heart in the Stoneby Ed Clay photographs by Ed Clay I am a cutter and I call myself a Lapidary Artisan. I will in this article speak of…
Austin Celestine by Greg Sullivan As any rockhound worth his or her salt can attest, the best finds always happen when you are about to leave. Having spent the day…
Jaspers of Nevada by Sigrid Stewart Two polished slabs of Dead Camel Jasper Photo by Philip Stephenson, miner Back in 2017, I went to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows,…
Jaspers!by Sigrid Stewart photographs by Steve Blyskal Many rockhounds regard jasper as a sort of inferior agate, at least until they pay premium prices for a beautiful specimen or slab…
Fire and Iceby Sigrid Stewart Sundhnúkur Eruption That describes Iceland, an island north of Ireland and Great Britain, and similar in size to both. Geologically speaking, Iceland is very young,…
February Birthstone: Amethyst (and, surprise! Jasper)by Lauren BlyskalAmethyst As we enter February, love is in the air, and there’s much to love about the traditional birthstone for this month: Amethyst.…
January Birthstone: Garnetby Lauren Blyskal Birthstones corresponding to a person’s birth month has both modern and historical ties. Historically twelve gemstones tied in with biblical times and in the 1st…
Heliocoprion, Buzz Saw Shark, In Texasby Neal Immega This article originally appeared in the January 2021 Backbender’s Gazette Occasionally, I do really well by doing good. An email came from…