Backbenders Gazette October 2024
THE BACKBENDER’S GAZETTEN E W S L E T T E R O F T H E H O U S T O N G E M & M I…
Backbenders Gazette September 2024
THE BACKBENDER’S GAZETTEN E W S L E T T E R O F T H E H O U S T O N G E M & M I…
March Birthstones: Aquamarine and Bloodstone
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…
Seam Agate from the Kokernot O6 Ranch
Seam Agate from the Kokernot o6 Ranch by Sigrid Stewart The Kokernot o6 Ranch near Alpine, Texas, continues to surprise collectors who visit the ranch! It is so large –…
Rare Minerals of Myanmar
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 Stone
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
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
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,…
JASPER!
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 Ice – Geology of Iceland
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,…