Thanksgiving!Thanksgiving! November November …Seattle Regional Gem and Mineral Show Committee Washington State Mineral Council ... This mineraloid is an amorphous form of silica

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November November November November 2012201220122012

WEST SEATTLE PETROGLYPHS

Mike Wall, Editor P.O. Box 16145 Seattle, WA 98116

email: [email protected]

Monthly Bulletin of the West Seattle Rock Club, Inc.

Seattle, Washington

Our Club:

Practices the Rockhound Code of Ethics

Website:

http://www.westseattlerockclub.org

Nov/Dec 2012 West Seattle Petroglyphs Page 1

Volume 47, Number 10

Meetings:

Visitors are always welcome!

WEST SEATTLE ROCK CLUB, INC. Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 16145, Seattle, WA 98116

The purpose of this Club is to promote the study and enjoyment of the Lapidary Arts with good Rock-hounding and good fellowship; and to further education and lapidary skills for all; to conduct field trips for exploration and collection of minerals, gems, rocks and fossils; to promote shows and displays; to publish a monthly periodical known as West Seattle PETROGLYPHS relating to club activities.

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS (2012):

2013 Show Co-Chairpersons Programs Refreshments/Hospitality Historian Field Trips

Webmaster

AFFILIATED WITH:

Northwest Federation & American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Seattle Regional Gem and Mineral Show Committee

Washington State Mineral Council ALAA – American Lands Access Association

Meetings are held on the Fourth Wednesday of each month,

except for November which is the FOURTH Wednesday and no meetings in July and December The meetings are held in Adams Hall of the Tibbetts United Methodist Church

3940 41st S.W. (corner of 41st S.W. and S.W. Andover Street) Seattle, WA 6:30 PM – Junior Meeting 7:00 PM – Adult Meeting

Dues are: $20.00 first year (including name badge), then: $10.00 per adult member per year or $15.00 for 2 adults in same family, $3.00 per junior member per year

VISITORS ARE INVITED AND ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ALL MEETINGS

All material in this Bulletin may be reprinted if properly credited - Exchange Bulletins are most welcome.

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OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS (2012):

President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Federation Director Director at Large Mineral Council Reps Seattle Regional Reps Newsletter - Editor Current Past President

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Leroy Christensen Michael O’Clair Diane Christensen

Audrey Vogelpohl Audrey Vogelpohl Ken Schmidt Brian Waters Lyle Vogelpohl Mike Wall Lyle Vogelpohl

(206) 938-0790 (206) 938-1541

(206) 938-0790 (206) 932-3292 (206) 932-3292 (206) 932-3626 (206) 290-2312 (206) 932-3292 (206) 935-4953 (206) 932-3292

Lyle Vogelpohl Audrey Vogelpohl

<Vice President>

Janet Francisco

<Open>

Brian Waters Donn Ullery

(206) 932-3292

(206) 932-3292

<Vice President>

(206) 940-8344

<Open>

(206) 290-2312 (206) 633-0721


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CLUB CALENDAR

November 28, 2012

Junior Meeting (6:30 pm)

Program: Opal – Birth Stone of October

General Meeting (7:00 pm)

Program: What’s Not to Like About Opals? - Presented by Lyle Vogelpohl

Show & Tell: Bring your opals and your associated stories to share.

December 12, 2012

Christmas Dinner (6-9 pm) - details p. 5

Hello Rockhounds -

The ground is covered with snow and the collecting season is greatly reduced so now you finally have time to play with your treasures. If you just need some more equipment; I can help with that at our next auc-tion. There will be a very nice 10" trim-saw with a new blade and a 16" nice oldie slab saw up for bids. Both saws will need a motor; also the 16" slab-saw will need a new blade "happy bidding".

This is just a reminder please bring your nonperishable items to the November meeting and/or the Christmas party to help spread the holiday spirit. Thank you in advance for giving generously the dona-tions will be given to the needy. President’s question:

This mineraloid is an amorphous form of silica with a specific gravity of around 2.15 what am I?

PRESIDENT’S

MESSAGE

WHAT’S INSIDE

Club Calendar 3

President’s Message 3

What’s Inside 3

Adult Program 3

October General Meeting Minutes 4

Junior Rockhound Badge Update 5

Refreshments – November 5

November Junior Program 5

WSRC Christmas Party 5

Dues Are Due 6

Why Gold Discolors 6

Llovisnando Opal 6

Rutilated Quartz 8

Shop Tips 8

WSRC - Kids Corner 9

Field Trips 10

Rock Shows 10


ADULT PROGRAM – WHAT’S NOT

TO LIKE ABOUT OPALS? Presented by Lyle Vogelpohl

What is opal? Where to find it? What to look for? How to get and enhance for the best color? Tricks and tips learned and to be shared. Treat your opal with love and it will forever be brilliant.

Place your answers in the suggestion box to be entered for the prize.

Rock on, LeRoy Christensen

WEST SEATTLE ROCK CLUB – GENERAL MEETING MINUTES October 24, 2012

Business The meeting was called to order by club Vice-President, Michael O’Clair at 7:04 p.m.

Janet Francisco reported there were 13 adult members, 6 junior members and 6 guests. Mark Christianson, Keir Hichens and Shelley O’Clair won the door prize drawings.

Audrey Vogelpohl informed guests that she had applications to join the rock club if anyone was interested.

Michael asked if there were any changes or additions to the September minutes, there were none, so the minutes will stand as written in the Petroglyphs.

Audrey introduced new members Mark and Lieh Christianson.

Audrey mentioned that the junior program is in need some material in order to make ID kits. Some of the mate-rial she needs include: talc, gypsum, calcite, and apatite. If you have some extra material, contact Audrey.

Editor Mike Wall said the November issue of the Petroglyphs will be the last one of the year.

Michael said there are only two more planned field trips in 2012. One is on October 27th to Money Creek and the other one is on November 10th to Blanchard Hill.

He then went over several shows coming up. Shows in the area include the shows in Bellevue, Edmonds, Puyal-lup, Bremerton and Sedro Woolley.

Lyle Vogelpohl informed the club that applications for junior achievement will be available January 1st. He encouraged the juniors to look into this.

Lyle talked about the NW Rockhound Retreat which is a 5 day workshop, limited to 50 people and is held in central Oregon in September. They have numerous different workshops available and you can choose which workshop you want to take.

Michael asked if there were any volunteers to plan the Christmas party and April Hichens, Diane Christensen and Janet Francisco all volunteered to chair the gathering.

Michael also mentioned that the club will need to appoint officers for the 2013 year.

Audrey reminded juniors that there will be gold panning at the Puyallup show if you are trying to earn that badge.

Michael then inquired if everyone who had answers to the President’s question had put the answer in the box. He drew Janet Francisco and she won some fluorite.

Program Silent Auction

Show and Tell

� Lyle Vogelpohl – brought 8 cabs he made during the NW Regional show.

� Audrey Vogelpohl – brought amethyst necklaces she made with two different ways to wear them.

� Janet Francisco – showed the fluorite she just won.

� Lucie O’Clair – brought ammonite that she got at the WSRC auction and an earring that looks like a ghost.

� JoAnne Churchman – brought a “potato” rock and some crystals she got at Red Top Mountain.

� Mark and Leih Christianson – brought different rocks they hoped someone could identify.

� Keir Hichens – brought 3D crystals formations he made in order to earn a badge.

(Continued on page 5)


(Continued from page 4)

� Diane Christensen – brought some garnets.

� Ken Schmidt – brought rocks he had tumbled.

Lucie O’Clair won the drawing.

A big thanks to the O’Clair’s for providing refresh-ments.

Respectfully Submitted, Diane Christensen, WSRC Secretary


REFRESHMENTS –

NOVEMBER

Please take note if you are on the hook for refresh-ments this month. THANKS to everyone who has volunteered to bring goodies this year.

Snacks: Ken Schmidt

Drinks: Higuiera Family

JUNIOR ROCKHOUND

BADGE CLUB UPDATE!

We had a great turnout at November's Badge club for our WSRC's Junior Rockhounds! Parents helped and we all learned a bit about fossils and geologic time.

Keir, Oz and Bowie Hichens presented to the group the fossils they recently collected on a family trip to Stonerose Interpretive Center in Republic, WA.

We then worked on the fossil badge and completed two of the three requirements by learning about WA State's fossil (Columbian Pleistocene Mammoth) and drew, together, a giant geologic timeline on which we'd like to put our finishing touches and share with everyone at this month's general meeting. It is impres-sive and the kids worked hard on the periods they chose.

We'll be meeting again in December to work on our "Gemstone Lore & Legend" badge. This month's Jun-ior’s meeting will feature the opal, which figures neatly into our badge work.

We meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the meeting room in the Southwest Library on 35th Ave SW, 4-5:30 pm, allowing us to complete the require-ments for our badge prior to the general meeting.

Please join us on Tuesday, December 11th at 4 pm and we will look at birthstones and stones of signifi-cance in legend, lore and science. If you have a stone that is significant to you in some way and you'd like to share, please bring it along and we will look up how it has been used throughout history and cultures. We will all learn something as well as be able to share our existing knowledge with each other.

RSVPs are always a help - and if you have questions please contact me, April Hichens, at [email protected] or call me at 206-949-6990.

Hope to see you there!

JUNIOR PROGRAM: OPAL –

THE BIRTH STONE FOR OCTOBER

There are many stories about the stone called OPAL. Opal was considered an unlucky stone in Europe; but in Asia it was felt to be a stone that gives you eternal hope. What can you find out about famous opals? If you wear opal is it lucky or unlucky for you? (Activity for Badges 7 and 13)

WSRC CHRISTMAS PARTY

The party is on Wednesday, 12-12-12 from 6-9 pm at Tibbetts United Methodist Church.

There will be a sign up sheet for side dish’s and drinks – April, Janet & I are bringing the main course.

If someone is not able to make the November meet-ing – they can contact me ([email protected] or 206-439-3606).

We will have a food drive at the November meeting and at the Christmas party too.

There will be a silent auction with a kids table and an adults table.

There will be a gift exchange – bring a wrapped gift that is suitable for a man, woman or child ($10 max).

April’s boys will play piano and Janet will bring CD’s (and a player) with Christmas music.

Also, since the party is on 12-12-12 we will have a drawing and pick one person who can think of some-thing with 12 in it. For example: 12 days of Christ-mas.

Enter your “12” info on a piece of paper and put it in the suggestion box. We will read all of the answers and one person will win.

Diane


WHY GOLD DISCOLORS

The Most common reason gold will turn different col-ors is due to chemical reactions with the alloyed met-als mixed with the gold when it is exposed to a caustic element. Some of these chemicals are present in com-mon household products. Swimming pool chlorides and Clorox® based household cleaners will definitely cause gold to change to an ugly gray. Mercury from a broken thermometer can literally dissolve the gold right out of a ring leaving a burned black spot of hole.

Copier ribbons contain xylem, which can cause yel-low gold to turn white, and some ink stamp pads con-tain a medium, which will do the same thing. Smog fumes, perspiration, saltwater, or even certain fruit juices can all cause a discoloring effect on gold.

Whenever you are going swimming in chlorinated wa-ter or will be working with solvents or cleaners it is best to remove your jewelry. If you get any of these chemicals on your jewelry, clean it with a mild solu-tion of baking soda and rinse well before wearing it again or take it to your local jeweler for a professional cleaning.

The most common reason gold will discolor your skin is metallic abrasion. Many cosmetics contain com-pounds harder than the jewelry itself. These com-pounds in the cosmetics will wear away microscopic particles of gold, which will collect in the pores of your skin. Very fine metal particles always appear black, not metallic.

When the particles stick to your skin in Quantities, they will form a black smudge. To prevent this you should remove your jewelry when you apply cosmet-ics where the jewelry is to be worn. Changing cos-metic brand may also help.

Gold itself will not corrode, but the primarily alloys that are mixed with 10 and 14 karat gold will. They are copper and silver. Under moist conditions, a per-son’s perspiration, which contains fats and fatty acids, can cause corrosion in karat gold jewelry.

The level of corrosion will differ based upon each in-

LLOVISNANDO OPAL A look above the surface For in them you shall see the living fire of the ruby,

the glorious purple of the amethyst, the sea-green of

the emerald, all glittering together in an incredible

mixture of light. — Roman Pliny the Elder on Opal, 1st Century AD

In general when we hear “opal” we think Austra-lia, but there are a few areas in Mexico that pro-duce some of the finest opal with play-of-color on the planet. The exceptional ones also include an-other dimension of color. When

all the compo-nents align, a full spectrum of color d a n c e s f r o m within the heart of the gem and

jumps out of the stone three-dimensionally, almost floating above the surface. The local Mexican miners called the light-and-color dance “floating light” or Llovisnando.

(Continued on page 7)

Rough and cut Llovisnando

opal. Cut: 22.47 carats, 18.97 x

18.3 x 11.97 mm. Rough: 31.66

carats, 35 x 30 x 7 mm. (Photo:

Wimon Manorotkul)

dividual’s unique body chemistry. Things that you can do to prevent your jewelry from tarnishing or turning your fingers black are: remove all jewelry before us-ing soaps, perfumes, or cosmetics, and have your jew-elry cleaned frequently. You will be amazed at how nice it will look when kept free of oils and dirt.

Eighteen karat gold jewelry is less likely to change because of the lower alloy content and platinum jew-elry is nearly impervious to chemical corrosion. Of all the different types of jewelry, it will wear the best and give the least amount of trouble, especially if you ex-perience constant problems with discoloration and black smudges.

(via The CMS Tumbler, 9/12; via Breccia, 5/12; via Gem

Cutters News, 11/11; via El Gambrisino, 11/10; via the

Orchid Digest)

DUES ARE DUE

Dues are Due ... will accept cash or check at the next 2 meetings. The 2012-2013 NFMS Directory can be ordered at the same time for $10 (to be delivered in April).


(Continued from page 6)

Our featured gemstone for June 2008 is by some stan-dards one of the best from the Magdalena mining dis-

trict in Jalisco, Mexico. A true spectacle of L l o v i snand o : you can actually spin it around in your hands and interact with the play-of-color. A magical blend of optics and color in a tangi-ble jewel. This 22.47-carat opal exhibits a icy-

blue body with a play-of-color that meanders through all the shades of the rainbow. Each color a pure neon hue playing in formations like brush strokes and flow-ing bands.

The Geography of Mexican Opal The two main mining areas in Mexico that produce these precious opals are Querétaro and Magdalena, situated in central Mexico, northwest of Mexico City and Guadalajara respectively. These historical depos-its have been coveted by the native families for over a hundred years. They consistently produce oranges, reds, and blues with little or no play-of-color, while sporadi-cally producing the wild, full-spectrum patterns of color seen in the rare opals. In August of 1984 a local news-paper in the Queré-taro mining district declared La Muerte

de una Mina: the death of the Iris Mine.

After many changes of ownership and a lack of funds, the final detonations at the Iris Mine were sparked and all but the rubble remains. They did, however, find the end-all-be-

all jewel in the final blast, and the death of the mine ensued. They named the spectacular nodule “Colibrí,” or hummingbird. The Iris Mine might be dead, but the Querétaro and Magdalena mining districts roll on into the future. However, the miners say they are lucky to find a few truly spectacular opals over a year of min-ing.

The Geology of Llovisnando The opals crystallize in a hydrothermal system where the hydrous silica gels get trapped and concentrated in cavities and fractures within rhyolitic lava flows. This unique geologic process then “freezes” the opal melt from the high temperature solutions that begin at around 160°C. The opals often have one- and two-phase inclusions with trapped remnants of aqueous liquids, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sodium chloride from the original solution. The Querétaro district is one of the only signifi-cant sources of gem-quality “fire” opal to originate from an igneous o r r h y o l i t i c source. The Mag-dalena district has a similar geology, producing excep-tional fire opals and, in rare cases, “ w a t e r ” a n d Llovisnando opals as well. Australian opals, on the other hand, form at low temperatures from circulating groundwater in sedimentary-type environments.

The Future of Fire and Water Pala has started a relationship with one of the mining families from the Magdalena district to start selling opals, from small finer pieces to exceptional Llovis-nando varieties. So hopefully we will be able to offer a nice selection of fire and water opals with play-of-color. Lines of communication have also been started in regards to Pala actually offering our expertise in mining. The deposit has historically been an open pit, but there may be ways to go underground to chase the rich ore veins. The partnership could be a very inter-esting way to bring more spectacular fire opal to the American market and beyond. (via Maplewood News, 7/08; via Gem News, via Pala In-

ternational, June 2008 newsletter – www.palagems.com )

“Colibrí,” the hummingbird. A

80.12-carat rough nodule from the

death of the Iris Mine. Bill Lason Col-

lection. (Photo: Nikolai Kouznetsov)

Firestone. This is an exceptional

example of the red body color with

play-of-color. From the Magdalena

mining district. (Photo: Jason Ste-

phenson)


SHOP TIPS

Editor’s Note: Shop tips featured in this bulletin have not been evaluated for safety or reliability. Please use caution when trying out any new idea.

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Lapidary Tip: Diamond Saw Blade

Reverse the wheel three or four times during the life of the blade. If the blade becomes dull or charged – cut through a soft brick or an old silicon carbide grinding wheel. To check alignment, place a pencil in the vise and make a mark on the outer edge of the blade, turn the blade 180° and run the vise with the pencil back to the same marked point – the pencil should make the same mark in the same place, if it is aligned. (via The CMS Tumbler, 11/12; via Petrified Digest, 8-9/12;

via Petrified Digest, 6/75)

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What Can We Do With Fractures

by Dick Peterson

We deal with fractures almost all the time we do lapi-dary work. Mostly we try to work around them, or ignore them, but we don’t always have to. Sometimes if the fracture is wide enough to accept a bonding agent that is as thin as water such as Triple T Red La-bel or Sea Bond, we can heal the fracture.

First you need to clean the fracture(s) with a fine tooth brush or a fine wire brush with acetone. Next warm the stone (warm only) from underneath and next apply the Bonding agent. The heat from the underneath will pull the agent toward it. Also the agent will actually get thinner for a few seconds. This procedure works best on opaque stones such as jasper and only some-times on agates that are translucent.

One time I was trying to save a very pretty translucent stone. It had a very predominate fracture that would not accept my bonding agent, so I took my dremel tool and put a small one-inch diamond blade in it and then cut along the fracture about 1/32nd of an inch deep, about the same width and then cleaned the stone again, applying the warmth, then the bonding agent and crossed my fingers. And guess what! It worked perfectly.

Sometimes you can learn a lot, just by thinking and trying. (via The CMS Tumbler, 9/12; via Breccia, 7/12; via Bee-

hive Buzzer, 8/11; from Rock Chips, 7/11)

RUTILATED QUARTZ By Dave Wester

First off, quartz is the most common mineral on Earth. It is found in nearly every geological environment and is a component of almost every rock type. I'll bet somewhere in your collection you have at least one piece of quartz. Did you know that it makes up about 12% of the earth's crust, occurring in a wide variety of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks? It is also the most varied in terms of variety and color. Quartz is a 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness but you already know that because we've spoken about that several times before. The name quartz comes from the Saxon word querklufterz which meant cross vein ore. Rutilated quartz (sometimes referred to as Cupid's darts, Venus hair stone, and fleches d'amour) is quite simply quartz stone with rutile enclosures. Rutile is a mineral that is made up mostly of titanium dioxide, or TiO2. As a mineral, rutile is very high on the refrac-tive index and disperses more than almost any other mineral. This means that when rutile appears in other minerals, it almost always appears in long, thin shots of color. Rutilus is, in fact, the Latin word for red. The mineral gained this name because some speci-mens are a lovely deep red color. Rutile, however, can also appear in brown and gray tones. Rutile often forms needle-like crystal inclusions inside quartz and this form of quartz is known as rutilated quartz and it looks like small bars of imbedded gold. Rutile is a 6 on the Mohs scale. Because of the difference in hard-ness between the two materials and because of the way rutile forms inside, this can be a difficult stone to attain a smooth surface without pits. Rutilated quartz is found in Australia, Brazil, Ka-zakhstan, Madagascar, Norway, Pakistan and the United States. From a mythical perspective, rutilated quartz is be-lieved to bring forth each person’s strengths, original-ity, aids sleep, relate to others. Rutile itself is said to intensify the metaphysical properties of its host crystal and to enhance one’s understanding of difficult situa-tions. It is also said to enhance creativity and to re-lieve depression and loneliness. Rutilated quartz is also believed to slow down the aging process and is said to be a strong healer. Guess I’ll give it a try and see if it helps with my hair line. (via Tumbler, 11/12; via Rocky Trails, 11/11)

WSRC – KID’S CORNER

(via The Agatizer, 12/09)


HOW CAN YOU HELP

Your Federation: Save stamps and give to our club treasurer.

Your Hobby: Join ALAA. - Contact Lyle Vogelpohl

Other: Volunteer to teach beginners what you are good at.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ...

Cabbing … contact Lyle Vogelpohl … (206) 932-3292

2012 FIELD TRIPS

Sorry – No more trips for this year

2013 FIELD TRIPS

TBD

Hope to have some information for you in our next newsletter

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See WSMC http://www.mineralcouncil.org/index.htm for additional field trips and details

2012 SHOWS

Sorry – No more shows for this year

2013 SHOWS

Feb 9 9am-5pm Whidbey Island Gem Club Show

Feb 10 9am-4pm Oak Harbor Senior Center, 51 SE Jerome St, Oak Harbor, WA

Feb 16 10am-4pm North Lincoln Agate Society Club Show

Feb 17 10am-4pm Lincoln City Cultural Center, 540 NE Hwy 101, Lincoln City, OR

Feb 23 10am-6pm Idaho Gem Club Show

Feb 24 10am-5pm Expo Idaho, 5610 Glenwood, Boise, ID

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See the Northwest Newsletter for additional show listings and times.

Available online at: http://www.amfed.org/nfms/newslet2.htm


Documents

Thanksgiving!Thanksgiving! November November …Seattle Regional Gem and Mineral Show Committee Washington State Mineral Council ... This mineraloid is an amorphous form of silica