Field Season Has Arrived

Spring has arrived and Wayne County Gem and Mineral Club  did not let any grass grow under its feet before activating its field season.  In fact, we did not even let the snow melt.

It was April, it was opening day, and there were diamonds involved.  But no, it was not baseball. Rather, April 1 is opening day for “Herkimer diamond” hunting at Ace of Diamonds Mine in Middleville, NY and 12 intrepid WCGMC members put on their boots and their woolies and made the annual trip.  Exposure was limited and the snow prevented the owners from bringing in new rock.  But there were still “diamonds” to be found and the sun was out to warm our hearts if not our hands. April 1 may actually be more tolerable than August 1.  We even signed up a new member while digging, welcoming Donna Dow to our growing family of crazed collectors.

April hunts 1 Continue reading Field Season Has Arrived

Sphere making !

Those of us who visited the Rochester Lapidary workshop for an open house in March were both fascinated and  impressed by their pair of sphere making machines.  But while most of us went home wishing we had one, Glenn Weiler went home and actually built one!  When we all arrived on April 11th for our monthly workshop Glenn was working on his fifth sphere.  While he admits the “contraption” needs a few design improvements before achieving perfection, Glenn’s ingenuity was once again demonstrated.  Below is a picture of the machine and his first five products.  The small blue sodalite sphere at the top is gorgeous.  The layered orange sphere looks like Jupiter to me, except it is not made of gas!  Glenn will have a complete Solar System soon.   And can you see the Herkimer diamond at the right end of the vug in the largest sphere?