The Conejo Gem and Mineral Club was founded in 1971 as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting knowledge of the lapidary arts, geology, mineralogy, and the earth sciences. Club colors are royal blue and orange. Club Logo is a rabbit or conejo (in Spanish) holding up a large dodecahedron crystal. Members enjoy a monthly newsletter (the Rocky Review), slide shows, informational lectures, demonstrations, displays, use of a club lapidary shop, club library (video tapes and books), rock cutting, polishing, and display learning opportunities, and field trips geared toward sight seeing, exploration, study, and collecting of rock and mineral specimens.
VISITORS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME and MEMBERSHIP IS VOLUNTARY
For more information:
Deb Sankovich
VP Membership CGMC
sankovichdeb@yahoo.com
805-494-7734
Individual adult dues per year are $20.00
Dues for family members per year are $30.00
Upon sign-up, a one time name-badge cost of $7.50 (per badge) is charged for each adult (required), badges for children are optional.
Membership includes one monthly bulletin (newsletter called the Rocky Review) per family, voting privileges at all general meetings (including annual officer elections), invitations to all meetings (including an ice cream social, the summer BBQ picnic, and December holiday party), guided rock-hounding field trips, and supervised access to our lapidary shop equipped for cutting and polishing your finds.
A ROCKHOUND IS A PERSON WHO IS CURIOUS ABOUT ROCKS, MINERALS, AND/OR FOSSILS
As colorful as the rainbow and as sparkling as fine leaded crystal, gemstones have captured the imaginations and desires of men and perhaps especially, women, for ages. The pursuit of gems have become the subject of legends, fairy tales, epics, and major motion pictures. Today, more fine gemstone specimens are available to the average person than at any time in history.WHAT KIND OF ROCKHOUND ARE YOU?
The Fortune Hunter - This rockhound sees potential in wealth in every pebble. He can be recognized by his firm clutch on a new find and the greedy glitter in his eye as he asks, "What is this worth?" The beauty of the stone means nothing to him. First and foremost is the monetary value.
The Optimist - This rockhound is often called the "Happy Hunter", and is characterized by a cheerful disposition. Any colorful rock excites him since he sees in any rock, large or small, a gem of rare beauty. This type of rockhound is fun on a rock hunt because even a drenching rain only means the rocks will show up better. Even if he finds nothing, he has relentless enthusiasm.
The Road Runner - This rockhound tends to be either a male with a large belly, or a female who hates to get dirty. No mountain trail or slippery river bed for this roadside seeker. They operate with the rule to never look further than 12 feet from the vehicle. The road runner depends upon low cunning and swift movement for his supply of rocks. By wearing flimsy shoes, he avoids sloshing along stream beds or climbing up hills. By forgetting equipment, he plays on the sympathy of others who offer him part of their finds.
The Smasher & Basher - This rockhound can be recognized by the trail of rubble he leaves behind with his sledge hammer. As he goes into rocky areas, he smashes and bashes at everything in sight. By the time he is done, there is usually nothing but worthless chips. This convinces him that the rock must have been originally unsound anyway.
Generally speaking, a gemstone is a stone that is beautiful,
rare, and durable (resistant to abrasion, fracturing and chemical reactions).
Some minerals can be very beautiful, but they may be too soft and will scratch
easily (such as the mineral fluorite).
Fluorite is extremely colorful and pretty but has a hardness of only 4 on the
Moh's hardness
scale and has four perfect cleavage
directions, which makes it only an oddity as a cut gem. Others are too common
and are given a semi-precious status (such as
Most gems are silicates which can be very stable, hard minerals. A few gems are oxides and only one gem, diamond, is composed of a single element, carbon. There are also a few gemstones that are not true minerals (called mineraloids) like: opal, amber, and moldavite.