Rock Tumbler & Polisher, Lapidary Equipment, Rock Hammer, Mineral Specimen-Our Specialties

Amazing "Old Time Rock Shop" Bulk Rock Just In!

2009-06-11T21:34:00.001-06:00

Labradorite: Madagascar. Top Grade. Each piece shows colors including green, blue, yellow, and orange. $35 per pound

Polychromatic Jasper: India. Also sold as bloodstone, green moss agate, plasma jasper, and fancy jasper. $20 per pound

Sodalite: Madagascar. Mostly dark blue with some white spots. $20 per pound

Star Rose Quartz: Madagascar. This is the stuff that has a star in it when it is polished. Great for spheres, tumbled stones, and cabs. $8 per pound

Tiger’s Eye: Africa. High quality and hard to come by. Some larger pieces available. $25 per pound

Trilobite Hunting Trip

2009-06-10T12:11:00.001-06:00

The Father's Day Trilobite Expedition

June 20^th we will be enjoying a Father’s Day Trilobite Dig.

You will want to bring your 2 5-gallon buckets (We have some for sale.), hammers, chisels, newspaper to wrap your goods, sun screen, a hat and gloves, and lots of water to drink.

We are limited to 50 lbs of rock or 2 full 5-gallon buckets. This can constitute hundreds of trilobites—maybe thousands if you are really lucky.

I will be your personal guide through the trip and will help make sure you are a successful hunter.

As always, when you go with our group we get the “fun layer” of rocks brought out just for us. No one has filtered through the material before us. This dig, not with our group, is $200 per person, per day.

Come with our group and get the same deal for $100 per person for an all day dig (8 hours and maybe longer).

A New Dig, inc. is offering us a half day dig (4 hours from when you get to the dig) for $60.

Kids 5 and under are free.

New Bulk Rock & Lapidary Material Just In!

2009-06-10T12:07:00.002-06:00

Tumbling & Lapidary Rock Shipment Just in From Overseas!

We just received a large rock shipment from overseas. It includes super-high-grade gem Tiger’s Eye, spectacularly colorful Labradorite, Sodalite, Amethyst, Unakite, Aventurine, Fucshite, two-toned striped Red Jasper, rare blue/yellow dichroic Cordierite, and Polychromatic Jasper--polychomatic means multi-colored!This material is so good people were stopping in off the street and buying it as we were trying to unpack it from the shipping crate yesterday.

We're Helping Rock Related and Other Small Businesses Through These Tough Economic Times

2009-06-01T09:40:00.006-06:00

We're grateful we've made it through 45 years of some good and some bad years. In an effort to repay the goodwill sent our way over the years, we're passing on what we've learned to other small businesses. Visit www.rocks4u.com/links.htm for info on where to get goods and services that have worked for us.

We've expanded our services to include really inexpensive domain name registration at www.websitedomainsavvy.com. We've received domain renewal offers for as much as $75 / year. At www.websitedomainsavvy.com, businesses can renew for $9.90 per year!

Best wishes, Rockpick Legend Co. Staff

The Copper Mine of Falun, Sweden

2009-05-11T21:00:00.000-06:00

Many of us are interested in the unusual. And when it comes to fossils weird is better. Large dinosaurs to small trilobites draw our attention. Petrified people will always get attention.

It is not recorded when mining started in Falun, Sweden but by 1000 AD the copper mine was in full production. By the 1600’s it was the largest producer of copper in the world, supplying 70% of the world's copper demand.

Mining accidents plagued this mine as well as any other. In 1677 a miner was trapped from a cave-in. It took 40 years to recover his body, and when it was found it looked as though he had not aged a day. The dry mine air and vitriol in the water (vitriol means blue death in Latin) kills all germs and bacteria as well as anything else living. These conditions preserved him and he became known as the “petrified miner."

Today this historic town is painted red as it has been for hundreds of years because the mine also has a lot of ocher, and the people of the town used it to tint the paint dating clear back to 1764. Many thought the Swedish flag should have been red and green--the red from this town and green for the lush forests in Sweden.

The underground workings at the mine are so extensive that no one really knows how big the mine is. With 1,000 years of mining it must be amazing. Many of the old areas have collapsed, so there is no way of mapping the mine. Records are insufficient or non-existent, leaving us to our imagination.

The mine closed on 8 December 1992, ending a thousand years of mining! This is the longest worked mine in history.

Earth Day

2009-04-29T14:20:00.000-06:00

I celebrate Earth Day every day of the year. According to Wikipedia, Earth Day was created to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. I love living in Utah because I get to see evidence of the Earth's geologic history in every direction I look. We get mountains, mineral deposits, rock formations and so much more that. It is a history in the hundreds of millions of years in the making.

When the trilobites were living in Utah about 550 million years ago, what is now the House Range west of Delta, Utah sat on the equator with most of the eastern half of the state under warm tropical water. This is where the trilobites lived and flourished. They weren’t alone. They lived with worms, algae, sponges, and some primitive plants. There were some other creatures but they are rare in the fossil record. Undoubtedly, there were many other creatures that are not seen in the fossil record.

Moving ahead 250 million years, Utah was a little farther north on the equator and was covered in lush tropical plants like cycads and palms trees along with many other types of vegetation. Moving around and living among the lush greens were dinosaurs. There were many types and sizes living in what we could equate to an “African” type jungle.

The earth is a dynamic system and all good things must come to an end. The dinosaurs only lived for 200 million years, then they moved on. The earth continued to change its appearance, making way for us to live further north on the planet and giving us wonderful seasonal cycles. During the transition from the dinosaurs to our time, the record of the dinosaurs and forests were preserved in the rocks. Weathering has re-exposed them in our time for our enjoyment and understanding of our planet.

Many have equated Earth Day as a day to promote different agendas like recycling, global warming, and preserving the planet. While these issues are important, there are other important “earth environments.” Many minerals and rocks used today come from specific geologic environments. Ore bodies must be mined for metals such as silver, gold, copper, lead, zinc, iron, aluminum, molybdenum, and beryllium--to name a few from Utah. If you ever wonder how important these metals are to you, just try to live without any one of them for any length of time.

Other geologic environments worthy of mention include the Utah sand and gravel deposits that began as shore lines. This is where we get our cement. There are also the oil and natural gas deposits in eastern and southern Utah. For recreation and personal enjoyment we have environments that created Topaz, Red Beryl, Petrified Wood, Dinosaur Bone, Marble, Onyx, and Agate.

Then there are the mineral, fossil, and geologic specimens—the samples that come from the different environments that represent the diversity of Utah’s geology. We display a small portion of what is available from Utah in our Museum Cabinets. Many people around the world collect mineral, fossil, and geologic samples from Utah for personal enjoyment as well as research. I hope you enjoy Earth Day as much as I do!

Rick

Petrified Neapolitan Ice Cream?

2009-04-22T10:56:00.002-06:00

These rocks are not really petrified Neapolitan ice cream. They just look a lot like it. Many of us have seen them and not known they are really coal clinkers. They are another interesting Utah geological product.

Clinkers form from burning coal. Anyone who has had one of those old coal burning furnaces will remember the hard black glassy clinkers that have to be removed periodically. Unlike the furnace type, these clinkers form naturally when a coal seam underground catches fire and burns. The interesting colors that often resemble Neapolitan ice cream come from the surrounding rock and its mineral content, mostly iron. The colors will include yellow, red, black and limey green.

These clinkers get their name from the sound they make when struck against another rock or a hammer. The “clink” sound when it is struck resembles the clink sound from striking metal or glass and is caused by the overlaying rock being burned and then collapsing into the slag.

There are places around the world where you can walk up and see into cracks in the ground where the coal is glowing as it burns. Although dangerous, it is an interesting phenomenon to witness.

These coal seams will burn until the coal is gone. In some cases they have been burning for decades and maybe centuries. Many attempts have been made to extinguish these fires but they are to vast. In Alberta, Canada a coal mining company diverted a small river into the mountain to extinguish a burning coal seam. After months of the water running into the mine, the mountain blew up like a volcano spewing ash and steam into the air and sending a mudflow down the mountain.

The problem with a burning coal seam is that once the fire is started cracks in the ground form from the void created as the coal is reduced to ash. These cracks allow air to flow to the fire keeping it fed with a constant flow of oxygen.

Utah has several of these burning coal seams such as the Burning Hills and Smoky Mountains in Kane County. Here the coal seam is about 84 million years old (Late Cretaceous).

There is an exposed clinker seam in Castle Gate that can be seen in a road cut. March 8th, 1824, an explosion in the Number Two Mine at Castle Gate killed 172 miners making this the 3rd worst mining disaster of its time in the U.S. Some of these miners are buried right across the road from the clinker outcrop in the Castle Gate cemetery.

A by-product of burning coal is carbon dioxide. It is estimated that the burning coal seams in China alone produce more carbon dioxide (from fossil fuels) in a year than all the cars and trucks in the United States.

Turquoise

2009-03-25T14:09:00.000-06:00

One of the most recognizable gemstones to anyone in the world is the blue stone, turquoise. There is not another like it. It has become the symbolic color and gemstone of the West. Its history starts in ancient Egypt where it was mined on the Sinai Peninsula. Later Prussian turquoise was mined as a solid sky blue. Tibet turquoise is wondrous blue-green and is considered a national treasure. More recently, Native Americans of the Southwest have mined its many shades of blues and greens.

From the 1950s to the 1970s turquoise was highly prized and sought after by consumers. At one point a poor prospector could find a new deposit and be wealthy beyond dreams within months. By the mid-1970s turquoise was loosing favor with consumers and the demand dwindled to the small trickle we see today. There is still some demand for high quality gem material with jewelers and mineral collectors but not enough to cause the huge price spike from the 1970s.

Utah has one good location for gem turquoise--the Bingham Copper Mine in Salt Lake County. The Bingham Copper Mine holds the unique designation as the largest man-made hole and the largest copper mine in the world. The mine is also famous for many spectacular mineral specimens. Most specimens mined at Bingham Copper Mine are discarded or crushed without any care for their intrinsic value.

One of the minerals that are general destroyed is a beautiful turquoise. It exhibits a dark robin-egg blue to a light powdery blue and often has inclusions of galena and pyrite crystals. When a face is polished, these crystals add to the distinctness of the specimens from this location. Unfortunately, the mine operators will not allow any of this material on the market. The mine will not even discuss it or their reasoning behind the policy. Excuses for this behavior range from rumors of contracts with other turquoise mines (non-compete), to a former president of the company that didn’t like the color. Regardless of the reasoning it is a shame that this world class turquoise is rarely seen by anyone. The turquoise from here that is available only comes from miners who, at some time in the past, smuggled it out in their lunch boxes.

Class Schedule, March 2009

2009-03-17T18:23:00.001-06:00

Current Class Schedule
Fossil Prep Emphasizing Trilobites, Wednesday, March 25th@5pm

Classes especially to help teachers with State Core Requirements
Elementary School Teacher Classes, Saturday, March 28th
9 am, Teacher Series: Volcanoes and Earthquakes
10 am, Teacher Series: How to Teach Rocks & Minerals
11 am, Teacher Series: Forces of Erosion
12 pm, Teacher Series: Geologic Features

Rock Tumbling for the Novice & Expert, Saturday, March 28th@2pm

Cost: FREE, but you must pre-register, 801-355-7952. Classes are limited to 15 people each. You may register for one or all classes, however, out of respect for our teachers and other students, no-shows will be restricted from future registration.

Economic Stress Sale Today!

2009-03-13T14:45:00.004-06:00

Our Economic Stress Means Super Deals Today (3/13/09) on Dichroic Glass Cabs, Eggs & Spheres, Finished Jewelry, Mineral Specimens, and More! Specials are marked throughout the store. Specials are subject to stock on hand.

Agate--What is it?

2009-03-11T11:35:00.000-06:00

Feature Article: What is Agate?

Agate is micro- to crypto-crystalline quartz. The term micro refers to the crystals being seen only with a microscope and crypto means hidden in reference to how small the crystal structure is. It can form through volcanic or sedimentary processes. Quartz is made up of silica so it tends to be hard and glassy. It is very abundant in nature and forms an endless variety of colors, patterns, and textures. These properties make it a perfect lapidary material. Agate is a common term for the mineral chalcedony.

Jasper is a term used to distinguish the darker colors of agate such as browns, reds, mustard, and dark green. Jasper is also used to describe agate that is coarse grained.

Terms like jasp-agate are used to describe agates that have both the properties of agate and jasper. While this term has endured, it is becoming archaic.

Utah has an abundance of agate and jasper. Most of the Utah material was formed as sedimentary rock but there are also volcanic agate in Utah, such as Wendover agate.

The formation of agate is extremely complex and not well understood by scientists. The variations and combinations are almost endless which makes it difficult to decipher how it forms. Notwithstanding, agate is common around the world and one of the most collected minerals. Because of its commonality, it is often taken for granted. The complexity of the bands and patterns mixed with the structures within the agate are dazzling to many. Utah agates are included in our Free Mineral Museum Display. Come in and take a look!

March Trilobite Expedition

2009-03-07T15:08:00.001-07:00

Trilobite Expedition:
There is still plenty of room in the Trilobite Expedition on March 21st. Cost is $60 per person eight years and older.
We convoy down so you can come home when you are ready or when it gets dark.
Bring lots of food, water, a spare tire, a great rock hammer, and newspaper to wrap your specimens.
Remember if you purchase a rock hammer from us you get the leather sheath and safety goggles FREE.

Dinosaur Foot Prints You've Got To See

2008-11-02T11:27:00.007-07:00

Just In! Dinosaur Foot Prints--Four prints from Price, Utah. One is a hadrosaur, a duck-billed dinosaur that was extremely large. All three toes are well preserved. One is an albertosaur, a good size predator. It was smaller than a T-rex but still weighed 2 tons. This print is well preserved and defined. The other two prints are some unidentified theropod (believed to be a triceratops). One is the front print and one is the back print.

Utah Trilobite Fossils

2008-08-23T16:27:00.000-06:00

There are over 15,000 species of trilobites. Many collectors and experts believe Utah is home to as many as 600 of those species. An individual species can be described from a single trilobite or even a part of a trilobite.

The fun of trilobites is that everyone recognizes them. We like to say that they are 350,000,000 year old roaches, but they are actually ancestors of the Horseshoe Crab.

Utah trilobites range in size from less than 1/8 inch to a whopping 12+ inches. In recent years some very rare trilobites (olinoides sp.) were discovered in the Little Drum Mountains that exceed 12 inches.

At our favorite collecting site (A New Dig) there are several species including: Elrathia kingi, Modocia typicallus, Altiocculus, Peronopsis, Alokistocare, Agnostus, Asaphiscus wheeleri, and more.

Other fossils found in the Utah trilobite beds include corals, sponges, Gogia sp. (Sea lily flower head), Chancelloria (Jelly Fish), several different brachiopods, worm tracks, trilobite tracks, star fish, jelly fish, and more.

Utah Rock Collecting Article, Guest Author

2008-07-25T10:52:00.005-06:00

Collecting in Utah, 2008

On May 10th , Steve Smith and I left Arkansas, just ahead of a tornado, for Utah for a few days of rockhounding. After visiting the interactive dinosaur museum in Fruita, Colorado, we headed for Marysvale, Piute County in east Utah, just south of rte.70 to our first collecting site. A small pasture on BLM land, 2.8 miles north of Marysvale is strewn with boulders of banded grey-white rhyolite containing vugs of small amethyst crystals associated with micro rutile crystal sprays and complex crystal forms of bixbyite. Alas, the weather turned nasty with sleet, snow, rain, and wind, making for miserable and not-so-productive collecting.
Onward to our reservations at Best Western in Delta, Utah, where the weather improved. We stopped in at the West Desert Rock Art rock shop and were told that blasting was done a month earlier at the White Knoll spot in the Topaz mountain “cove”, 40 miles NW of Delta. The next 2 ½ days were spent collecting at Topaz mtn. On day one we were at the Knoll with hammers and chisels, which opened up small vugs, seams, and lithophysal cavities in the hard rhyolite
that yielded sherry topaz singles to 1 inch and some small clusters. The next day we explored another part of the cove, the White Canyon, where we found rare micro pseudobrookite sprays to 6 mm., and even rarer red beryl 5-7 mm. wide. Some beryls were in rhyolite maitrix in boulder float, below which we sifted for a few more loose crystals. One shovelful that Steve dumped into the sifter contained a very angry scorpion that I nearly grabbed with my bare hand! The morning of day three was spent collecting more topaz at the White Knoll area. Even though it was only Thursday, more people were beginning to show up. Best time to visit there is mid-May during the week, as weekends can be very crowded.

pseudobrookite, red beryl, topaz (photo captions)

That afternoon we made the 4 hour trip to Wendover, on the Utah/ Nevada border, to our motel. The next day we headed south on paved, then gravel roads for close to 60 miles, to the ghost town of Gold Hill, Tooele County. This mining district has a complex geology and mineralogy and was mined off and on for gold, silver, lead, copper, arsenic, and minor amounts of other minerals. Today the mine shafts have been sealed, but the BLM told us that unclaimed tailings were okay to explore. After navigating the 4WD mine road we parked on a flat area of tailings about half way up to the Gold Hill mine. Then we hiked up a fairly steep trail to the top at the South Pit and Glory hole. Here, clear and green crystals of adamite, plus austinites conichalcite, olivenite, mixite, chrysocolla ( including pseudophorphs ), and several other copper, zinc, lead, and iron arsenates, as well as some carbonates were collected. Most of these were micros, with some TN’s and miniatures. At one tailings area, a very angry rattler warned us off. This is a very isolated region, with no cell service. Plan accordingly!

conichalcite, adamite, austinite (photo captions)

The next leg of the journey took us back to Delta, then west to the private trilobite claim at Antelope Springs. $38.00( ouch! ) for 4 hours of shale-splitting yielded several complete Cambrian trilobites. This is a very popular and productive area.

trilobite- Asaphiscus wheeleri (photo captions)

Finally we headed back east, and decided to revisit the Marysvale rhyolite locale again, this time on a beautiful day. Here I found my best bixbyites. We decided to pass on the Yellow Cat petrified wood area of Utah and the Book Cliffs in Colorado due to time and lack of knowledge of access. If the road accessing these areas are at all wet, they can be impassable for even 4WD; so, homeward bound.

bixbyite (photo caption)

Utah is still a great destination for field collecting, thanks to the BLM designated areas, some of the Chambers of Commerce, and local Rock shops and private claims. Contact the BLM for current status at abandoned mines and open prospecting areas, the internet for Rockhoundingutah, the MinRec Jan-Feb 1993. and Holfert,etal. Field Guide to Topaz and associated minerals in the Thomas Range,Utah, for more info.

Ed Hakesley

Semi-Precious Stone Beads, Dichroic Glass Cabochons & Findings for Jewelers

2008-07-14T12:14:00.009-06:00

We have expanded to include a full selection of semi-precious and other stone beads. Here is just of taste of what is in the shop. Hurry in for the best selection since we received small quantities of lots of different sizes, styles & stones!

We are also carrying a line of handmade, unique dichroic glass cabochons and a jewelry findings collection to go with them.

Come and see all the goodies Mon - Sat 9:30 - 6:00.

Forensic Geology

2008-05-15T11:24:00.002-06:00

Today's forensic geology has a futuristic quality to it. Forensic geology is just what it sounds like, solving crimes with geology.

Its roots are with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes." Even though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was only writing fictional stories, several criminologists of his day used the same thought process to solve important crimes.

With only a microscope and deductive reasoning, they were able to show guilt (or innocence) by examining soil samples on clothes and shoes.

The first real case involving minerals was in 1904 when Gerog Popp, a German criminologist was asked to help with a murder case. Eva Disch, seamstress, was found strangled in a bean field. A handkerchief found at the scene with snot on it was examined, and the snot was found to contain coal dust, snuff, and mineral particles, particularly, hornblende and mica. Popp was able to examine the layers of dirt on one suspect's clothes and determine that the suspect had been at work at a coal mine, then home, then through dirt to Eva's bean field, and back home. The route to and from Eva's bean field contained fine particles of hornblende and mica. The mud splashed on the suspect's pants with the evidences in the handkerchief left little room for doubt. When the suspect was confronted with the evidence, he confessed everything.

Today this evidence would have been secondary to DNA testing but it would have still been used. (And as a side note, DNA is being extracted from "fossil" records. This is where paleontology meets biology!)

There are hundreds of examples of this kind of evidence being used in criminology. There are dozens of special labs, both with crime enforcement and with specialized consulting firms, set up in many different countries that specialize in this.

If you'd like to read more about it, check out Evidence from the Earth: Forensic Geology and Criminal Investigation by Raymond C. Murray. We are taking orders for those of you who would like your own copy. They are $20.

Rick

Rock Shop Recycles Glass--Lapidary & Glass Art Have a Lot in Common

2008-02-19T09:57:00.012-07:00

We recycle glass! We are now accepting sheet glass (windows, shelves), clean food jars & bottles, glass chunks, stained glass scraps or other glass. We're sorry, we cannot accept tempered, safety, or auto glass.

What are we doing with used glass? We're providing it to local glass artists! To see recycled glass art, hurry to Red Butte Gardens for The Nature of Sustainable Art show. It runs through February 24th from 10 AM to 5 PM.

Visit: Mcrushoglass.com for some great recycled glass art.

Here are some snapshots of the show:

Cash & Treasures Update

2008-02-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

We just received this nice note from Carl, the producer of the show:

"...By the way, the first edit went to the Travel Channel and they LOVED the show. Thank you and thanks to your wonderful family for all your help!!"

Carl

We're looking forward to seeing the episode for ourselves. We'll let you know when as soon as we hear when it will air!

Rick

Lortone vs. Harbor Freight Rock Tumblers

2007-11-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

Here are real customer comments sent to us at rockshop@rocks4u.com.

About the middle of August, I purchased a 3-lb rock tumbler from Harbor Freight Tools and have broken four belts in the process of tumbling and polishing one batch of agates. The particular model I purchased would be equivalent to a Lortone having only one 3-lb barrel. I did read one web site that warned about the poor quality of the Harbor Freight tumblers, but I wondered how I could go wrong for $22. I had my answer when I spent $16 on two replacement fans (the first two belts broke a blade off the plastic fan when they failed), four replacement belts, and shipping (close to half of the cost). The belts are difficult to replace and don't seem to last very long. I even tried a rubber band while waiting for the new belts to arrive. The rubber band did last for most of the pre-polish step, but was sticky and gummy at the end of that cycle. I'd have to be really desperate to try that again.

Near the end of September, my wife and I visited your shop in Salt Lake City (while visiting friends in Salt Lake), and I saw that you run multiple tumblers seemingly on a continuous basis. How long do the belts typically last on the Lortone tumblers? What is the diameter of the Lortone tumbler belts? Would I get more service life out of the Harbor Freight tumbler if I replaced the fan with a Lortone fan and used a Lortone belt?

I live in (city), WA so I don't visit Salt Lake City very often. I was impressed with your shop when we visited because of the assortment of tumblers, tumbler parts, grit, and rough rocks. Thank you in advance for your help.

RK

Our reply:

Hi RM,
Thank you for your compliments to the shop. I’m glad you stopped in. We have a number of customers that use Lortone replacement parts for their Harbor Freight Tumblers. Specifically, we send out a lot of belts. I believe the Harbor Freight sizes correspond to the Lortone sizes, so you can base belts on your tumbler size. I’m not sure about the fan. That may be a gamble.

We send out shipments via FedEx and USPS everyday, so it is no problem to send you parts if you want to give that a try. Either order on-line at https://shop.rocks4u.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=86 or give us a call at 1-888-762-5746.

May we use your comments and my response on our blog—with no identifying information, of course?

I hope that was helpful. Please let me know if I can answer anything else.
Sincerely,
Anita

RM replies:

Yes, you may use my comments in your blog. I will order later this week, after pay day.

I based my question about the capability of swapping parts on your web catalog. The entry for the cooling fan indicates it can be used in the Harbor Freight tumbler. I was wondering if you knew of anybody who had successfully interchanged the parts.

You didn't answer my question about the service life of the Lortone belts (i.e., how long do they last?). I want to find out if the belts break frequently and I have to accept that lot in life, or whether the Lortone belts are made of better material and will last for several tumbling phases or for several batches of rock. I think that the material in Harbor Freight belts doesn't hold up to the heat generated by the flexing and the transfer of energy (to turn the tumbler drum). When they fail, they are usually cracked in several places, as if the rubber became brittle. I've removed the top guard plate to facilitate air flow for cooling to see if that helps.

And we reply again:

Hi RM,
I asked our lapidary people and they said you could swap parts between Harbor Freight and Lortone. Also, Lortone belts are much better than the one you have. They last a year or more in our machines. The trick to keeping them running is to not over tighten. Also, don't get the oil on them.

Thank you for allowing us to use your comments. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with!
Sincerely,
Anita

Cash & Treasures visits Rockpick Legend Co.

2007-11-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, November 10, the host and crew of Travel Channel's Cash & Treasures filmed an episode about Utah topaz at our store! It was a lot of fun, but a lot of hard work, too. They started around 10 in the morning and worked until 5 at night. We answered a lot of questions, took direction on camera, stood around while they filmed segments, arranged displays, re-arranged displays, made new displays, oh, and gathered props.

We were pleasantly surprised by how friendly the group from Cash & Treasures were, not only to us, but to our friends and customers. Kirsten Gum was just as nice off camera as she is on camera. The camera men, Luke Saver and Brian Cardello, showed the kids their equipment and posed for pictures. Some of us got closely acquainted with audio man Aron Prigg as he wired us with microphones--he was very nice about it. And last, but not least, Carl Schick, the producer, was patient with our screw-ups, open to our non-experienced TV producing suggestions, and just plain fun to work with. By the time they were done we felt like they were old friends.

They started by shooting opening segments outside the store. When they came inside, they had Rick sort and appraise the topaz they found while collecting the day before with Mike Unruh, well-known topaz expert. Later in the day we had the pleasure of visiting with Mike.

After Rick appraised the topaz, he helped Kirsten wash the topaz in an ultrasonic cleaner. My favorite line of the day was when Kirsten asked Rick if she could use his toothbrush. Of course she wanted the one he was using to wash topaz, but it was a great line, anyway.

After the topaz was clean, Alston showed Kirsten (and crew) how to cut topaz on a lapidary saw. Kirsten seemed especially impressed that Alston was not afraid of putting his fingers right up to the blade. Alston showed her he could touch the blade while it was spinning without getting cut. With a little coaxing, Kirsten tried it and sighed a sigh of relief when all her fingers were still intact. This works because a rock saw blade cuts by grinding--it's not really "cutting" at all.

Next Constance helped Kirsten make jewelry with her topaz and our findings kit (modified to suit Kirsten and crew). There was a little problem getting the bell cap around the topaz for the pendant, so Alston trimmed the topaz--twice. Once that was taken care of, Kirsten got her topaz pendant and earrings.

Kirsten had several nice display pieces, so Zeke and Frederick showed her how to display them with acrylic stands and mineral tack. They all seemed to enjoy a lengthy conversation about displaying topaz, their favorite gems, and where they like to go rock hounding. While I'm sure this conversation will be cut out of the final show, I wish you could hear it. It was very cute all the way around.

The filming wrapped up with a final appraisal from Rick. Cleaning, mounting and making jewelry didn't really change the value of the topaz, but it definitely made it nicer to look at!

Thank you Kirsten, Carl, Luke, Brian, and Aron for an education in making a TV show, a fun (but hard) day, and being so great to work with! We're looking forward to seeing the episode sometime next spring, and we hope you'll visit us again!

Anita Dalrymple

Feldspar Gemstones

2007-11-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

By far the most abundant mineral group on earth is the feldspars. Yet, when you think of gemstones you don’t associate them with feldspars. However, the feldspar family produces some pretty amazing gems.

The feldspar family is composed silicates (Si2O4) of potassium (K), sodium (Na), and calcium (Ca) where the sodium replaces the potassium and the calcium replaces the sodium in various amounts to create some very common rocks and occasionally, gemstones.

Imagine a triangle ▲ where at the top of point you have pure potassium silicate which is the mineral orthoclase. Most orthoclase is white to fleshy in color and boring. Under special conditions it can form a very rare gemstone from citrine to honey in color and be as transparent as glass.

Now moving down the left side of the triangle toward the bottom left corner we add a little sodium to get sanidine, one of the rarest of the feldspars. Most of the time sanidine is just white and opaque like the crystals from Tooele. Given the right conditions it can form a smoky quartz look-a-like.

Add enough sodium now to make it a 50:50 mix and you get moonstone. Moonstone is one of the gems that have many faces. It can be orange, yellow, green, red, gray, brown, and black. But the most sought after is the blue. When you get a blue flash across a semi-transparent stone it is just amazing. Even more beautiful is when the blue is mixed with orange, yellow, or red. Then you see a rainbow dancing within the stone. This is one of the most popular gemstones in the world. It is said to bring young maidens great luck.

Once you have replaced all the potassium with sodium you have microcline, a.k.a. amazonite. This forms opaque stones that are robin-egg blue to deep emerald green.

Now we move across the bottom of the triangle from left to right replacing the sodium with calcium.

Oligoclase is a rare and visually stimulating gemstone. It forms various shades of greens from mint green to pastel green like tourmalines. It can also form shades of yellow, tan, and brown.

With a little more calcium you get sunstone, a very popular gemstone. Our Utah sunstone is fun to collect but it doesn’t really turn out a good gemstone. The material from Oregon however, is the finest in the world. It forms blood red to pastel reds and green, tan, yellow, brown, and black. The highest quality is the red with inclusions of copper flakes that make the stone shimmer or glitter as it moves in the light. I particularly like the ones with red and green together, they remind me of Christmas. This sunstone is probably the most valuable feldspar on the market.

With a 50:50 mix of calcium and sodium you get labradorite. Calcium and sodium molecules are round and large so when they mix there is there is a lot of space between them. This space, called interstices, fills with water and creates a prism as the light refracts off of it. This phenomenon is called labradorescents. We see the colors of a rainbow--yellows, blues, greens, oranges, reds, and violets. They are often very vivid and striking, making this mineral a favorite among mineral collectors, gemstone collectors, jewelry wearers, and just about anybody who sees it. Though named for Labrador, Canada where it was first discovered, the best material comes from Madagascar. Labradorite is often called spectralite or galaxite.

Moving to almost pure calcium you get bytownite. It is among the most rare of gemstones and a favorite with collectors. It has a warm glowing yellow to amber color.

We have a few of these feldspars in stock. We have some moonstone cabs of different colors, sunstone, labradorite, amazonite, etc.

Adrienne is updating the minerals on the website about once a week. This week she should have about 50 more specimens on including guitar picks custom made by Alston and gemstones.

See them at: https://shop.rocks4u.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=106

Rick
Rockpick Legend Co.
1017 S Main Street
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
801-355-7952

Planning Christmas Gifts?

2007-10-24T16:46:00.000-06:00

If you'd like to purchase a rock tumbler for Christmas we recommend placing your order early--the sooner the better. The last few years the major manufacturers, such as Thumler's Tumblers and Lortone were unable to deliver tumblers by our requested dates. They appear to be following that pattern this year.

Also, keep in mind that most large equipment such as a saws and combo units are made to order. Please allow up to a month for these items.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Rockpick Legend Co.
1-888-Rock-Shop
(1-888-762-5746)

How Do I Polish My Petrified Wood Rounds?

2007-09-08T16:09:00.000-06:00

We have about 12 pieces of petrified wood that are 3" thick and up to 11" around that we want to polish. What type of equipment would we need to do this job? We don't want to spend too much for a one time project. We just want to polish the pieces we have to give as gifts.

Thanks for any advice or help.

Bobbie

Hi Bobbie,

Lapidary work (cutting and polishing rock) requires some specialized equipment. Petrified wood is essentially agate. Agate is a hard material that requires silicon carbide or diamond abrasives to cut and polish. I’ve listed some options for you below. Another approach may be to take your pieces to your local rock shop and have them cut and polish for you. That would save the investment in the equipment. I hope this helps!

There are three ways to polish your petrified wood:

Cut a face, and then flat-lap. For an 11” diameter you’d probably need a 24” saw. That would be a tight fit, since you have to subtract the arbor diameter from the blade size and then divide in two for the size of rock you can actually cut with the saw. Peculiarities of the rock can also affect how well it will fit in the vice (bumps, jags, etc.).

Here is a link to saws: http://shop.rocks4u.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=29

Here is a link to flat or vibra-laps: http://shop.rocks4u.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=41

Break up the wood and then tumble it, although that seems like a shame for such nice size pieces.

Here is a link to rock hammers: http://shop.rocks4u.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=6

Here is a link to rock tumblers: http://shop.rocks4u.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=81

Hand polish using a grinding/polishing combination unit. The belt sander might be the best tool for this size stone.

Here is a link to grinders & polishers: http://shop.rocks4u.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=52

Sincerely,
Anita
Rockpick Legend Co.
www.rocks4u.com

How Do I Get Small Fossils for a School Project?

2007-09-08T12:56:00.000-06:00

My son is taking a class in earth science and geology this year. We are trying to obtain specimens of different samples to put together for his class. We have a very limited budget. I have no idea what a small fossil might be worth. I realize there are different types of fossils. My question, if possible, is if it is possible to get a small fossil that might be of little or no value for this project.

If you can help or lead me in the right direction I would very much appreciate it.

Thank You

George

Hi George,
Thank you for your inquiry. We have small fossil samples for just this purpose. Our small sample fossils include shells and crinoids. Brachiopods are small clam shells fossilized 300 million years ago. Crinoids were a plant that looked like today’s sea-lilies. These are the fossilized stems from about 30 million years ago.

So that school children can afford to own and experience fossils, we offer these fossil specimens at $1 each.

Since they are not currently on our website, you can call to place an order. The number is 1-888-Rock-Shop. We ship Fed-Ex ground.

I hope that helps!

Anita
Rockpick Legend Co.
www.rocks4u.com