If you're lucky, you'll find gems or semiprecious stones. Gems are
the finer, more crystalline forms of minerals which are ordinarily
less beautiful and spectacular. The true gems are diamonds, emeralds,
rubies and sapphires. All others are semiprecious and ornamental.
Diamonds are pure carbon, but did you know that rubies and sapphires
are corundum minerals--rare forms of alumina. In slightly different
form, they'd turn up on emery paper.
Other stones you might find are the quartz gems: rose quartz,
amethyst, rock crystal, agate, jasper, bloodstone. Or opaque gems
such as jade, moonstone, lapis-lazuli, obsidian, and turquoise.
You don't have to find them. You can buy gems in the rough or in
blanks, then cut and polish them to make your own jewelry or
decorations. This takes practice, plus a cutting and polishing
outfit, wood vise, maybe a diamond wheel. (Or you can join a
lapidary club that might already have the equipment).
First learn to make cabochons--stones with round or curved surfaces.
Then try cutting facets (or faces) in transparent gems. Learn by
reading, working with an expert, trial and error. Making jewelry
is fun, and collecting gems is as interesting as collecting rocks
and minerals; it brings the world into your home. From the West
come agates, jaspers, petrified woods; from the East, colorful
marbles, serpentines, granites. Alaska, Idaho, Connecticut or
Austria will yield dark red garnets. Fine moonstones come from
Ontario; quartz crystals from Hot Springs, Arkansas, can be compared
with similar ones from the Swiss Alps or Brazil.
Rock collecting is a hobby you can tailor to your taste. But
whether you concentrate on an area close to home or travel across
whole continents, you'll find that the pleasure and knowledge you
gain from your collection are matched by the fun and adventure of
the search.
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