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  We left Montana just in time, escaping the weeklong onslaught of cold and ice.  Nothing feels better than that first wave of warm air as you travel south down I 15 and reach the Virgin River Gorge.  We hit the ground running. After quicky unloading the winter supplies, it was off to see what the vendors had to show at Desert Gardens, Tyson Wells, Prospector’s Panorama and the famed Quartz PowWow.                                                           ...

Long time miner and vendor at the Quartzsite and Tucson shows, Fernado, brought this Mexican agate/jasper material to market a couple of years ago.  The claim was small but produced very high-quality material in limited amounts. It is a fantastic agate with flame colored moss and plumes.  Appropriately named Quetzal for the tropical bird, the colors are similarly bright and bold.  The brilliant orange, red, and gold inclusions are set in clear agate or multicolored jasper.  Most patterns are very clear and distinct which will make outstanding displays or cabochons for jewelry.  This agate will take a great polish for...

Greetings from the southwest.  Arizona has provided warm weather, opportunity to hunt for rocks both in the desert and at the shows.  Even at 90 years old mom still enjoys hunting for rocks in the desert!! Once spring arrives in the North we will be headed home to get the saws running and unpack the winter’s treasures.  There are some great lapidary specimens that we will be sharing with you throughout the year.  The most impressive part of the shows for me is the international materials. There are a few new and exciting materials that I can hardly wait to...

Tucson can be overwhelming to say the least.  Among the pounds of diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies, or sea-tainers of rough lapidary material, and truckloads of slabs and cabochons, it takes something pretty spectacular to stand out in a world of sensory overload.  Such was the case with the amethyst stalactites from Uruguay. Amethyst is found in abundance in many parts of the world and is spectacular because of the deep rich purple crystals and outstanding geode formations often seen as massive display pieces or individual crystals cut for jewelry.  It belongs to the quartz family and has long been...

Greetings! After a successful (and warm) winter in Arizona, we are back home in Montana. The return home from Arizona presented several challenges, not the least being how to load 200 or 300 pound boulders and thousands of pounds of rough rock. After it was all said and done, we have some pretty amazing material to include in our collection and store. It has been like Christmas all over again unwrapping the many and sometimes forgotten treasures! We've slowly been posting new pieces but now that we're home and back in the workshop, we’ll be adding even more in the...