BENDIGEM The official newsletter of Bendigo Gem Club Inc. April 2018 In this issue: Presidents Report Christmas Party 17 Vale Edith Oakes Intro to Gemstones Bendigo Gem Club Inc. 10 Galvin Street, BENDIGO Victoria 3550 Reg A 0000448C www.gembendigo.org.au Enquiries: secretary@gembendigo.org.au BendigoGemClub
Bendigo Gem Club Postal Address: 10 Galvin St Bendigo Victoria 3550 Club Contacts: 03 5463 5816 www.gembendigo.org.au facebook.com/bendigogemclub facebook.com/groups/gemarama/?fref=ts Executive Committee President Alan Martin 0436 381 329 president@gembendigo.org.au Vice President Charlie Bock Secretary Lea Smith secretary@gembendigo.org.au Treasurer Janet Baker treasurer@gembendigo.org.au Extra Committee Members Social Secretary Sandra Anderson 5443 3479 Neil Anderson 5443 3479 John Carey 5443 7135 EXPO Coordinator Andie Downing 0427 755 205 andie@bendigoeventmanagement.com.au Field Trip Officer Currently Vacant Workshop Manager Neale Anderson 5443 3479 Bendigem Editor Lea Smith 5444 4179 lea.smith@bendimail.com Maintenance Officers Charlie Bock Mineral Reps Pat Sutton 5441 5656 John Carey (see above) Club Fees 2018 Joining Fee $30 one off Name Tags $10 Yearly Membership $30/Single $40/Family $15/Associate Adult Workshop Fees Full day $6.00 Half/Part day $3.00 Evenings $3.00 Workshop Times: Tues. evenings 5-7 p.m. John Carey and Peter Covington 6-8:30p.m. John Carey Thurs. 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Instructors in all fields Thurs. nights 7-10 p.m. Kate Middleton Committee Meetings 3rd Thursday at 7:00 p.m. All members WELCOME Annual General Meeting 3rd Friday in November Unless stated otherwise. 2 BENDIGEM April 2018
Presidents Report Its almost May and I must apologise for the lateness of getting this report to you. I have just formed an alliance with goulburn valley and some of sheppartons members to have communal digs - this does a few things - It fires up the clubs ability to have regular digs and form friendships between our clubs and other like minded lapidaries. The first of these is Sunday 29 of this month - All interested in crystal hunting can contact me on email almartin54@hotmail.com This years theme was to come in something either RED or GOLD, to celebrate our two anniversarys in 2017. It was a great night. There seems to be general agreement that our newsletter should lapse in paper form and be reborn online with the club page and the facebook pages replacing it and all ads be transferred to this and have the ability for members to be able to comment on various aspects of this. Yet again there is a need to have another membership drive and I d like Volunteers to help assist with another run of open days. We always need volunteers, so we ask you to please help out where you can. Happy lapidary Al Christmas Party 2017 Once again in December 2017 we gathered together for our annual Christmas party. Held at the Queens Arms hotel, president Al outdid himself this year with a home made turkish delight outfit. Well done Al. BENDIGEM April 2018 3
Christmas Party 2017 (cont.) 4 BENDIGEM April 2018
Edith Oakes It was with great sadness that we learned that our beloved life member Edith Oakes had passed away on the 16th February 2018. Edith was a very active member of the club for many years and her absence will surely be felt at club events. Edit Oakes was a member of the Bendigo Gem Club Inc. from early inthe Club s existence (the early 1970 s). As such she joined in activities ranging from apple picking to raise funds to construct a home for club members. Later she was one of the key people to organise the display members work, and to encourage members and potential members to all facets of lapidary and earth sciences. More than one member s first knowledge of was a club rock swap at her home in Woodward road. Her influence was not limited to the Bendigo district. She was an active member of the Mineralogical Society of Victoria (Minsoc) and a keen supporter of the Australian Journal of Mineralogy (AJM) A main interest of Edith s was her excellent personal collection of mineral specimens, both large and small. She was a very keen collector and some of her efforts were crucial to the discovery of rare minerals, and even minerals new to science, such as Ulrichite. See image right During her time in the Bendigo Gem club she served in a range of positions, including President and Social Secretary. After years of servce she was granted a life membership and most recently our new silver smithing extension has been named in her honour. She will be sadly missed around the club. BENDIGEM April 2018 5
Gemstone Identification Introduction to Gemstones What is a gemstone? The general definition is: something that contains these three qualities - Rarity, Beauty and Durability. Gemstones must be rare, they must have beauty and they must be durable. Without these three qualitiies technically the item in question shouldn t be classed as a gemstone. Its these qualities that make gemstones desireable and seperates them from other materials such as glass or plastic and synthetic gemstones. Before we go on much further, I want to give you an example of why we need to learn about gemstones and how to identify them. If I gave you a red gemstone, what would be your first impressions? Most likely that it would be a Ruby. But can you be sure? Some rubies have a very distinctive red colour, but then can you tell if it is real or synthetic? Hmmm, burmese rubies and burmese spinels are very close in colour so what would you need to do to tell them apart? What about red tourmaline, they can sometimes look like rubies, and even red garnets can be mistaken for a ruby. Then there is red beryl, zircon, even red diamond. So a number of different red coloured gemstones can be mistaken for each other plus throw in the synthetics and you have even more options. There are a number of tools available to help seperate and identify stones correctly. Based on my knowledge I know that rubies and tourmaline are doubly refractive, spinels are singly refractive, this would separate the spinel. Ruby shows a very distinct orange and red through a dichroscope where as red tournamline shows red and light red. Tourmalines show a distinct inclusion called a trichyte while rubies may show angular colour banding. So with the correct knowledge you can quite easily and quickly tell them apart. More to come next edition... New Treasurer The early months of this year saw a new treasurer take over the very important task of keeping our books. Due to certain circumstances, our previous Treasurer, Nathan, has been made to stand down as Treasurer and expelled from the club. Janet Baker is our new treasurer and is already doing a fantastic job getting everything sorted. If you need help with anything money wise etc, Janet is only too happy to help. Janet is available at the club on Thursdays. And if you are not sure who Janet is, see picture below. Burmese Ruby Burmese Spinel Red Tourmaline You can see from the pictures above how difficult it can be to correctly identify each one only by sight. Some gemstones can be quite easy to detect and others can be hard, depending on what equipment you have available and your depth of knowledge. 6 BENDIGEM April 2018
General Information What Am I? Silver Casting Dates Silver Casting Dates for 2018 are: 21 April 2018 Please register on the form at the club Field Trips What do you think I am? I am not a sapphire. Answer next edition Last months mineral was a pink Argyle diamond crystal. Possible field trip coming up on the 28th April to dig for topaz and quartz crystals at Strathbogie. Details will be provided at the club rooms Keep an eye out for the form and put your name on the list if you are interested. Upcoming Events April 19 Committe Meeting. Club Rooms. 7.00pm 21-22 Essendon Gem & Lapidary show, Cross Keys Reserve, Bridge St, Essendon Ph: 9350 1804 29 Field Trip to Strathbogie, GV Gem mineral & craft group. Contact Al for details. May 5-6 Diamond Valley Gem Club show, Masonic Centre, 23 Ester St, Greensborough ph: 946 2335 12-13 Field trip with GV Gem mineral & Craft group to ballarat and Mt Shadwell. Contact Al 17 Committe Meeting. Club Rooms. 7.00pm 18-21 Victorian Gacetors Group Shepparton Workshop, Kialla Scout Hall, Recreation Drive, Kialla Park Community Reserve Kialla. Contact Graham Young 9363 1803 September 8-9 Bendigo Gem Club Expo, Bendigo Baptist Church, 757 McIvor Hwy, Junorton 22-23 Waverly Gem Club Exhibition, Brandon Park Community Centre, 645 Ferntree Gully Road, Glen Waverley, Contact Peter: 0415 536 770 Gemborees 2019 Queensland 2020 Albury, Victoria BENDIGEM April 2018 7
Our supporters Martin and David Ruffell Qualified Jewellers Ph: (03) 5443 5755 16 Mitchell St. Bendigo Cutom Made, Restorations - Ring resizing Claw Retipping - Chain & Bracelet repairs Bendigo Gold & Opals - Diamond Specialists - Pearl rethreading - Deisgn service Designed & Printed by Bendimail Bulk Mail Specialists 68 Belle Vue Road, Golden Square, Vic, 3554 Ph: (03) 5444 4179 - www.bendimail.com.au Email: lea.smith@bendimail.com Bendigo Gem Club Inc. 10 Galvin Street, BENDIGO Victoria 3550 Reg A 0000448C www.gembendigo.org.au Enquiries: secretary@gembendigo.org.au BendigoGemClub