Purpose

The Club tries to keep members informed of what is happening in the club, and to keep interest going in the Earth Sciences. Rock and Mineral.

We are a member of:

NW Federation of Mineralogical Societies
American Federation of Mineralogical Societies
Washington State Mineral Council.

Lapidary

Many of our members are Lapidary Artist

What is Lapidary?

  • A lapidary (the word means "concerned with stones") is an artisan who practices the craft of working, forming and finishing stone, mineral, gemstones, and other suitably durable materials into functional and/or decorative wearable, items (e.g. cameos, cabochons, and more complex faceted designs).
  • There exist three broad categories of lapidary arts. These are the procedures of tumbling, cabochon cutting, and faceting. The distinction is somewhat loose, and leaves a broad range within the term cabochon.
  • Most lapidary work is accomplished using motorized equipment that successively decreases material sizes until a polish is achieved using mediums, such as tin oxide, glasitite or cerium(IV) oxide.