Rock, Gem, Jewelry & Craft Show

The Rock & Gem Show rolled into the area for the first time on June 27-29. The show was sponsored by the Orange Belt Mineralogical Society. Rock hounds from all over the local area as well as those from out-of-state were on hand to sell their rock and gems and to share their knowledge of rocks, stones, gems and fossils. Jessica Pearson, President of the Orange Belt Mineralogical Society, was the organizer for this event. “This is our first year in Rialto. In the past, we have had this show in San Bernardino. We feel happy and welcome here. Our club works hard to educate people in lapidary and we have many hands on opportunities for people to learn about our craft. We offer casting classes, silver smithing classes and have field trips to dig for rocks. These classes are open to all ages.” George and Pam Morey, owners of Earth's Treasures Rock Shop in Crestline, were part of the show promoting their passion for rocks and gems. They brought a large selection of spheres to sell. "Spheres are formed from raw rock that goes through a process using grit to smooth the rock into a sphere," Pam explained. They, also, had a selection of Depression glass. Originally, this type of glass was formed to make dishes. The broken pieces are tumbled smooth and given new life as decorative pieces. They had a selection of kid products that would strike up the rock hound in kids of all ages. Bert and Lee Grisham from the San Gorgonio Mineral Society were at the show to promote the study of mineralogy and lapidary arts and techniques. Lapidary is an artist who forms stones, gemstones and minerals into decorative items by using the techniques of carving, cutting, grinding and polishing. When asked about being rock hounds, Bert said, “We are power of ten rock hounds!” They joined the club in 1991 and the club has been in existence since 1946. They had a selection of what are called slabs. These slabs are sliced from large rocks and are polished to bring out the different layers within the rock. They brought along an assortment of “critters” for children to purchase. These "critters" were made from rocks by club members. Eric and Violet Mandeson had an exquisite display of unusual rocks, stones and handcrafted jewelry. They said they have been rock hounds since children. They have had other careers but their passion is stones. Violet said, "As a girl, I would collect pails of black Apache tears in Arizona." Apache tears are rounded nodules of obsidian which is volcanic blackglass. Violet and Eric collect stones worldwide. There are so many different facets to rocks and gems. There were those on hand that collect and process the raw products and there were prospectors that mine the rocks. One of those was Luis de los Santos. He discovered the Condor agate in Argentina in 1993. This agate is now famous worldwide. Mr. Santos explained as a prospector one has to learn how to “read the rocks.” He had what is called a nodule. With an untrained eye, the nodule could be overlooked as just a worthless piece of rock but to someone that knows how to “read the rocks” they know that inside is buried treasure such as a stunning condor or crater agate. Mr. Santos conducts seminars which teaches people about his experience as a prospector and on becoming a collector. "Rocks are a strange magnet on people. They draw people in. Touching rocks and people get hooked and begin to acquire knowledge of rocks and fossils. Their enthusiasm for the hobby is contagious," he said. There were over twenty vendors at the show offering a bounty of rocks, gems, and fossils. Something for everyone whether one was looking for an Ethiopian opal, Arizona or Nevada turquoise, copper, silver, geodes and more. Worth more than the treasures being sold was the treasure trove of knowledge these rock hounds were eager to share.