Category: Program Meeting

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April 18 Program Meeting Focuses on Rock Collecting in the Mojave Trails National Monument

7:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 18, 2023

What do the Cady Mountains and the Marble Mountain Fossil Beds have in common? These are sample sites Pasadena Lapidary Society (PLS) members and other rockhounds visit to collect rocks including but not limited to chalcedony and agates. The aforementioned sites are also an example of places within the boundaries of the Mojave Trails National Monument (MTNM) in San Bernardino County, California.  PLS members have visited public lands and collected rocks since our Society’s establishment in 1946, while the MTNM was created in February 2016 under the Obama Administration. Some national monuments have banned rockhounding or removed access to rockhounding areas. Currently, rockhounding at the MTNM is still allowed while the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) develops the monument’s management plan. As rockhounds, we need to continue to have road access to collection sites and be able to collect rocks within the MTNM. Gregor Losson, our gem and mineral collecting representative on the MTNM Subgroup of the Desert Advisory Committee (DAC), will be the guest speaker for our April program meeting. Having recently attended the BLM California Desert District Advisory Council meeting, he will illustrate what’s happening and what we need to do to continue enjoying future access to the MTNM.

The April Rock of the Month presentation will be about a junior member’s rock hunting experience. Daniel Nishimura is a PLS junior member. He is eight years old and has been rock hounding since he learned how to walk.

This important and informative program meeting takes place at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of The Santa Anita Church, 226 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia, CA 91007. 

Join us to learn more about the future of rockhounding in one of our favorite locales. Admission is free; open to the public. Enjoy refreshments while checking out the display table; bring a rock specimen you’d like identified. Hope to see you there!

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Mount Baldy Lapis Lazuli Featured for March 21st Program Meeting, 7:00 p.m.

Pasadena Lapidary Society member Paolo Sanchez will discuss the elusive Lapis Lazuli from Mount Baldy (aka ‘Old Baldy’ or Mount San Antonio) for our March program meeting. Paolo will cover the science behind lapis, its significance to lapidary, and his adventures in search of one of the only lapis mines in North America. He has been an active member of the Pasadena Lapidary Society since 2011, yet his passions for geology and rockhounding stem from kindergarten. He has written numerous award-winning articles on minerals and has been a guest speaker for various California Federation of Mineralogical Societies (CFMS) programs across California. He has received his bachelors in Geology and Geophysics from UC Berkeley and is now pursuing a PhD in geochemistry studying mineralogy and petrology at Caltech.

The March Rock of the Month presentation will be on Septarian Nodules and provided by PLS member Sue Dekany.

This program meeting takes place on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of The Santa Anita Church, 226 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia, CA 91007.

Come join us! Doors open at 6:30, admission is free; open to the public. Enjoy refreshments while checking out the display table; bring a rock specimen you’d like identified. We hope to see you there!

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Rockhounding in the Mojave with Kris Rowe, Subject of February 21st Program Meeting, 7:00 p.m.

Kris Rowe, front and center, surrounded by PLS members from L to R, Liz, Sue, Steve and Shirley.
Photograph provided by Sue Pang.

The February program meeting will feature Kris Rowe, a lifelong rockhound and 40+ year field geologist, who will present a talk on Rockhounding in the Mojave. Kris has led fieldtrips throughout California for decades, with many outings focused in the Clear Creek area and all over the Mojave Desert. Recent trips have been out to the hills of Hinkley, CA to a private turquoise claim, near where the picture at right was taken. During the Thanksgiving 2022 week, Kris led a 9-day long ‘Odyssey’ to numerous sites including the South Cadys, Lavic Siding, Opal Mountain and Boron. He can be found on Facebook as ‘Roadside Rockhound‘.

This program meeting takes place on Tuesday, February 21st, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of The Santa Anita Church, 226 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia, CA 91007.

Come join us! Doors open at 6:30, admission is free; open to the public. Enjoy refreshments while checking out the display table; bring a rock specimen you’d like identified. We hope to see you there!

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January 17th Program Meeting Explores Fluorite – The World’s Most Colorful Mineral

The January 17th, 2023 Pasadena Lapidary Society Program Meeting will feature Dick Weber, who will introduce us to the colorful world of Fluorite.    Due to a spectacular range of colors and well-developed crystals, this mineral is highly sought after by collectors.  Clear and colorless when pure, fluorite can exhibit every color of the spectrum from the deepest purple to bright oranges and reds.   In addition to its aesthetic and scientific value, fluorite is a critical industrial mineral used in the production of thousands of commercial products.

Dick Weber was first introduced to the fluorite deposits of the Mississippi Valley while working on his geology degree.   Actively collecting specimens for the last 15 years, he will bring a display showcasing pieces from famous locales.

PLS member Curtis Schurer will present the second part of his Rock of the Month Talk on Jasper.

This program meeting takes place at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of The Santa Anita Church, 226 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia, CA 91007. 

Join us for an illuminating evening as we begin our 2023 Program Meetings! Admission is free; open to the public. Enjoy refreshments while checking out the display table; bring a rock specimen you’d like identified. See you there!

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Diamonds?… In California?… and Just About Everything Else You Might Want to Know About a ‘Girl’s Best Friend’

Tuesday, November 15 Program Meeting, 7:00 p.m.

For our November Program Meeting, we’re delighted that Renée Newman will be our speaker, providing images and information in her presentation on Diamonds that includes, among other things, the most significant discoveries of rough diamond crystals, five basic diamond crystal types and their relative value from highest priced to lowest priced, where to find diamonds in the U.S., and what American diamonds look like in the rough in order to help you spot them while prospecting and rockhounding.

Renée has a book out entitled Diamonds: Their History, Sources, Qualities and Benefits and much of her presentation is reflected in her book.

Renée Newman developed her interest in gems while conducting tours to Asia, South America and the South Pacific. Her passengers wanted information about the gems that were displayed in hotels and stores so she signed up for a colored stone grading course at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in order to be able to answer their questions. The teachers there inspired her to complete the GIA colored stones and diamonds program.  

After receiving a graduate gemologist diploma from the GIA, Renee was hired as a gemologist at a diamond wholesale firm in downtown Los Angeles. It provided hands-on experience grading diamonds and selecting colored gems and pearls for their jewelry. Armed with trade experience and gemological credentials, Renée decided to create books that showed readers how to visually evaluate the quality of gems. Her first book, the Diamond Ring Buying Guide, was published in 1989. Since that time, she has written thirteen more books on gems and jewelry, including the Diamond Handbook geared to trade professionals and her new large-format book Diamonds: Their History, Sources, Qualities and Benefits. Information about it is available at http://www.reneenewman.com/diamonds.htm

Renée’s books are used as consumer guides, gemology course textbooks, sales training tools and appraisal references and are listed at www.reneenewman.com/books.htm.  Renée will be selling her books at a discount and autographing them before and after her presentation. Bring cash or a check if you would like to purchase copies of them.

PLS member Curtis Schurer will discuss Jasper for the Rock of the Month presentation. Jasper is an opaque, impure variety of silica, comes in several colors, and is often found in the Mojave Desert.

This program meeting takes place at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of The Santa Anita Church, 226 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia, CA 91007. 

Come join us! Doors open at 6:30, admission is free; open to the public. Enjoy refreshments while checking out the display table; bring a rock specimen you’d like identified. See you there!

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A Magical Evening is in Store for October 18 Program Meeting, 7:00 pm

Join us at our Tuesday, October 18 Program Meeting where award-winning mixed-media artist Linda Queally will discuss the rich history of Pearls in the Americas, and how they’ve been associated with Mermaids since the first Siren’s Song was heard.

Linda works in acrylic and fine art paper on claybord in her vibrant mystical paintings, and with cultured pearls and mixed metals in her simple, elegant jewelry designs. She studied Art and Design at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, is a Certified Pearl Specialist with the Cultured Pearl Association of America, and holds a Certificate of Gemology from Santiago Canyon College in Orange. 


This program meeting takes place at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of The Santa Anita Church, 226 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia, CA 91007. 

Join us for an enchanting evening! Admission is free; open to the public. Enjoy refreshments while checking out the display table; bring a rock specimen you’d like identified. See you there!

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PLS August 16th Meeting takes a look at ‘Geology from 30,000 feet above’

The August general meeting will feature a talk by member Paolo Sanchez who will focus on large-scale landscape geology. The presentation should be helpful for understanding Earth science, and to an extent, minerals, from the viewpoint of the window seat of a plane. While flying across the state and the country, Paolo took many pictures of geologic landscapes. He plans to talk about prominent geologic features such as the San Andreas Fault, Cascade Volcanoes, and the Colorado Plateau. We hope to see you there!

This program meeting is at 7:00 p.m. at Fellowship Hall of The Santa Anita Church, 226 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia, CA 91007. Come to learn and make new friends; open to the public, free admission. 

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Rhodochrosite is Spotlight of In-Person Program Meeting; Tuesday, May 17th, 7:00 p.m.



The story of the Sweet Home Mine from its beginnings as a modest 1870’s silver mine to its rebirth as a world-renowned source of beautiful red rhodochrosite crystals will be featured in this month’s program. We will view Part 1 of a video illustrating the accidental discovery of one of our nation’s most impressive sources of this beautiful gemstone.

This program meeting is at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 17 and will be held IN PERSON. Check out our Meetings page to get directions and further info about the location.

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In-Person Program Meeting April 19, 2022, 6:30 PM

We are having our first in-person program meeting in over a year! PLS member Janie Duncan will provide a presentation on the History of Beads Tuesday night, April 19, and members are looking forward to seeing each other in the flesh for a change, instead of virtually. Check out our Meetings page to get directions and further info about the location. We are VERY excited!