Tag: rock hunting

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“The Colorful Condor Agates of Argentina”, Subject of September Program Meeting

7:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 16th, 2025

Our main speaker for the September program meeting will be Mary Pat Weber, geologist and mineral collector, who will present “The Colorful Condor Agates of Argentina”. She will present the amazing story of how these agates were discovered, lost, and re-discovered in a remote, inhospitable region high in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. Condor agates are colorful, tightly banded agates and patterned agates found in the mountains near San Rafael, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. This agate has become a popular stone among collectors and jewelry designers. Specimens of these beautiful agates from Mary Pat’s personal collection will be on display at the meeting.

Another Condor agate specimen. Photo provided by Condor Agate via Facebook.

There will also be a short talk at this meeting in the form of a recap of our members’ experiences at Camp Paradise, a CFMS-sponsored lapidary and jewelry camp. As a group, we attended every class offered this year. We learned new things and made beautiful projects. Camp Paradise offers two 1-week sessions each August for members of CFMS affiliated clubs such as Pasadena Lapidary Society. Come learn about this wonderful experience and make your plans for next year.

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.

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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June 17 Program Meeting Focuses on Crystal Photography

Tuesday, June 17th, 2025 at 7:00 p.m

For our June program meeting, PLS member Christian Schulze will show attendees the basics of how he captures image content through video and photography. Basic studio setup, equipment, mineral prep, photography tips and digital labeling will all be addressed.

Two comparison photos show a good photo capture at left, compared to one that needs improvement on the right with the knowledge that Christian is planning on sharing with us.

Christian Schulze is also owner of Hotspells Rocks & Minerals in the Elysian Valley area of Los Angeles.

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. Buy a raffle ticket for a few bucks and try your luck at winning a cool rock specimen, slab, or otherwise. We hope to see you there!

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Geode Presentation and Discussion on Clear Creek Management Area, Topics of May Program Meeting

Tuesday, May 20th, 7:00 p.m.

PLS member Armando Pedroza skillfully cutting a geode.

Pasadena Lapidary Society member Armando Pedroza has been cutting geodes for over 15 years at gem shows and club presentations. In our upcoming May general meeting he will be presenting and demonstrating his geode program. Geodes will be available for purchasing and he will be cutting them for those who wish to see the magic inside. Geode prices range from $10 to $90. The geode program will be outside on the patio.

PLS member Christian Schulze exploring potential finds at Clear Creek.

PLS member Paolo Sanchez will present a program on the Clear Creek Management area in San Benito County, California. It has been a popular spot for geologists, mineralogists and rockhounds alike for over a century. Part of a large geological feature known as the New Idria Serpentine Intrusion, this area is home to various rare and interesting minerals such as demantoid and melanite varieties of andradite garnet, plasma agate, jadeite, uvarovite, zeolites, as well as asbestos and mercury minerals. It is also where twenty new minerals were first discovered, including the California state gemstone, benitoite. With such a bounty of mineralogical wealth, what makes the New Idria Serpentine Intrusion so special? This talk will delve into the underlying geologic history of the area as well as the interesting minerals that make New Idria a unique place in the mineral world.

This program meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. in the 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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Walt Wright Speaks on Petrified Wood for September Program Meeting

September 17, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.


Walt Wright is an expert botanist, ecologist, geologist, and paleobotanist from Brea, California. He has worked as a Naturalist for the U.S. Forest Service, and in education and research at the University of California, Riverside. He has written articles and given numerous classes, seminars, and lectures on how petrified wood is formed and identified. He has been collecting petrified wood since he was 10 years old, when his mother gave him a piece. To date, he has over 10,000 pieces in his collection.

This program meeting takes place on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 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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Tuesday, May 21 Program Meeting, 7:00

For our May Rock of the Month talk, PLS member Nancy Robb will provide a slide presentation on Pasadena Lapidary Society’s annual shows held from the 1940s to the 2000s, in a continuation of our 75th Anniversary observance.

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.

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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Spotlight on Tumbling (Rocks, That is) for February 20th Program Meeting

Pasadena Lapidary Society (PLS) members provide this month’s program at 7:00 p.m. , Tuesday, February 20, 2024 — FIRESIDE ROOM (not Fellowship Hall) of the Santa Anita Church

Rock tumbling is the process of polishing rocks and minerals in a rock tumbler. This involves adding stones or minerals to the rock tumbler along with some abrasives, such as grit, fillers, and water. Phil Lahr will give a presentation on tumbling, discussing the basics – machines, grits, and processes involved. He will also have samples of rock polishing at various stages so you can see and feel the difference from one stage to the next. This is a great educational program for new rockhounds, and a refresher for older ones.

As part of our observance of PLS’ 75th Anniversary this year, Nancy Robb plans to continue her talk on PLS’ history.

Our Rock of the Month talk for February will be presented by Sue Pang as she discusses this month’s birthstone, Amethyst.

This program meeting takes place on Tuesday, January 20, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the (**DIFFERENT ROOM, SAME ADDRESS**) FIRESIDE ROOM 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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Amethyst Deposits of Thunder Bay, Ontario Subject of October 17th Program Meeting

The largest commercial deposits of amethyst in North America occur near the Canadian border in Southern Ontario.  Unlike the more common Brazilian amethyst, this material is unique due to inclusions of red hematite in the outermost layers of the crystals. Our guest speaker for October, Dick Weber, first visited these deposits in the 1970s while studying for his graduate degree in Geology at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. 

Geologists Dick and Mary Pat Weber have returned to these deposits several times over the years and on two recent visits were given special access to the workings of the deposit by the mine owners.  As part of this presentation they will display some of this highly prized amethyst from their personal collections. 

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, on Tuesday, October 17, 2023.

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. Buy a raffle ticket for a few bucks and try your luck at winning a cool rock specimen, slab, or otherwise. We hope to see you there!

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Upcoming BLM Meetings Will Impact Rockhounding in Mojave Trails National Monument — Let’s Get Involved!

Future Rockhounding in the vicinity of the Mojave Trails National Monument (MTNM) is being threatened. For those who’ve enjoyed collecting at Lavic Siding, the Cady Mountains, Afton Canyon and surrounding areas, upcoming legislation could impact our beloved hobby. If you want your voice heard and your opinion counted, please register for and participate in these upcoming Bureau of Land Management (BLM) meetings. The first one will be virtual and the other three will be held in person.

Virtual Meeting is one week from today.  

Sign up now at the link below.  Rockhounds please share this to get the info out.  It is important we get involved!!!

 Webinar Registration BLM

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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!