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That is really cool to have that family history and get to experience a tiny taste of the area they were in. :)

I have seen a lot of pieces of brick washed up on the beach looking very much like your second pieces pictured. It is the parallel lines that make me think man made. Was it found in a historical area?

Hi AtomRat! I am going out fossicking this weekend - tagging along with some people from my lapidary club- and we are heading out your way. Ive been told we are looking for quartz and topaz and cant wait! Any tips for what the area is like eg. handy things to bring?

If you are in a new age hippy shop where these are sold yes! lol

I felt like I have seen one of these somewhere so have just done so random google searches..... First I was thinking magnatite but now I think it is what they call Boji stone. I saved a few images from google to show you :) I am not a geologist so this is just a guess but have a look and see...

It might just be the way my screen is set but it looks like it has a bit of a purple/blue tinge to it? Is iolite a possibility?

Varts: Learning on Nephrite and havent tried sapphire yet. I saw the coolest photo of a carved sapphire platypus and it has stuck in my mind. Would love to get to that stage but long way to go yet! So far I have cut two pieces. The first photo is a piece I found on the beach and cut for my...

Madworld: I didnt use a dremel for these ones. Just the gear out at my lapidary club. They have a great set up of diamond saws, grinders, sanders and polishing laps. I do have a dremel which I used to carve jade (I am just learning from trial and error at home). Silver: The leaf shape one is...

I am from Greymouth - on the West Coast, South Island of NZ and there was a gold rush around the area in the 1860's There is a place called Shantytown which is like a tiny Sovereign Hill which you go to numerous times for school growing up there! :D I am heading home for a holiday next month...

I dont facet but some people at my club were talking about a company called Jewel Electronics in the USA. Was told they sell cheap assorted bags of coloured synthetic rough. They also have optic glass in huge sizes like the size of a lawn bowl!

Thanks guys. It is the same as anything.... Got to start somewhere! Looking forward to cutting more :D

I have just started going out to my lapidary club after a break of a few years. Someone there asked me how many cabs had I cut and I had no idea. Dug them all out and took this photo.... When I look at these I think of all the things learnt the hard way. The jasper is chipped from getting...

This thread always makes me smile. I have been out panning 3 times now and only found very small (and not very many) pieces and get SO excited over them. Would totally be over the moon to have a pan with as much colour as what you guys get. Last trip I found my first ever bit still attached to a...

Ohhh. Exciting things afoot! Cant wait to see where this is going! :o

Hi Jay, Try typing Daylesford into the search bar in this forum. I was after the same info not long ago and found lots of helpful threads :) Hope you had fun where ever you ended up!

Some times it is cheaper to buy a new smaller stone than what it would cost to have something recut. Are they faceted stones or cabs?

I dont have any gold stories yet but I did take a pick to a large zircon in the Harts Range 8.( Was the end of a long day fossicking and I thought I would be a bit more aggressive on a wall that was like cement...... The pick was a direct hit on a crystal and half of it went flying never to...

What!! The sucker isn't allowed?! It is so small and sucks into a jar smaller than my fist! I think I need to read up on this dredging stuff as never in a million years would I have guessed that this little tool would be on the banned list :-( Thanks for the heads up PabloP

Today I get to try out some new gadgets I just bought with a voucher I got for Christmas! One is a viewing scope thing with a light to help get a good look into creek beds. The other is a crevice sucker! I will take some photos and write a review on them when I get home on Sunday or Monday...

On a side note.... I used to work at t gem merchant and facetted black spinel beads are top sellers as they have such I high lustre and twinkle beautifully! When ever someone wants a black diamond at work I suggest a black spinel instead. They polish up so amazingly