
First Saturday
Mark your calendars and plan to attend the AGMS First Saturday Meet-Up and Network events April through September 2022!
First Saturday events provide opportunities for Members to meet Members; learn about club events, activities and outings; talk with experts; learn more about our beloved hobby; exchange information, learn and share your interests.
Announcements

Gem Capers 2022
2022 Gem Capers Show Dates: Friday, October 21 – 9am to 6pm; Saturday, October 22 – 9am to 6pm and Sunday, October 23 – 10 am to 5pm Theme: Fluorescents […]
Knowledge Quest Handouts
AGMS provides free downloadable Quests that students can pursue to learn about Gems and Minerals based on age level.
Upcoming Events & Meetings
NOTICE: April 14th Gem Capers Committee Meeting is canceled!
2022 Spring Classes:
AGMS 101: Introduction to Workshop and Cabochon Making
Prerequisite – AGMS Member in good standing (2022 dues are paid) and 18 years of age or older.
Class Description:
This is the basic class required for anyone who wishes to use any machines in the AGMS Workshop or to take any higher-level class at AGMS. Classes should have a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 students. The class is 5 hours in length and may be spread over two sessions of 2 1/2 hours each.
Class Dates:
March 7 and 8, 2022 (Monday and Tuesday – two-day class) : 6pm to 9pm both days SOLD OUT
April 9, 2022 (Saturday): 10am to 4pm SOLD OUT
May 14, 2022 (Saturday): 10am to 4pm
June 11, 2022 (Saturday): 10am to 4pm SOLD OUT
4th Thursday each month
The general public is invited to visit AGMS General Meetings in person or on ZOOM. Meetings are held at our clubhouse at 6719 Burnet Lane, Austin beginning at 7:pm on the 4th Thursday of each month. If you have a question regarding an upcoming meeting, click here.
Our monthly meetings are available via Zoom video conferencing. All are welcome to attend our meetings.
Here’s the meeting link:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85455270931?pwd=d0ZsT3BzUGliWW1MeVM5OGlEMHdsQT09
Meeting ID: 854 5527 0931
Passcode: 4XpHpR
NOTICE: Currently, we meet in-person with mask wearing as a personal option. We will continue to offer Zoom video conferencing to members and guests.
AGMS on Facebook
Gem & Mineral News
- Gem Mining in Kenyaby Admin (Blog | Rock & Gem Magazine) on May 16, 2022 at 10:00 am
- What is Mined in Tsumeb?by Admin (Blog | Rock & Gem Magazine) on May 16, 2022 at 10:00 am
- Wire Wrapping Jewelry Artist Larkin Hamiltonby Admin (Blog | Rock & Gem Magazine) on May 9, 2022 at 10:00 am
- How to Melt Silver to Make Jewelryby Admin (Blog | Rock & Gem Magazine) on May 9, 2022 at 10:00 am
- ULTRA TEC Faceting Machinesby Admin (Blog | Rock & Gem Magazine) on May 9, 2022 at 10:00 am
AGMS on Instagram
This month’s meeting will be titled: Lost & Found: Guatemalan Jade by Marilyn Gilbreath (AGMS member since 2006)
The talk will be, “A brief history of how jade, an all-important part of Mesoamerican culture, was “lost” for almost 500 years, re-discovered and marketed.” All are welcome! 💚
JOIN US!
FEBRUARY 27th 2020 7pm-9pm
#jade #guatemalanjade #guatemala #agms #austingemandmineralsociety #austin #texas #rockhound
This Thursday the 23rd, at our General Meeting, we are excited to announce a presentation by Alan Cherepon on the interests of Oregon, the Rice Museum, Washington and UV systems.
Hope to see y’all there! As usual, all are welcome to attend.
#austintexas #rockhound #austingemandmineralsociety #rocks #minerals #pnw #oregon #washington #ricemuseum #uvsystems
💎GEM CAPERS 2019!💎Come check out all the wonderful vendors and activities. This Sunday the 20th is the last day!
Pictured are from our amazing Fluorescent Mineral exhibit!!
1.Humite, Diopside &Calcite
2.EX Solution Willemite
3.Carpathite
4.Hackmanite
#gemcapers2019 #gemcapers #austingemandmineralsociety #agms_tx #fluorescent #fluorescentminerals #austin #texas #gemshow #rockhound #rockhounding
Native Copper⛏
Awesome photo by member Craig Brandt!
#nativecopper #copper #austingemandmineralsociety #agms_tx #minerals #rockhounding
#Austin #Texas
COME ALL!!!
This one will be super fun as always- great gems, fossils, minerals, machines, books and more will go up for auction to support our club!!! Hope to see you all there!
#austingemandmineralsociety #agms_tx #austin #auction #rockhound #rocks #minerals #fossils #texas #texasrockhound
How beautiful is this photo of a Fossil Turquoise bone in matrix!? WOW. 💙I didn’t even know this was possible.
Photo credit by Craig Brandt. 👍✨ #fossil #turquoise #specimens #rocks #rockhounding #rockhound #austin #agms #austingemandmineralsociety
We are happy to announce
this Thursday’s speaker will be
Alan Cherepon!
All are welcome!
This Thursday 6/27/19 from 7pm-9pm
His presentation will be on Geology interests and museums Of southern Colorado, Geology Museum, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, rock shops, ski resorts at Christmas, and other points of interest. The Cherepon’s made a trip prior to and during Christmas in December 2018.
Highlights of the trip focus on mineral-related exhibits at the geology museum at
the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. Also included are some of the many rock
shops in and around the many ski towns in central Colorado, such as Aspen,
Breckinridge, Estes Park, and Vail. Other sites include Garden of the Gods, Red
Rock Amphitheater, US Airforce Academy, Glenwood Springs to name a few. The
highlights will hopefully entice others who have yet to visit this area to do so, not just for all the minerals, but for the many other points of interest
awaiting visitors there.
About Alan Cherepon:
Alan Cherepon, PG, PH
Alan has been a longtime member and past president of the AGMS, has led numerous
field trips for the society to the Karnes County uranium mines and fewer trips to the Knife River Quarry and even Mexico. He has a BA in geology from Rutgers University, 1976, started working on a MS in geology at Texas A&I,
Kingsville in 1983, has worked in uranium out of Texas and Wyoming, oil & has in Texas, and environmental work since 1985. He also is a certified secondary composite
science teacher in Texas, having taught 4 years in the greater Austin area. He is
presently working for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, where he has been since 1998. He has given numerous presentations on minerals, as well as in his
area of work, and has several publications. He presented at the Tucson Show in 1996, and
has been awarded a national award for his fluorescent mineral case, and has been
providing, along with Paul Bordovsky, the fluorescent mineral exhibit at the Gem
Capers show for many years.
We are excited for this Thursday’s talk (5/23/19) will be by Brian Greenstone about mineral photography.
Talk will be held at the Austin Gem and Mineral Society’s clubhouse at 7pm.
All are welcome! 📸💎 About the speaker:
Brian Greenstone spent the last 30+ years in the video game industry, but
has a degree in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas. This
background in film production became useful in the field of mineral
photography, especially in the area of lighting and color correction.
This talk will focus on several aspects of mineral photography including
equipment, lighting setup, and technology tricks to speed up the
post-processing and making sure that the final image is an exact match to
the actual specimen. Specifically, we will discuss some of the lesser
known capabilities of Adobe CameraRAW and the use of color calibration
charts to achieve perfect color and contrast in your images.
#rockhounding #minerals #austin #austintexas #texas #mineralphotography #mineralphotographer #mineralphotos #rocks #gems
First faceted stone completed! Brilliant cut citrine. So much gratitude to Craig Brandt for his knowledge and patience!
#austingemandmineralsociety #faceting #citrine #rockhound #classes #austin #austintexas #sparkle #flash #math
We are excited to host Charles Kirkpatrick as our Thursday speaker!
He will be speaking about synthetic diamonds and changes in the diamond And jewelry industry 💎
In his own words about his practice:
“I am Owner of Midas Manufacturing Jewelers and L.A.M. Inc. Diamond Wholesalers. I currently operate both businesses Manufacturing Fine Jewelry and Wholesaling diamonds to the trade. I have been in business for 42 years employing jewelers, CAD and 3-D printing designers, and bookkeepers.
Honor, honesty, and integrity are the corner stones of my businesses. Providing fine jewelry services is an emotionally satisfying endeavor.”
PLEASE COME JOIN US!!!
MARK YOU CALENDARS!
Always a great find and wonderful people!
Event will be held at the clubhouse. #austin #austintexas #texas #rockhound #rockhounding #austingemandmineralsociety #rockswap #swapmeet #gemsandminerals
Stunning agate examples Robert Cooper brought in for his talk this evening. Too gorgeous not to share. .
.
.
#agate #austingemandmineralsociety #agms #rockhound #austin #texas #silicate #iloveagates
Agate is a personal favorite, so naturally I am excited to announce this month’s speaker- Robert Cooper and his talk titled, "An Introduction to the International Exposition of Agate" ⛏💎This THURSDAY at Austin Gem and Mineral Society at 7pm!!!! About the images:
The first picture is a Laguna from the Los Arcoiris dig in the El Puetra
claim, Chihuahua Provence, Mexico dug spring of 2018.
Second pic is of a
River Crossing dig Condor, south end of the El Resbalon field, Mendoza
Provence, Argentina.
This was dug in spring of 2015.
In his own words:
“In 2003 my wife bought Dyer's Tool and Jewelry Supply, which
included a pile of rock and some lapidary equipment. I was intrigued by
some of the rock that had bands and color in them. Knowing nothing about
agate at the time I had to so some research to find out what this magical
rock was.
This was the start of an adventure that drug me deeper into the history and
evolution of agate and lapidary. Requiring a lot of reading and searching
on the internet to find pictures of classic agates, those that I would
probably never get to see in person , let alone touch.
Now, here 16 years later I have been fortunate enough to work with Nature's
Treasures for the past 8 years and become the agate buyer, cutter and
polisher. It has been my good fortune to have met most of the top agate
collectors in the world and cut stones for them, also selling them rough
material. A long journey in a short time.” #rockhound #austin #austintexas #agate #austingemandmineralsociety #agatesareawesome #agms
Faceting class (day one) at Austin Gem and Mineral Society taught by the wonderful and knowledgeable Craig Brandt.
Where math, nature and art meet.
#rockhound #gemcutting #facetingclass #austin #austintexas #texas #lapidary
#gemstones #facetedgems #facetron
We are so excited to present tonight’s talk titled, “Paleontological Minerals and Gems” will be by Ernest Lundelius
John A. Wilson Professor Emeritus in Vertebrate Paleontology at the
Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas, Austin.
In his own words:
“Animals use relatively few minerals, primarily calcite, aragonite, silica and apatite, in building their skeletons. After death and burial some skeletal elements are replaced over time by several other minerals. In invertebrates aragonite is frequently replaced by calcite or is totally removed by solution leaving internal and external molds. All are subject to replacement by pyrite or silica or secondary calcium carbonate. In some cases the silica is hydrated to form opal, resulting frequently in gem quality specimens.” Here pictured are some examples of opal fossils. 1st of a Plesiosaur vertebrae and second of opal belemnite.
Tonight at 7pm at Austin Gem and Mineral Society.
🐚🐚🐚🐚
#austingemandmineralsociety #fossils #agms #austin #texas #geology #rockhound
❤️⚪️Lace Agate⚪️❤️
Seriously one of my favorites in all its variations. .
.
.
#agate #laceagate #agms #austingemandmineralsociety #rockhound #austin #texas #geology
Happy New Year, Rockhounds!
We are very excited that our first talk of the New Year will be on California Jade by Steve Blyskal and Sigrid Stewart!!!
This Thursday, January 24th at 7pm at the AGMS Clubhouse.
They will also have some slabs and minerals for sale after the presentation of standard agate, petrified wood, jasper, lapis lazuli, sugilite and jade.
As pictured:
1.California Jade from Jade Cove
2.California Jade from Jade Cove
3.Franciscan Melange Rock with quartz from radiolarian ooze
4.Dark California Jade
#jade #califoriajade #jadecove #rockhound #rockhounding #austingemandmineralsociety #agms #austin #gemandmineral #texas
Such a fantastic Gem Capers... THANK YOU to all who attended, to our amazing vendors, and to the wonderful and knowledgeable volunteers. More highlight pictures to follow.
#gemcapers2018
#gemcapers #agms #austingemandmineralsociety #florecentminerals
💎GEM CAPERS 2018💎
Gef Fisher is doing some wonderful Cabbing Demonstrations! Come see!!!
#cabbing #austingemandmineralsociety #gemcapers #gemcapers2018
💎GEM CAPERS 2018💎
Last Day at the Gem Show!!!
Come see Eddie’s Rocks and Relics and so much more!
#fossil #eddiesrocksandrelics #rock #rockhound #austingemandmineralsociety #gemcapers #gemcapers2018 #gems #minerals
💎GEM CAPERS 2018💎
Craig doing a stone faceting demonstrations!!!
Check out the spider cut! 🎈😍🕷
Stunningly glowing and beautiful Fluorescent mineral exhibit at Gem Capers!!!
Come see!
This weekend!
#fluorescence #fluorecent #austingemandmineralsociety #austin #texas #rock #gemstones #gem #minerals #gemcapers #gemcapers2018 #rockhound
💎GEM CAPERS 2018💎
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday!!!!
We are excited Opal Trove will be with us- showing their stunning array of Opals!!! @opaltrove
They specialize in Ethiopian Opal and sell ethiopian opal jewelry, cabochons and rough material for cutting.
COME SEE!!! #opal #opaltrove #ethiopianopal #austingemandmineralsociety #gemsandminerals #gemcapers #gemcapers2018
#parmercenter #gemcapersisthisweekend
💎GEM CAPERS 2018💎
Friday, Saturday and Sunday!!!! We are excited that Socash Studios will be joining us as one of our vendors!
COME SEE!!!
You can contact them through their website here:
www.socashstudios.com
Pictured:
Brucite; Khuzdar District, Pakistan; New Find!
Picasso Jasper with free-hand wire design.
About them:
Socash Studios started out as a Mother-Daughter hand-crafted jewelry enterprise using natural stones and individual wire design elements. Initially, mineral specimens were shown as examples of the raw stones to compare to the polished stones in jewelry. However, our love of minerals led to more and more specimens being available for sale. Now the business is predominantly focused on providing access to interesting and fine minerals found worldwide.
#minerals #brucite #austingemandmineralsociety #gemcapers #gemcapers2018 #rocks #rockhound #socashstudios #austin #texas #parmercenter
The Austin Gem and Mineral Society welcomes you to join us!
Membership Benefits
- Connection and networking with other rock hounds, mineral collectors, geological experts, jewelry artists, gem and mineral professionals and experts, gem and mineral vendors, educators, and a plethora of rock related subject matter experts in a wide variety of gem and mineral related topics.
- General club meetings offer speakers and presentations on a wide variety of gem and mineral topics.
- Access to our website membership portal includes access to member blogs, member specific announcements, posts on member boards, SIG meetings/topics and online discussions (Special Interest Groups: Min Sig, Paleo SIG, Silversmithing SIG, Jewelry SIG, Lapidary Sig, Faceting SIG)
- Access to clubhouse resources includes: large meeting room, lapidary/cabbing workshop, faceting workshop, slab shack saws, extensive resource library, and display exhibits of gems and minerals
- Annual events and activities include: Gem Capers (annual gem and mineral show held at the Austin Palmer Event Center), Swap Meet, Club Auction, Holiday Party
- Classes: Cabbing, Faceting, Silversmithing, Slab Saw, other classes are offered as needs and instructors are identified
- Field trips and rock hunts for members only
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Federation and Club Resources
Visit these other websites for related information on gems and minerals, activities, learning opportunities, and more.
Federation of Mineral Societies
The Austin Gem and Mineral Society is part of SCFMS (The South Central Federation of Mineral Societies). SCFMS is one of seven different regional federations in the US that are members of the AFMS (American Federation of Mineralogical Societies).
Please note that these links are third party websites that are not maintained by AGMS. AGMS is not responsible for materials found on these sites. Please use caution when visiting an unfamiliar site.