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<strong>Pretoria</strong> <strong>Gem</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Mineral</strong> <strong>Club</strong>Affiliated to the Federation of Southern African<strong>Gem</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Mineral</strong>ogical SocietiesMarch 2008<strong>Pretoria</strong> Rockhound DigestThe <strong>Pretoria</strong> <strong>Gem</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Mineral</strong> <strong>Club</strong><strong>Club</strong>house: No. 29, 26 th Street, Menlo ParkP.O. Box 36888, Menlo Park, 0102 Tel. 012-460 1494<strong>Pretoria</strong>Every Saturday from 10:00 am to 17:00 pmSouth Africawebsite: www.fosagams.co.za/pgmce-mail: pgmc@fosagams.co.zaChairman: Douw Steyn 083 260 7416 a/h Treasurer: Dave de Villiers 083 337 1541douw@flintsteyns.co.zapgmctreasurer@fosagams.co.zaSecretary: Di de Villiers 082 562 8983Vice-Chairman : Dieter Heinichen 012-991 5839pgmc2@fosagams.co.zaVice Chairman : Lex Krabbendam 083 449 6812 Editor : Heidi Naudé 072 923 2180heidinaude@absamail.co.zaProgramme Highlights for March 2008*** Open Day - Swop & Sell & Social 1 March*** Monthly <strong>Mineral</strong> Meeting: Kalahari Manganese Fields 4 March*** Monthly Programme –Practical Demonstration “Enamelling” – Philip & Daphne Alp8 March*** <strong>Club</strong> Outing: Open Day at Rob Smith 9 March*** <strong>Gem</strong>boree 2008Southern African Rockhounds meet at Uis, Namibia21 - 25 MarchRegular Meetings at the <strong>Club</strong>house:Open Day, Swop <strong>and</strong>Sell & SocialMonthly <strong>Mineral</strong> Meeting<strong>Club</strong> Meeting <strong>and</strong> Monthly Programme (Talk/Slide Show)Workshop Maintenance (19:00 – 21:00)Silversmithing Meeting (19:00 – 21:00)- every first Saturday of the Month- every first Tuesday of the Month- every second Saturday of the Month- every second Wednesday of the Month- every ThursdayThe <strong>Club</strong>house is open every Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00. No Smoking in the <strong>Club</strong>house please!Editors’s corner:An exciting <strong>and</strong> adventures month lies ahead - the rockhounds have just returned from Groot Marico (report tofollow in next newsletter) <strong>and</strong> are already gearing up for the outing to African <strong>Gem</strong>s & <strong>Mineral</strong>s <strong>and</strong> of coursethe big one – the <strong>Gem</strong>boree 2008 in Uis, Namibia. Where do we find the time to still go to work???Horst has once again lined up fantastic subjects for both the monthly mineral meeting <strong>and</strong> the monthlyprogramme, check out the details inside.Don’t forget to submit your donations for the various auctions, come on - we all have surplus material lyingaround unused. We all benefit by assisting the Lapidary Magazine <strong>and</strong> Fosagams alike. Heidi Naudé
Page 31. Duty <strong>and</strong> Opening / Closing RosterPlease check your duty dates on the updated roster below. Should you not be available, please organizesomebody to “st<strong>and</strong>-in” for you in good time. Any confirmed changes or problems should be reported toLinda Stone at 012 – 803 1398 after 16:00.March 1 8 15 22 29Open Charles Dieter Linda Closed Wolfam Charles / Heidi Harold / Karin Dieter / Linda Easter Weekend Wolf / Melindapm Dave / Di S.Marie / Jean Johann / Hannie <strong>Gem</strong>boree Nico / FayClose Dave Douw Theo Closed FayApril 5 12 19 26Open Linda TBA Piet TBAam Dieter / Linda Harold / Karin Piet / Elize Mike / Rosannepm Anton / Magda Helmut / Annie Dave / Di S.Marie / JeanClose Anton Douw Dave TBAPlease note that although the lapidary <strong>and</strong> silversmithing workshops are closed on the afternoons of everysecond Saturday of month, we still require the duty members responsible for the reception / admin. desk.Please report for your duties as scheduled.2. Reminder - Membership Fees 2008The membership fees for 2008 are now overdue. Payment can be made directly at the clubhouse onSaturdays or via Internet / Bank Transfer directly into our account at ABSA Bank, Branch Code 335 345,Account No. 405 584 9839.Town member 2008R<strong>and</strong>Country member, pensioner, studentR<strong>and</strong>Principal memberAdditional member, each26040Principal memberAdditional member, each24040Please ensure that you pay the correct amount relevant to your membership status (see above) <strong>and</strong> giveyour name <strong>and</strong>/or membership number as reference on the deposit slip to ensure correct allocation.3. 2008 <strong>Gem</strong>boree<strong>Gem</strong>boree Communique no. 4 has been issued <strong>and</strong> distributed to all members who have registered for the<strong>Gem</strong>boree. Please ensure that the final outst<strong>and</strong>ing payments are settled urgently <strong>and</strong> that you fax thepreliminary export permit forms together with your passport copy to Douw Steyn at 0866 774 001 beforethe end of the month.Anybody still considering to attend the <strong>Gem</strong>boree should contact Di de Villiers at 082 562 8983 as soon aspossible.Donations for the <strong>Gem</strong>boree AuctionMembers not attending the <strong>Gem</strong>boree but still willing to make a donation for the auction – please drop-offyour donation at the clubhouse (duty member), the Committee will ensure it’s transfer to Uis.Everybody else attending the <strong>Gem</strong>boree should bring their donation (<strong>Gem</strong>s, <strong>Mineral</strong>s, Books, Objectsd’Art, Tools or anything else related to our hobby), to Uis <strong>and</strong> h<strong>and</strong> it to the <strong>Gem</strong>boree Committee onarrival.
Page 44. Thank You’s <strong>and</strong> PersonalsThe committee <strong>and</strong> especially the working Lapidarists,would like to send a very big Thank You to our hardworking Maintenance Team (Lex Krabbendam, JohnBruigom, Piet Smith, Will van den Berg <strong>and</strong> HenkCoetzee) who have managed to improve the workshopmachinery <strong>and</strong> equipment tremendously during thepast weeks.The considerable increase of “working bees” present onSaturdays proves that working conditions have improvedsteadily <strong>and</strong> the people enjoy themselves again slabbing,grinding <strong>and</strong> polishing their stones.Thanks guys, we really appreciate your efforts.Another Thank You goes to our members Thomas<strong>and</strong> Elke Ulber, who kindly donated a CD titled:“The Crystal Healers Quick Find” which describes morethan 300 different Crystals <strong>and</strong> <strong>Mineral</strong>s <strong>and</strong> their healingproperties in over 800 colour photos.The CD maybe borrowed from our Library.Get Well Wishes go once again to Erika Windisch,who is slowly recovering from her recent knee operation.Erika, we think of you <strong>and</strong> hope to see you at the clubagain soon.Welcome back to Klaus Binding, who visited usrecently at the club. Klaus, we are so glad to have youback in our circle – keep the spirit going, the club is notthe same without you.Thank you also to Piet <strong>and</strong> Elize Smith who kindlychauffeured our beloved Klaus to the clubhouse <strong>and</strong>back home again.5. Building Fund / Citrines & Fluorite(Photo courtesy of Esté Steyn – PGMC NL 09.2006)Concerned enquiries have been received byvarious club members as to the whereabouts ofthe Citrines <strong>and</strong> the Fluorite donated in aid ofthe building fund, <strong>and</strong> what is happening to thisproject. Everything is well under control, themoney of the building fund is safely in theclub’s account <strong>and</strong> the stones are also in theclub’s possession.Due to various other issues requiring theurgent attention of the Committee this projecthas been put on hold for the time being <strong>and</strong> willbe addressed again later in the year.Please bear with us on this issue, thanks.Heidi Naudé
Page 51. Open Day, Swop & Sell <strong>and</strong> Social, 01.03.2008The next “Open Day” together with the Swop & Sell activities is scheduled for Saturday, 1 March. Bothlapidary <strong>and</strong> silversmithing workshops will run the whole day <strong>and</strong> all dealers <strong>and</strong> members are invited tojoin us at the Swop & Sell from 14h00 onwards <strong>and</strong> at the bring-<strong>and</strong>-braai social afterwards.2. Monthly <strong>Mineral</strong> Meeting, 04.03.2008We will meet on Tuesday, 04.03.2008 at 19:30 at the club house <strong>and</strong> discuss the “<strong>Mineral</strong>s of theKalahari Manganese Fields” – a big topic for such a short time. Bring along some of your relevantspecimens originating from this area for discussion.The Programme for the remainder of the year has been finalized as follows:April, 1 stMay, 6 thJune, 3 rdJuly, 1 stAugust, 5 thSeptember, 2 ndOctober, 7 thNovember, 4 thPink <strong>Mineral</strong>sLead <strong>Mineral</strong>sExtraction of <strong>Mineral</strong>s from their Ores (Thys Vermaak)Geology of South Africa (Wiebke Grote)<strong>Mineral</strong>s of GautengFossils (Wiebke Grote)Evaluation of <strong>Mineral</strong>sopen3. Silversmithing Course – March 2008Thursday, 06.03.2008 (19h00 – 21h00)Tobias Beyers will show you how to makeCreole-type Earrings(pin type for pierced ears only).The technique we want to show you is twistedwire. 1.0 - 1.2 mm wire will be twisted <strong>and</strong> solderedtogether. Studs <strong>and</strong> butterflies will then be added.The finished pieces will be oxidized black for a verynice antique look.Course fee:R 40 per person, material will be on sale additionally.Booking:Confirm with Lex Krabbendam (083 449 6812) orTobias Beyers (012-803 5145);Pay your course fee as non-refundable deposit.
Page 64. Monthly Programme / <strong>Club</strong> Meeting, 08.03.2008The next Monthly Programme is scheduled for Saturday, 08.03.2008 – starting at 14:00 at the clubhouse! Horst has organized something very special again for us – a practical demonstration on“Enamelling” by Philip <strong>and</strong> Daphne Alp.Although not completely in line with gems <strong>and</strong> minerals, it certainly can be applied to jewellery insome cases. Thus come along <strong>and</strong> witness a practical monthly programme of a different butnevertheless interesting kind. See you all there!5. <strong>Club</strong> Outing: Open Day – African <strong>Gem</strong>s & <strong>Mineral</strong>s (Rob Smith) – Sunday, 09.03.2008This is one club outing not to be missed by any serious rockhound, the big annual clearance saleoffered by our honorary member, Rob Smith of African <strong>Gem</strong>s <strong>and</strong> <strong>Mineral</strong>s.Great fun <strong>and</strong> bargains galore await us once again at this occasion. Surplus minerals of all kinds <strong>and</strong>sizes, artefacts <strong>and</strong> secondh<strong>and</strong> tools/machinery will be offered at ridiculously low prices <strong>and</strong> the“bargain rush” organized, lined-up <strong>and</strong> counted down by our generous host is hilarious to watch.OPEN DAYSUNDAY 9 TH MARCH 200710H00 – 15H00*DON’T MISS IT*ONCE A YEAR WE CLEAR OUTALL REDUNDANT STOCK ANDJUNK*SA LAPIDARY MAGAZINE AUCTION*FREE BOEREWORS ROLLS & DRINKS14 OSTEND RD., KLIPPOORTJIE,GERMISTON, CALL 011-873 6303P.O.BOX 18085, RANDAIRPORT 1419EMAIL: gems@africangems.comWebsite: www.africangems.comPlease remember the live auction in aid of the SA Lapidary Magazine. Horst Windisch will collect anyitems you might wish to donate shortly before the auction. Should there be any members who do notyet know where African <strong>Gem</strong>s <strong>and</strong> <strong>Mineral</strong>s (Rob Smith) is situated, please contact Horst Windisch at012-460 7562 <strong>and</strong> arrange to travel in convoy, departing from the clubhouse at 08:30 sharp!A variety of dealers will offer <strong>Gem</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Mineral</strong> specimens for sale. Last year’s highlights were amongstothers the new manganese field specimens from Prof. Bruce Cairncross, the wonderful specimensbrought directly from the Tucson Show in America by Karl Sprich <strong>and</strong> the Heliodors, Alex<strong>and</strong>rite <strong>and</strong>blue Topaz crystals from a Zimbabwean dealer. This is by all means not just a clearance sale but alsoan important gathering of collectors <strong>and</strong> dealers from far <strong>and</strong> wide.
Page 71. Outing to Roodepoort Botanical Gardens (by Horst Windisch)This outing, scheduled for Sunday, 3 rd February, was cancelled due to a cancellation <strong>and</strong> lack of support(I do not want to criticise but feel I must philosophise a bit at this stage). Remember the old adage“Travel broadens the mind”? Well, I can confidently state that 95% of our members have never been tothis geological site <strong>and</strong> probably many are not even aware of its existence!!I would suggest, the next time that this outing is scheduled, please take the trouble to attend, just in orderto broaden your knowledge of geology/mineralogy – that is if you are really interested in the earthsciences.2. Monthly <strong>Mineral</strong> Meeting (by Horst Windisch)Five members attended this meeting on Tuesday, 5 th February. We were glad to welcome Dieter Br<strong>and</strong>t<strong>and</strong> Harald Jaeger to the group. The theme of the evening was “Evaluation of <strong>Mineral</strong> Specimens”. Thisproved to be quite an educational <strong>and</strong> fun exercise, just to see how members differed in their approach tothe evaluation of the 17 specimens tabled. We seemed to reach acceptable averaged out prices at theend of the exercise, followed by a few “stories” attached to the specimens.3. Report on the February Monthly Programme (by Horst Windisch)This meeting (held on 9 th February) was devoted to five <strong>Club</strong> members telling us how they got involved inour hobby. Some incidents will be mentioned in each case. Larry Bima <strong>and</strong> his friend cycled past King’sJewels in Edward Street <strong>and</strong> saw what was in the shop window. They entered <strong>and</strong> the late Gilroy Kingshowed them around the shop. Some weeks later they again met Gilroy at a Hobbies Fair in the <strong>Pretoria</strong>City Hall, where they were told of the intended formation of a <strong>Gem</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Mineral</strong> <strong>Club</strong>, the first meetingwhich they then attended on the 22 nd July, 1957, where they joined the “Northern Transvaal Klipspringers<strong>Club</strong>” (the forerunner of the PGMC).Helmut Schönberger (freshly out from Germany in 1957) accompanied a friend on a hunting trip toRhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where he managed to pick up some stones in the Nwanetsi River (which laterproved to be agates). The story of getting the biltong over the border was hilarious!! He soon afterwardsjoined the PGMC in 1957.Douw Steyn (our present Chairman) moved to <strong>Pretoria</strong> with his family in 1963 <strong>and</strong> lived in a house in thesuburb of. Lynwood. At that time, it was still sparsely populated <strong>and</strong> their property bordered on to an openpiece of veld. After homework in the afternoons, he <strong>and</strong> his friends spent a lot of time over here. One dayhe picked up an interesting looking stone which nobody of his friends could identify. Eventually it wastaken along to the Geological Survey who informed him it was tiger’s eye (which is still in his possession)but could not occur in <strong>Pretoria</strong>. He was willing to take their personnel to the site (which nevermaterialised). Many years later it was revealed that the previous owner was a lapidarist <strong>and</strong> the heap ofstones was his dumping site in the veld!Esté Steyn was already interested in rocks when she was a few years old. At one stage, after Christmas,she exchanged a new Barbie doll for a packet of tumbled stones (much to her mother’s disgust)!! Thesetumbled stones were kept in a plastic egg, which she took along wherever she went. One day, sitting inbioscope, with the plastic egg on her lap, the egg fell down <strong>and</strong> burst open. She started crying, which wasnoticed by the film operator, who stopped the projector, switched on the lights <strong>and</strong> cajoled the personssitting next to Este to get on their knees <strong>and</strong> retrieve this treasure! Thereafter the film show continued.As a kid, Horst Windisch collected stamps, coins, matchbox labels, shells, minerals <strong>and</strong> Boer-War relics.A chance meeting with Dieter Schidlowski at an Old Year’s Party (December 1963) made him becomeaware of the PGMC, which he then joined in March 1964. His wife, Erika, still has the first agate cabochonthat he made, (collected at Ebner’s-on-Vaal) as a brooch in her jewellery collection.
Page 8A new section introduced by our club’s experts to help <strong>and</strong> assist all interested. Fay Pierides , known forher beautiful faceted stones <strong>and</strong> cabochons makes the start <strong>and</strong> shares her story:At the end of last year, I was approached with the idea of helping out with tuition duties at PGMC, in thecabbing <strong>and</strong> faceting sections - an idea which I turned down. Apart from the fact that I am not fond ofteaching as such, I also consider myself a "clumsy" cutter - I don't have the elegant, smooth way ofworking that Helmut has for example.However, as an alternative I did offer to try <strong>and</strong> enlighten <strong>and</strong> inform gemstone cutters around SA throughthe medium of print - which I prefer <strong>and</strong> which I know is one of the avenues my two masters, HelmutSchönberger <strong>and</strong> Rex Alp, used to become as skilled as they became - together of course with years <strong>and</strong>years of practice.I shall attempt, time permitting, to dig out info, which hopefully will be useful <strong>and</strong> informative to everyoneout there. If there is anyone who wishes me to find info regarding a specific topic that is troubling them,drop me a line to the email listed below, <strong>and</strong> I will see what I can do.Getting started:One of your first purchases in this game should be a loupe with 10x magnification. Optivisor is the mostpopular, <strong>and</strong> I think the most reasonably priced make of loupe to purchase - but look around.Make sure the dops you use are appropriate for the size of the stone - the dop should cover about 50% ofthe surface it sits on. If the dop is too thin, either the stone will break off or the stone might simply movewhile being worked on.Either wax or superglue/epoxy may be used to attach the dop - both have advantages <strong>and</strong>disadvantages. Regardless of which adhesive you choose, bear in mind that it is quite important to keepthe temperature of the stone as stable as possible - both during the gluing process <strong>and</strong> later whileworking as well.Another point to be cautious of is the stability of your machines <strong>and</strong> work surfaces - no wobbling.Depending on what stone you are cutting, as each variety has it's own peculiarities, most cutters start thepre-forming <strong>and</strong> general outline on lower grits i.e. 100/200/300 grit size - I would suggest that onlyexperienced cutters use 100 grit size or thereabouts - as a novice/beginner, try starting from about 260 or350 grit size depending on what type of abrasive you use - AND DON'T BE IN A HURRY .Use a light h<strong>and</strong> always - you're not mixing cement !As you progress up the grit size ladder, remember to wipe your stone to prevent contamination from onesize to another. Regarding polishing - you will have to test the various oxides to see which works best onthat specific stone i.e. Cerium / Aluminium (Linde A) / Tin or Chrome Oxides.As you cut more <strong>and</strong> more stones you will see what works best for you <strong>and</strong> develop your own style. Eachperson is different.Fay Pierides - PGMC - pierides@mweb.co.za(Left: Blue Lace Agates / Right: Lace Agate – both photos courtesy of San Diego <strong>Mineral</strong> & <strong>Gem</strong> Society – Heidi Naudé)
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