BATEMANS BAY LAPIDARY CLUB INC.

Are you interested in looking for rocks and gems?

Learn how to prepare a stone for polishing!

We welcome visitors and new members!

Please note:

During March (2, 9, 16, 23 & 30) and on April 6 the workshop will be held

(on Thursdays from 10 am to 2pm)

at the Batemans Bay Heritage Museum .

Our club meetings are usually held on the 4th Wednesday of each month, beginning at 1pm, at the Soul Tribe Studio Cafe, Beach Road, Catalina.

Click here to view map.

Our next meeting, our Annual General Meeting, will be held on Wednesday, 26th April, 2023.

Arrive at noon for lunch, a chat and a Show & Tell. The meeting will start at 1pm.

Upcoming Events

Please refer to the News page or the Calendar for further details.

The Upcoming Events (the calendar) of the club are displayed on the right sidebar of the Home and News pages of our website when viewed using a computer/laptop.

However, if viewing on a phone, go to the very bottom of these pages.

This is known as mobile view.

What is lapidary?

Lapidary is the art of cutting and polishing stone.

There are four basic lapidary arts: tumbling, cabbing, faceting, and carving.

Tumbling

Rough gem material is placed into a tumbler, a revolving barrel with abrasives. Progressively finer grits or abrasives are used until the gem is polished. This process closely resembles what happens to rocks in a stream or on the beach.

Cabbing

Cabbing or cabochon cutting is probably the most common form of lapidary arts. Cabochons or “cabs” are gems cut with a flat bottom and a curved or domed top.

Faceting

Through a mechanical process of cutting surfaces on a piece of crystal, beautiful gems are created. At present, as we don’t have access to a faceting machine, no faceting activities are being undertaken.

Follow us on our Facebook page.

Recent posts include:

Hobart’s Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

Currawang’s Mining History

Canberra’s Rock Swap

World’s First Opalised Pearls

See below for links to club documentation and policies.

Join us for a meeting where we discuss club matters and correspondence from affiliated lapidary clubs, report on excursions held, plan new trips and activities and examine “show and tell” specimens of fossils, gems, minerals and items of interest brought along by members.

We conduct fossicking trips and visits to sites of geological interest in our local area. Weekend excursions are held regionally and at times, extended interstate fossicking trips.

We welcome members to undertake courses, in cutting, polishing and cabochon making.

Download Membership Form

View Bylaws

Please note: Our Bylaws includes a section called Emergency Contact Action Plan.
This plan states that the emergency contact details are required to be written on the back of the member’s badge.
It is recommended that serious health issues are also recorded there.

View Workshop Rules

The 2022 Committee

View Club Library List