Are you interested in looking for rocks and gems?
Are you interested in learning how to prepare a stone for polishing?
We welcome visitors and new members!
Have fun, share experiences and learn from the experts in our midst!
Our workshop activities are held each Thursday , from 10am to 2pm and alternate between the grounds of Batemans Bay Heritage Museum and the President’s home.
Please refer to the News page or the Calendar for further details:
(Home page/News page, the Upcoming Events column is on top right if using a computer or at the bottom of the page if using a mobile device).
We had previously established a workshop at The Original Gold Rush Colony at Mogo which was devastated by bushfires in January. It is very exciting to announce a new partnership with Batemans Bay Heritage Museum providing us with a place from which to operate.
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.
Upcoming event: Thursday 15th April. As this is Seniors Week, a demonstration of the different aspects of lapidary will be held at the museum beginning at 10.00 am. Hope to see you there!
Upcoming event: The Batemans Bay Lapidary Club Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on the 28th April 2021 at 1pm at the Nelligen hall that all members are invited to attend. The purpose of an AGM is to give members a report on our activities and finances for the previous year, to allow time for members to ask questions, and to elect members of the committee for the year 2021/2022
The AGM Agenda
- Welcome and apologies.
- Minutes of previous AGM.
- President’s report.
- Presentation of Financial report for the year ending 31st March 2021.
- Elections
- Life Memberships (if any)
Hope to see you there at noon to have a picnic lunch nearby the Nelligen Hall before the start of our AGM.
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.
View photos of March 2021 Trip
View photos of February 2021 Trip
Please add your emergency contact details and serious health issues to the back of your name badge.
Please remember Covid restrictions apply to all activities.
We welcome members to undertake courses, in cutting, polishing and cabochon making.
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.
