Lapidary clubs promote popular interest and education in

lapidary Lapidary () is the practice of shaping rock (geology), stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems (including cameo (carving), cameos), and faceted designs. A person who practices lapidary techniques of ...

, the craft of working, forming and finishing stone, minerals and gemstones. These clubs sponsor and provide means for their members to engage in all forms of

jewellery making Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. ...

cabochon A cabochon (; ) is a gemstone that has been shaped and polished, as opposed to faceted. The resulting form is usually a convex (rounded) obverse with a flat reverse. Cabochon was the default method of preparing gemstones before gemstone cuttin ...

cutting and

facet Facets () are flat faces on geometric shapes. The organization of naturally occurring facets was key to early developments in crystallography, since they reflect the underlying symmetry of the crystal structure. Gemstones commonly have facets cu ...

ing,

carving Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and y ...

glass beadmaking Glass bead making has long traditions, with the oldest known beads dating over 3,000 years. People have been making beads out of glass since at least Ancient Roman times. Perhaps the earliest glass-like beads were Egyptian faience beads, a for ...

and

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

work. The clubs also promote and facilitate healthy outdoor activities in the form of field trips to various

fossicking In Australia, New Zealand and Cornwall, fossicking is prospecting, especially when carried out as a recreational activity. This can be for gold, precious stones, fossils, etc. by sifting through a prospective area. In Australian English and New Z ...

locations for the purpose of collecting

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

s or

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

s. Lapidary is particularly popular in the United States of America and Australia where large numbers of clubs were formed in the 1950s and 1960s. In Australia, the peak body is the Australian Federation of Lapidary & Allied Crafts Associations Inc known as AFLACA. AFLACA has eight member organisations that together represent several hundred lapidary and related clubs across Australia. Each year AFLACA holds its GEMBOREE which is a national Gem, Lapidary and Mineral Competition and Show which in addition to exhibitions and displays includes Lapidary Club members competing for awards in a range of lapidary categories.

External links

Considerations in choice of lapidary club
Hobbies Hardstone carving {{organization-stub