Many Faceted

The Stewart Lithia Mine

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Lepidolite and pink tourmaline in the Stewart Lithia Mine, Pala, California
Pink tourmaline and lepidolite on the mine walls

Earlier this month I made my first trip to the Carlsbad area of California, north of San Diego, to take GIA’s Colored Stones Grading and Pearl Grading labs. Before class started, however, I had my first gem adventure: a field trip to the Stewart Lithia Mine in Pala, California. This mine has a long history, over 100 years on and off, first mined for the lovely purple mineral lepidolite (for its lithium, used primarily in grease), and later for a variety of gems (most of them pink.) Pink, green, bi-color and black tourmaline is found here, as well as kunzite, morganite and heliodor (pink and yellow varieties of beryl), and quartz.

San Diego County is known for its pegmatite deposits — lenses of igneous rock with large/abundant crystals, usually a dozen feet thick, give or take — and the Stewart Lithia mine sits in an unbelievably thick pegmatite (120 feet thick, in some places.) The geology was quite interesting driving out to Pala from the coast, with mountains looking like piles of boulders, from a distance. (Okay, so it was interesting to me. Never mind.)

Looking for gems on the slopes above the Stewart Lithia Mine, Pala, California
Looking for gems is hot work!

Gem-finding is hard work under the sun (which got uncomfortably warm, despite the low-for-San-Diego temperatures.) Fabulous gem rough was found, but not by me — a few chunks of gemmy rubellite (pink tourmaline) in the 30-40 carat range, and a gorgeous gemmy bi-color (green to seafoam blue) tourmaline crystal, easily two inches long. We were told to limit ourselves to ten pounds of rock apiece (!!), but I brought home a bit less since I had to fit it all in my suitcase.

Rock finds from the Stewart Lithia Mine
What I brought home. Please excuse my hotel bathroom sink.

After lunch, we toured the mine. I didn’t take many pictures inside (none with flash, out of respect for everyone’s low-light vision), but the workings were quite impressive.

Entrance to the Stewart Lithia Mine
The mine entrance. Peligro!

In the lower levels, we saw a remarkable mineral formation, where white spodumene crystals against a dark grey background formed a perfect Chinese dragon, easily 15-18 feet long (complete with head, teeth, ear, eye and sinuous body.) At the bottom was a lake of pure, ancient water, rich in calcium. (If you breathe upon the water, the calcium absorbs the carbon dioxide you exhale and forms calcium carbonate crystals on the surface. Magical.) The water was quite drinkable, and tasted wonderfully smooth. I admit, the lake was my favorite part.

All in all, it was a wonderful day! If you’d like to see more pictures, check out the set on Flickr.

Fall Update

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Phew, it’s been a while! I had it in mind to write “article”-type posts here (read: LONG), which I think may have been a mistake, as I’ve missed several “update”-type opportunities to post over the past few months. And now here it is, November, and interesting things have been happening, none of which I’ve told you about!

Here’s a sampling of what I’ve been up to, since July:

I completed my Accredited Jewelry Professional diploma through GIA, which means I can add the words “dangerous enough for retail” to my credentials. Wait. No. It means I can add the initials AJP to my credentials. Sorry about that.

I started Colored Stones at the end of July, and Pearls at the beginning of September; I am nearly done with Pearls now, about halfway through Colored Stones (somewhat behind, in my original estimate; got bogged down with work this fall, which has curtailed the studying significantly.) I am going to Carlsbad next weekend to take the Colored Stone Grading and Pearl Grading labs. I plan to take the Gemstone Identification lab in late January.

Chatham Created emerald crystal
My prize: a Chatham created emerald crystal (a bit over 1/2" long.) I keep it on my desk.

In late September, I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Chatham, of Chatham Created Gems in San Francisco. Tom was very kind, extremely generous with his time, and quite patient with this googly-eyed gemology student (who spent the entire visit with her fingers in a bowl full of synthetic emerald crystals. Don’t judge me. You wouldn’t be able to resist them either!)

Art Deco 26 Carat Star Sapphire Ring at Lang Antiques
Lavender star sapphire ring, Art Deco. Yes, please.

After my visit at Chatham, I made my way over to Lang Antiques and met some of their enthusiastic staff (hard not to be enthusiastic, working with their inventory every day!) I was happy to finally meet the awesome Barbra Voltaire, administrator and gem-goddess of GemologyOnline.com and the helpful GO Forums. (I visited Lang earlier in September, but she was off that day. I did spend some time ogling the stone to your left, which is probably my favorite piece in their inventory. Not sure, but I think I need to be queen of something before I can wear a ring like this.)

Art Deco Onyx and Diamond Locket at Lang Antiques
The back/inside looks as good as the front/outside.

This visit, I spent some quality time with the piece to your right, a fabulous onyx and diamond locket from the Art Deco period. You really must go look at all of the pictures, because the inside is as beautiful as the outside, and the whole thing is just… dreamy. [swoon] Why is it, that I always like the expensive things? Maybe if you work with expensive jewelry every day, you get over it. (I’d like the opportunity to test that theory…)

For the record, Barbra was swooning over the locket, too.

Last but not least, a week from today, I will be joining the GIA Alumni Association’s Los Angeles chapter on a field trip to the famous Stewart Lithia Mine in Pala, CA. I’m going in a mine!! And then I get to sort through mine tailings and look for gems!! I’m ever so excited about all this. (In case you can’t tell.) I hope to have PILES of gems to photograph and post (but really, I’d be happy with just a small handful.)

There’s more to tell, but that will have to wait for the next post. Stay tuned!