Australia's National Gem Show, 'Gemboree', Back in Victoria for 2015

The 2015 GEMBOREE®, Australia’s annual national gem and mineral show, is set to return to the Wimmera Events Centre at Dooen, near Horsham, in Victoria’s Wimmera at Easter this year. The Gemboree is the premier event in the Australian gem club calendar and is held in a different state each year. It is operated under the auspice of the Australian Federation of Lapidary andAllied Crafts Inc. (AFLACA)

The first Gemboree was held in Coonabarabran (NSW) in 1965 with the first Victorian event being held at Beechworth in 1969. The event was last held in Victoria in the same location back in 2009.

The Wimmera Events Centre is situated some 300km north west of Melbourne and is an ideal base for an extended Victorian holiday centered on this amazing event. There’s a week of events and activities associated with the show which are designed to educate and entertain everyone in attendance.

Attendees are able to camp on site from 12pm Wednesday 1^st April until Tuesday 7^th April, with plenty of space for your caravan, tent or whatever it is you like to sleep in.

This year’s event is being hosted by the Victorian Gem Clubs Association.

Gemkhana Part 3

This is the 3rd and final installment of my posts relating to the Gemkhana event in Albury over the weekend of 9th and 10th March. See part 1 and part 2 by clicking on each. Here I will detail to last 4 pieces of material that I purchased which I will hopefully turn into some very nice pieces over the coming months.

This is a piece of Siltstone, although it was being sold as 'Zebra Stone' by the vendor on the day. My suspicion is that this sort of material is easier to sell when it is called 'Zebra Stone' given the popularity of that particular stone. Although zebra stone is a variety of siltstone, it has a far more distinctive pattern than this piece. In saying this, I loved the colour and uniform pattern of this slab of material so grabbed it anyway. I am not sure what I will do with this just yet as it is a very soft stone, but will see how we go!

This piece is Ribbon Jasper originating from New Zealand. Jasper is basically a variety of quartz and is quite a hard material. Because of makeup and hardness of jasper, it generally takes a magnificent shine and the variety of colours and patterns is endless. This particular piece caught my eye because of the pattern running across the stone. It has quite a few healed fractures that I may need to avoid, but the piece is large enough for this not to be too much of an issue.

This piece is Rhyolite which I am told originates from New South Wales (Australia). Rhyolite is also part of the quartz family and is generally a volcanic creation. It is worth noting that when the Rhyolite formation cools too quickly for crystals to form, instead of Rhyolite being the end result, Obsidian is formed in its place. I haven't cut rhyolite before so not quite sure what to expect. In saying this, if it is in the quartz family I would anticipate it to be quite hard and taken a good polish.

Last but not least we have a slice of unknown material. I was told that it originates from New Zealand but that was all the vendor could tell me. My thoughts are that it is some sort of agatised jasper or some other form of quartz. It certainly has that look and feel to it. I liked the pattern on it so thought I would grab it regardless and we will see how it cuts up!




Well, that's it as far as our Gemkhana adventures go for another year. I certainly had a great weekend and was very pleased with the turnout. The organisation of the event was well done and there were plenty of people through the gates. I am certainly looking forward to next years show! Remember that if you like the look of any of the materials I have posted from the show, feel free to drop me an email via jakagems@hotmail.com and I am sure we can work a piece out for you. Also don't forget to check us out on facebook and on storenvy.

Until next time!

Gemkhana 2013 Part 2

Following on from my post from the other day (view here), here are some more of the rough material that I got my hands on at the Gemkhana event in Albury.

This is a piece of Mahogany Obsidian. I have already explained obsidian in my post from the other day and the fact that it is a pain to cut, but again, I couldn't walk away from this as it comes up so nicely! This particular piece has quite interesting patterning though it.

Nundoorite (Pictured to the right) is a material that I had never seen or heard of before. From the little information I have found relating to this particular stone, I have been able to ascertain that the name 'Nundoorite' is as a result of where this material was originally found - Nundoora Station near Broken Hill (New South Wales). The original deposit of this stuff was mined out some 20 or 30 years ago, but further deposits of similar stones (such as this piece) have since been located nearby. This stone is mainly made up of orthoclase syenite with green flecks of aegerine running through. Quite an interesting looking stone and I am certainly intrigued as to what it will end up like.

These 3 slabs are a stone known as 'Sonora Sunrise' (or Sonora Sunset depending on who you talk to!). It is a relatively new find originating in Mexico and is a mixture of Cuprite (red) and Chrysocolla (green). I have been chasing some of this stuff for a while now so was pleased to find these slabs. It seems like quite a soft material so not sure how the final polish will end up.

These 3 are small slabs of 'Marble Bar Jasper' - a material originating from an area just outside the small West Australian settlement of Marble Bar. I have some of this at home already and have cut a few pieces out of it (this piece in particular came out very nicely!), but it is so hard to come by that I could not leave these pieces behind. The vendor did have a few other small slabs, but they were quite cracked and I didn't think I could do a lot with them. These pieces on the other hand looked fantastic.

This piece is a relatively large slab of Poppy Jasper from New South Wales. I quite liked the patterns across the stone, with small agatised areas amongst beautiful red jasper. Jasper is known for taking a brilliant shine and I have no doubt that this slab will not disappoint. I have a project in mind for this piece, so stay tuned!




I have 4 more slabs yet to show you from the material I bought at Gemkhana which I will post over the next couple of days, so swing back by my blog to find out what they are! Also keep an eye out both here and on my Facebook page for pieces created out of this rough material!

Until next time!

Gemkhana 2013

As some of you may be aware, Jaka Gems attended the 2013 Gemkhana Show in Albury of the weekend of March 9th and 10th. Gemkhana is Victoria's state level Gem and Mineral show which was this year presented by the Albury Lapidary and Allied Crafts Club in association with the Victorian Gem Clubs Association

Both organisations did a fantastic job with the running of the show with plenty of people coming through the gates.

  

The Jaka Gems stall was positioned in the outdoor area and the Albury weather certainly putting on a show for all - Temperatures in the high 30's on both days ensured that plenty of water was consumed as well as plenty of sunscreen! Finding shade was probably the most difficult task for the weekend with our small pavilion moved several times chasing that elusive piece of dirt out of the sunshine!

We purchased quite a bit of rough material over the weekend, which I will show you some of in this blog entry. The picture to the right is a slab of Kambaba Jasper. I have been wanting to get some of this material for a while and was really happy to find this very detailed slice. Kambaba Jasper is a material originating from Africa and is basically fossilised algae. I have seen some cabochons of this stuff and it takes a magnificent shine, but I am far more excited about the interesting patterns in it. I had a project in mind for this piece when I bought it, but it has turned out that the slice is just a little bit too small for what I wanted. Despite this, I am still pretty happy with the purchase!

This next slab (to the left) is a piece of Rainbow Obsidian. I was simply unable to walk past it! Obsidian is a pain to cut, but finishes really well and the pattern and colour on this particular piece is amazing! Obsidian is essentially a naturally occurring glass which is created by rapidly cooling lava flows. When the lava cools quickly, it does not create crystal growth and obsidian is the result.

The material to the right is a slice of Rubies in Fuschite. My wife saw a cabochon of this material at another stall and then demanded that I get some to cut her some pieces! The material generally originates from Southern India and contains rubies (which can range in colour from pink to bright red) encased in the bright green Fuschite.

Keep an eye out on our facebook page and store for pieces cut from these materials. I will also be posting more of our buys on this blog over the coming days so definitely keep on checking back in here for more and don't forget to share with your friends! If any of the material here interests you, drop me a line either on facebook, or via email at jakagems@hotmail.com - I am more than happy to discuss customised pieces!

Until next time!

Preparing for a massive market

I was recently accepted as a stall holder for a large annual market held at the Pleasant Street Primary School in Ballarat (Australia).

Christmas Fest by the Lake 2012 is a massive market that is held each year by the Primary school and is used as one of their major fundraising efforts for the year. It is a market that attracts thousands of people every year with a vast array of attractions for families.

To prepare for this event, I have been cutting like mad whenever I get some free time! Unfortunately spare time has been harder to come by than hens teeth of late. With a trip to Echuca for a long weekend with family, then a trip to Sydney for my 5th wedding anniversary, in between a full time job (working plenty of weekends) and 2 kids under 4, finding time for cutting has been difficult to say the least!

I managed to get off work early yesterday though, and today being Saturday, I have been able to get a few bits cut:

Along with a whole bunch of other cabochons and pendants, the above pieces will be available from my stall at the market on Friday afternoon from 5pm - 9pm.

Whatever is left over will also be with me at a smaller festival the following day as I will also be holding a stall at the Gordon Tick-Tock Festival. This is an event to celebrate the re-awakening of the Post Office clock after 35 years in Gordon, Victoria (which is the small country town to which I call home).

It would be great to see you there!

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