Links & Useful Information
On this page you will find links to other UK & worldwide lapidary Clubs and Organisations as well as equipment manufacturers, suppliers and other useful information.
UK lapidary Clubs and Organisations
Scotland:
Leith Lapidary Club
This is a club with a history. We were previously the Edinburgh Gas Lapidary Club, formed in July 1971, with the first clubroom opening in August 1972. We moved to Leith Links in 1982 and in 1995 we changed our name to the Leith Lapidary Club. In August 2014 we had to move again and are now situated in St Margaret’s House at Meadowbank.
http://www.leithlapidary.org.uk/
West of Scotland Mineral and Lapidary Society
The West of Scotland Mineral and Lapidary Society was founded in 1966 by a group of people who had a common interest in collecting, studying, and polishing semi-precious stones. For the last 25 years the Society’s clubroom has been based in Knightswood Community Centre, Knightswood, Glasgow.
England:
Norfolk Mineral & Lapidary Society
The Society was founded in 1973 and is the only one of its kind in East Anglia. Our members, young and not so young, come from a wide area and from many different walks of life.
Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/287916994738132/
Sidcup Lapidary & Mineral Society
The group has been running for over 40 years with an active membership. We have a Lapidary workshop with cutting, grinding and polishing equipment, display tables and microscopes for use.
http://www.sidcuplapminsoc.org.uk/
Sussex Mineral & Lapidary Society
We are passionate about minerals, fossils, lapidary and gemmology. Most of us are collectors, some of us come from scientific backgrounds and others are just really interested in learning about these fascinating subjects. Our membership is mostly the South East of England (Sussex, Kent & Surrey)
Lapidary Clubs and Organisations – Worldwide
Ventura Gem & Mineral Society
Very active and friendly lapidary society based in Ventura County, California.
The purpose of the VGMS is to promote popular interest in geology, mineralogy, paleontology, and related subjects; to sponsor and provide means and activities that will result in dissemination of information and knowledge within these subjects; to conduct or sponsor lectures, classes, demonstrations, field trips and/or study groups to further education and interest both within VGMS and the community at large; and to make and exhibit rock, mineral, fossil, and lapidary arts collections. The VGMS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Useful Websites for Agate and Mineral Collecting in the UK
www.agatesofscotland.co.uk
This website was created in 2005 as a way of showing the range, size and beauty of agates from Scotland. It is a place for the interested collector to visit.
Agates have been collected in Scotland since prehistoric times. Native agate material have been found in a Neolithic cairn near Cairnhill, Monquhitter in Aberdeenshire and some small scraper tools have been found in a middle stone-age occupation site at Morton in Fife, these have been dated at some 7000-9000 years old. More recently a native agate “charm stone” was found in a farm field at Newstead, Roxburghshire that possibly dates back to the Roman occupation of Scotland.
https://www.agatesofscotland.co.uk/
www.agatesscotland.com
For the past twenty-odd years (I was born in 1982) I have collected Scottish agates.
I do not intend to discuss the subject of agate genesis here, nor do I intend to sell any specimens, instead, this website is a way for me to share the most beautiful, unusual and elusive of the agates in my collection.
It must also be noted while all the specimens photographed for this website were self-collected (unless unusually I have indicated otherwise) the majority of the agates on this site were cut, ground, and polished by David Hudson, a very fine lapidary and valued friend.
I particularly appreciate stalactitic and zeolitic agates as well as agatized fossiliferous material. Stalactitic agates consist of inclusions of chalcedony in quartz and agate formed in long vertical formations, that resemble those that can be found in caves of limestone. Zeolitic agates show “sprays” of zeolites which are various mineral inclusions, that the chalcedony has formed around in layers, sometimes “gloving” the inclusions with unexpected and beautiful results. In my years of collecting, I have aimed to identify the locations on the east coast of Scotland where these types of agate are most likely to occur.
Lapidary Tools & Materials
Treasure (Hong Kong) Limited
Treasure (Hong Kong) Limited is specialized in wide range of diamond tools and registered the trademark as THK®. Our products are quality assured according to the advanced technology applied and strictly control the quality of raw materials. This is always our mission to achieve customer satisfaction by providing high quality products and services at competitive prices, and our customer-oriented philosophy can give the best to our customers
Baltic Abrasive Technologies (Lithuania)
Baltic Abrasive Technologies specializes in superabrasive grinding, polishing and profiling wheels, pins ant other related tools. The main leading products are top quality, wide variety diamond and CBN wheels. Our product range covers resin bonded, metal bonded, vitrified bonded, electroplated wheels and pins.
“Our aim is to encourage an interest in natural minerals & their related crafts on a non-commercial basis.”
If you have an interest in gemstones or minerals then the Scottish Mineral & Lapidary Club could be for you.
Our club offers the perfect opportunity to learn the traditional crafts of lapidary and silverwork as well as gain access to our extensive library, fieldtrips, talks and more…
Take a Look Inside.
We have an extensive lapidary workshop with dedicated sawing and grinding rooms
There is a well equipped silver workshop including enamelling and metal casting
Members also have access to our large mineral, geological & lapidary library…
…as well as our curated mineral & agate collection with a strong UK & Scottish focus
Visit our Online Shop
Although we are a Charitable Organisation and not a business per se, we do, at times, have a surplus of equipment, rocks & minerals and a variety of other items that we will list here and make available to the public.
Why not drop in and visit our workshop and displays?
Opening Times:
Mondays – 7.00 pm to 9.30 pm
Tuesdays – 11.00 am to 4.00 pm & 7.00 pm to 9.30 pm
Wednesdays – 7.00 pm to 9.30 pm
Thursdays – 11.00 am to 3.00 pm
Fridays – 7.00 pm to 9.30 pm
Saturdays – 10.00 am to 4.00 pm
Sundays - Closed