We welcome anyone with an interest in rocks, minerals, crystals, lapidary arts or with an interest in earth sciences. Our membership consists of approximately 100 individuals from all walks of life ranging in age from 8 to seasoned veteran.
- The club provides classes taught by experienced instructors for its members in a variety of areas for a nominal fee.
- Mid March the VLMS club holds the ‘Rock and Gem Show‘
- Each year the club holds an auction of used equipment and lapidary material.
- Each month, at the club meeting (details below), a program, or education/ entertainment segment pertaining to the club’s activities, is provided.
- Field trips are planned and attempted (weather permitting) on a monthly basis, see the calendar or Upcoming Events for more information
- The VLMS also sponsors a bursary, the Pam Dyer Memorial Bursary (Post-secondary education)
Meeting Information
Membership
Affiliations
Club Stone
Contact Information
Pam Dyer Memorial Bursary (Post-secondary education)
Meeting Information
The club meets on the first Monday of each month at 7:00pm, check the Calendar page for details on upcoming meetings. Visitors always welcome.
The meetings are held at the Burnside Bowling Clubhouse at 274 Hampton Rd. Victoria, BC from September through June.
Membership
Application for membership can be made:
- by filling in this Membership Application google form (preferred method) and sending an e-transfer of fees to treasurer@vlms.ca – use a security question where the answer is “membership” such as “what is this for?”
- at any monthly Monday meeting for members (general meeting) by filling in a paper form, and paying by cash, cheque or e-transfer
- by downloading and completing this pdf Membership Application form, then snail-mailing it with a cheque or e-transfer to Membership secretary, Victoria Lapidary and Mineral Society, PO Box 48164 Uptown PO, Victoria BC, V8Z 3L0
[table id=3 /]
Links
- The Vancouver Island Faceters’ Guild
- Alberni Valley Rock and Gem Club, Port Alberni BC (facebook)
- Ripple Rock Gem and Mineral Club, Campbell River BC
- Parksville and District Rock and Gem Club – Parksville BC
- JONANCO Hobby workshop – Naniamo BC
- The Essex Rock and Mineral Society (which we had the fortune of having a guest speaker present for us)
- Saanich Silver Threads Centre
- Association for Mineral Exploration, British Columbia
- British Columbia Lapidary Society
- Port Moody Rock and Gem Club
- Surrey Rockhound Club
- Clallam County Gem and Mineral Association
- Minfile Victoria contains geological, location and economic information on more than 14,750 metallic, industrial mineral and coal mines, deposits and occurrences in British Columbia.
- Rockhound Shop, The
- Charles Lewton-Brain’s articles on jewelry making
- The Virtual Museum of the History of Mineralogy
- American Geode We have many rockhound educational articles: http://www.americangeode.com/rockhounding.php We have the most up to date geology and gem and mineral show newswire on the web:http://www.americangeode.com/events.php
Affiliations:
We are affliated with the British Columbia Lapidary Society and the Gem and Mineral Federation of Canada.
Club Stone: Dallasite
Dallasite is the Victoria Lapidary and Mineral Society’s club stone. The rock is so named because the first identified pieces of it were found along Dallas Road in Victoria. This is of interest as the material would have had to travel a fair distance from the source. There are occurrences along the east side of Vancouver Island and some sizable deposits in the Alberni Area.
The material is a volcanic breccia consisting of green and black material in a white base which also forms the VLMS club colours. The size of the green and black material varies and it can form some very attractive patterns. It is believed to form as pillow lava underwater and through geological uplift become deposits on land.
Working Dallasite can be challenging as there is a variation in the hardness of the different areas of the material as well as the usual cracks and crevices. When tumbling it is best to only have Dallasite in the load.
When cutting cabochons it is best to stick to diamond based wheels such as on a Genie – and do a final polish with tin oxide. This will avoid undercutting the softer areas.
Good places to collect include Island View Beach, beaches around Parksville and of course beaches around Victoria. Look for cobble beaches and the predominate white to guide you. Pieces occur in size from a pebble up to good size (5 lbs – 2 kg) boulders.
Contact Information
our website is: www.vlms.ca
our emails are:
[table id=9 /]
Our mailing address is:
Victoria Lapidary and Mineral Society
VLMS
PO Box 48164 Uptown PO
Victoria BC
V8Z 3L0
Pam Dyer Memorial Bursary Application Form (Post-secondary education)
The Victoria Lapidary and Mineral Society (VLMS) is a non-profit society with the objectives of promoting interest in the lapidary arts and in geology and its various branches especially in reference to Vancouver Island. Use of VLMS resources to support students studying in the earth sciences makes an ongoing contribution to the hobby and knowledge of earth sciences.
The VLMS may grant up to two bursaries in the amount of $1,000 each per academic year. The students eligible to apply must be residents of Vancouver Island at the time of their application and must intend to be, or be, registered in an earth sciences program at a public post secondary educational institution located in BC.
Applications must be received by July 15 of the year in which the course or program starts (usually this will be in September). The applications will be reviewed by the VLMS board of directors or a committee of the board. The decision on successful applicants will be made by the board of directors by July 30.
- Any person resident on Vancouver Island at the time of application who has been accepted into, or intends to register for, an earth sciences program or course for the next starting academic year may be nominated by a member of any of the BCLS Island Zone lapidary and mineral clubs for the bursary.
- The bursary may be applied to the cost of tuition and books for earth sciences courses or other expenses reasonably related to such courses at any publicly funded post secondary institution in BC. There are 25 publicly funded post-secondary institutions in BC: 11 universities, 11 colleges and 3 institutes.
- The person can be nominated for a bursary each year they are registered in the program.
- One of the bursaries will be awarded to an applicant resident in the Capital Regional District and the other to an applicant resident elsewhere on Vancouver Island.
If no applicant from either the CRD or elsewhere on Vancouver Island is deemed suitable, the bursary which would have been awarded in that geographical area may be awarded to an applicant from the other area. No award will be made if no applicant is deemed suitable for the bursary. If the person to whom a bursary is awarded does not register in an earth sciences program or course as was expected and was the basis for making the award, the bursary must be returned to the VLMS.
The bursary will be advertised on the VLMS website and Facebook, in the Laphound News, in the BCLS Rockhounder and by notice to the Island Zone executive.
The selection criteria include:
- nomination by a current member of an Island Zone club;
- demonstrated interest in relevant subject areas such as the lapidary arts, earth sciences, ecology or natural history;
- proof of acceptance to a BC public post secondary education institution in the year of the application;
- experience in extra-curricula school and community education, sport or social services activities;
- course or program and year in program in which person is registered or intends to register.
To apply for this bursary please fill out the Pam Dyer Memorial Bursary Application form, and have your Sponsor use the same link to fill out the Sponsor section of the form.