Founded in 1964, the Denver Gem and Mineral Guild is an award-winning non-profit organization that pursues exploration, experimentation, and education in the Earth Sciences; the discovery, development, and preservation of minerals and mineral deposits; and the advancement, encouragement, and utilization of the principles of art and craftsmanship, as applied to gems and minerals. We are a diverse group of women, men, and children who love ROCKS. We love to dig them, cut them for jewelry, and collect them. Our members love to share our passion for rocks and minerals. We have professional geologists, teachers, lapidary artists, and people who just love rocks.
We meet the 2nd Friday of the month – September through May at the Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church, 7530 W. 38th Ave, Wheat Ridge CO at 7pm – VISITORS WELCOME! – CLICK HERE for details.
NOTE: Due to Covid, snow, etc. some meetings may be held via Zoom instead of at the Church – always check below for the latest schedule details!
May 2024 Events Held
May 10: DGMG meeting,
Wheat Ridge Methodist Church,
Board Meeting 6:00, Club Meeting 7:00
MEETING PROGRAM – Tools you can use to identify gems and minerals by DGMG VP Dr. Peter J. Modreski
Pete’s presentation will be about techniques you can use to help identify gems and minerals. After a short presentation and demonstrations, Pete will invite club members to bring up specimens (crystals or mineral speci-mens, and rough, cut or polished, and mounted stones) and we’ll practice using some of the techniques to do our best to identify them, or at least to narrow down what they may or may not be. The instruments and methods we’ll be demonstrating include those that Pete uses at the mineral identification table at our Guild mineral show.
We’ll talk about the standard mineral identification techniques, by test or observation; color, luster, crystal form, hardness, cleavage, magnetism, streak, chemical tests (a drop of HCl) and the like. Then we’ll discuss, and use, techniques with various kinds of instruments or equipment.
All members attending are invited to bring in any mineral, crystals, or either rough or polished (faceted, or cabochon) gemstones to try out some of these test methods. You are welcome to bring in “unknown”, or those for which you think you know the identity but are not certain or want to confirm it, or, stones you do know for sure what they are, but want to see if you can “stump the expert” (it definitely happens!).
MAY FIELD TRIPS
Sunday, May 5 – Spring Garden Party at Pete Modreski’s. Get to know your fellow club members, discuss your favorite collecting locations, and share tall tails of the minerals that got away.
Saturday, May 11: Field Trip to Utah with Bob Pfeifer for Dugway Geodes.
Be sure to check out this video (with over 1.7K YouTube views) about one of Bob’s recent Dugway field trips.
June 2024 Events Scheduled
The DGMG does not have monthly meetings in the Summer. Instead we have our field trips and our summer Picnic (see below).
Saturday, June 8 Field Trip to Club Claims for Smoky Quartz, Clear Drusy Quartz, Amazonite, Topaz, Feldspar, Microcline, Zinnwaldite, Fluorite and other fluorescent minerals.
Saturday June 22 Field Trip to Smoky Hawk Claim for smoky quartz and amazonite.
Sunday June 23 Field Trip to the Topaz Claim. Linda Burns (past DGMG President) works at these claims and will be your host for these field trips.
Check out the Instagram and Facebook pages for the Smoky Hawk and Topaz claims, and check out these videos where the claim owner talks about the operations at the Smoky Hawk Claim.
Sunday, June 23, 10 am: Founders picnic at Addenbrooke Park on Garrison Street in Lakewood. First DGMG library book sale. This park is on the land once owned by Tom Addenbrooke, one of DGMG’s founding members. His extensive rock collection is still on display in the park. Read more about the history of the park here.
More from the Archives
These 35mm slides taken by past DGMG members have been hidden in the clubhouse and not seen by members in a generation. They were recently scanned and are now posted here for your viewing pleasure.
2024 DMNH Specimens (147 items)
2024 Miniatures and Thumbnails (86 items)
2024 Micromounts (232 items)
2024 Unknowns (70 items)
The Denver Gem & Mineral Guild is a member of:
The Greater Denver Area Gem and Mineral Council, Inc., host of the Denver Gem & Mineral Show™, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation organized exclusively for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes. Trustees from each of our seven member clubs sit on the Council Board. The Council oversees the annual show, and twice each year, the Council distributed proceeds from the show in the form of grants to not-for-profit organizations, particularly those based in Colorado, to promote activities that educate the public in the earth sciences.
Annual giving ranged from $20,000 to $30,000. Funds were directed toward site and specimen preservation and display efforts, as well as to assist institutions in purchasing equipment, tools, and supplies. Recent grant recipients have included the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum, Dinosaur Ridge, Morrison Natural History Museum Foundation, Hinsdale County Historical Society, Canyon City Geology Club, Big Horn Basin Foundation, and the Junior Museum of Pennsylvania.
Since Covid, and the loss of our venue at The Mart, our new event at the Hardrock Summit continues to provide a showcase and outreach to the community, as we work on returning to profitability.
The Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies has a close association with all the clubs in the Society to promote the study of earth sciences, including the lapidary arts, the study of fossils and paleontology, and related crafts.
The RMFMS was organized in 1941, and held its first annual convention at the Argonaut Hotel in Denver, Colorado. There were 16 organizations in attendance. The RMFMS became one of the original four founders of the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies when it was organized in 1947.
The Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies covers local clubs in the following states:
Arizona (17), Arkansas (1), Colorado (20), Kansas (5), Nebraska (western portion of state) (1), New Mexico (7), Nevada (1), North Dakota (western portion of state)(1), Oklahoma (9), South Dakota (western portion of state) (1), Texas (1), Utah (7) and Wyoming (7).
For more on the early history of the RMFMS, check out History of the Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies 1941 – 1963 by Muriel Colburn.
The American Federation of Mineralogical Societies promotes popular interest and education in the various Earth Sciences, and in particular the subjects of Geology, Mineralogy, Paleontology, Lapidary and other related subjects and sponsors and provides means of coordinating the work and efforts of all persons and groups interested therein. It sponsors and encourages the formation and international development of Societies and Regional Federations and by and through such means to strive toward greater international good will and fellowship.
The American Federation of Mineralogical Societies is composed of the following seven similar regional organizations of gem, mineral, and lapidary societies. CFMS – California Federation of Mineralogical Societies | EFMLS – Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies | MWF – Midwest Federation of Mineralogical and Geological Societies | NFMS – Northwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies | RMFMS – Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies | SCFMS – South Central Federation of Mineral Societies
| SFMS – Southeast Federation of Mineralogical Societies
This page last updated on 5/27/2024