We offer instruction in the Lapidary Shop at the HGMS Education Center, 7901 Bailey Cove Road SE, Huntsville. Our certified instructors are Bill Friday, James Yack, Les Bartel, and Anthony Zwilling. Click Lapidary Schedule to see when the shop is open.
Lapidary Shop
by Bill Friday, Lapidary Manager
The Education Center Lapidary Shop features an enviable array of rock saws, grinding machines, and polishing equipment. Certification training is required for HGMS members to use the shop equipment. Any certified HGMS member may use the shop when it’s open. Lapidary training is available to any 18+ HGMS member who requests it. Special training times can be arranged by request to hsvgems@gmail.com.
All maintenance is provided by a crew of dedicated volunteers. Saw blades and wheels gradually wear out and must be replaced, and disabled equipment must be repaired or replaced. Oil is regularly run through the special oil cleaner. The Annual Auction generally pays for most shop maintenance, plus there is a daily usage fee. There is no training fee.
Almost all of the lapidary shop equipment was purchased new in 2016. We have four Highland Park 14” diamond blade slab saws and ten diamond surfaced double-wheel arbors, with 80/220 grit for grinding, 280/600 grit for sanding, and 3000/14,000 for polishing. There are two 6-inch trim saws and a 24” saw for large rocks. On some busy evenings, there are up to a dozen participants, though usually fewer, most of whom can find an empty machine of some sort to use in pursuit of the creation of genuine treasures. It should be added that the fellowship of swapping stories, swapping rocks, and admiring each other’s skills and accomplishments is a significant part of the attraction.
Did You Know? A unique two-colored diamond weighing 37.41 carats was unearthed by the Lucara Diamond Corporation in Botswana. The diamond is half pink and half colorless. Experts say it likely formed in two stages with the pink half forming first. The discovery was announced in October 2025. Source: 
December: Tanzanite-Named for Tanzania, where it was first discovered, this popular gemstone is the blue-to-violet or purple variety of the mineral zoisite. Zircon-Best known for its brilliant blue hues, zircon’s optical properties make it bright and lustrous. It also occurs in warm autumnal yellows, reds, and reddish browns, and in green hues. Turquoise-This vivid blue gemstone is a rare phosphate of copper that forms only in the Earth’s most dry and barren regions. Ancient peoples from Egypt to Mesoamerica and China treasured it. Source: 