The Del Air Rockhounds Club Welcomes You!!

www.Facebook.com/DelAirRockhounds

The Del-Air Rockhounds Club was founded in 1954 with members mostly residing in the San Fernando Valley area of California. Our club is a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing knowledge of the lapidary arts and techniques, geology, mineralogy and related fields. We own our own lapidary equipment with members available to teach and demonstrate lapidary techniques to other members. Our members enjoy lapidary related programs, demonstrations, exhibitions, displays and lectures. We also take monthly field trips to our local deserts & mountains for exploration and the study and collection of lapidary and mineral specimens.

Member of the California & American Federation of Mineralogical Societies

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 7618, Van Nuys, CA 91409 

November 2025 Del-Air Calendar of Events

Sunday November 2: Daylight Savings Time Ends

Thursday November 6: General Meeting

Tuesday November 11: Veterans Day

Saturday November 15: Workshop Maintenance Day

Thursday November 20: Board Meeting

Thursday November 27: Thanksgiving Day

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November 2025 Program: "The Vivid Tourmaline from Birth to Perfection"                                                Presented  by: Joe Mastro

The presentation of "The Vivid Tourmaline From Birth To Perfection" will encompass what tourmalines are and the crystallization process in which the tourmaline grows from start to exemplary specimen or unremarkable crystal. We will discuss what makes quality crystals what they are from the materials used to the different types of crystallization processes in which the tourmaline is created. We will discuss what sorts of conditions were needed to create gem grade and different levels of quality crystal inside the pegmatite or crystallization process at the time. From there, we will travel to one of the world's biggest tourmaline mines (and my personal favorite), to discuss the tourmaline mining process from how pegmatite dikes and pegmatite pockets are harvested and how a pocket and pegmatite dike is situated in that tourmaline mine. We will also look at 2 other tourmaline mines and talk about the differences in quality and host materials available at each site which makes the crystal from that site special to that specific mine. Lastly, we will chat about where the average collector can find tourmaline in nature today.

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November Rocks of the Month: Toxic Rocks 

Toxic rocks and minerals contain hazardous elements that can be harmful through inhalation, ingestion, or skin absorption. While most rocks are safe, some contain toxic minerals that can cause serious health problems if not handled properly. Some examples are Arsenopyrite, Asbestos, Cinnabar, Orpiment and Realgar among others. Do you have any such examples in your collection? Our 5-minute Talk this month will be about toxic rocks.

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2026 Proposed Slate of Club Officers: 

President: Jeff Dengrove

Vice President: Aileen Beckers

2nd Vice President: Bernadette Friedman

Secretary: Bob Dearborn

Treasurer: Shellie Van Winkle

Federation Director: OPEN

Our election of 2026 Club Officers will take place during our December Holiday Party. Nominations will be taken from the floor for all positions. Bob Knox had to step down as our Federation Director so we will be needing someone to step up to the plate and volunteer for this position. The job is very simple. The volunteer will be responsible for monitoring the CFMS website and their monthly newsletter for pertinent news or information, if any, and reporting this back to our membership at each general meeting and attend a CFMS Directors meeting twice a year, once in the Spring during the CFMS annual show & convention (California location to be determined) and one in the Fall (always in Visalia, California). The club pays for the hotel room and for gas. Attending these meetings is encouraged but not mandatory. You will also be a voting member of the Del-Air board and can make your voice heard on all club business decisions. Anyone interested should speak with any board member.

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