Hello everyone,

My name is April. I have grown up in North Carolina and while I am pretty good at identifying common gemstones, I really suck at identifying the stones in my own backyard. Lol.

I am a jewelry designer and part time lapidarist. While I love the artistry and beauty of gemstones, my interests lie more in stones I can cut than mineral specimens. Though if I find a crystal point, it is going home with me (if I can).

While I haven’t met most of you, I do know JoeM. He and I have talked rocks over the years and I do occasionally buy cabs from him for special projects. He has been encouraging me to do more rockhounding for my jewelry stones.

Anyway, I will probably be around trying to understand the local geology and the stones I am finding locally.

April

Welcome to the RHL April. I also favor the stones that can be cut as well. Each rock, even the ugly ones, have a unique geological story to tell. Part of rockhounding is being able to read those stories because they could very well lead you to the gemstones. We get it wrong sometimes, but when we get it right it makes it all worth while. Hope you can glean some useful information here to supplement your rockhounding knowledge.