The FMS at TGMS: 1996 and 2022
By Alan J. Cherepon, FMS#884, UV Waves vol. 52 n. 2, 2022.The TGMS and Annual Show The Tucson Gem and Mineral Society (TGMS) formed in 1946, and the first Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® was held in a local elementary school in 1955. The show grew to the point that...
The FMS hosts its largest meeting ever!
After a one-year postponement, the belated 50th anniversary of the FMS was celebrated at the 2022 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® hosted by the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society (TGMS). “The Show That Glows.” The Fluorescent Mineral Society Pavilion, held in the newly finished addition to the Tucson Convention Center, was a must see, although…
Is my rock really fluorescent?
A question often asked: “Is the blue fluorescence in this rock real?”. This is a pretty common question, or often a wrong conclusion made by many first starting out in our hobby. Our UV lights have UV bandpass filters (“filter” defined here for our purposes as UV transmitting, visible blocking) which block the visible light…
Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Zoning of Apatite
At the Rochester Mineralogical Symposium in 2022 Madeline Murchland gave a very nice presentation about fluorescence spectroscopy and zoning in apatite. Here is a recording of her talk.
31st Annual Ultraviolation 2021
Dennis Michaels (from our Fluorescent Minerals Facebook group) attended his first Ultraviolation show in Oct 2021. He took some amazing photos which really illustrate what this shindig is all about. Every rock is fluorescent. The room is filled with dealer and...
Multicolor Longwave Minerals
Everybody is familiar with mineral specimens that fluoresce two or more colors under shortwave UV light. Just think about a classical red-and-green calcite and willemite from Franklin. But are there similar multicolor specimens under longwave?? Mark challenged the...
Monteagle Miner Cave, a Fluorescent Chamber of Icicles
Over the 2018 holidays my daughters were in town. One left after Christmas but was replaced by my BFF Howie Green and his wife. Always looking for something to do besides explore the many fluorescent rocks down at my barn, this year we got lucky. My local glowhound...
Gaspeite: The Fluorescent Pretender
I’ve known more than one collector who has been enticed by the brilliant blue/green fluorescence of the mineral gaspeite. In fact, under the light of a Convoy S2+ long wave flashlight, this material can produce one of the brightest fluorescent responses of any...
The “Feldspar Effect”: Is This Really a Fluorescent Mineral?
There is something I call the "feldspar effect". When people first start collecting fluorescent minerals in the field they usually are amazed at the typical fluorescence of your average feldspar. As they gain experience and see more fluorescent minerals they realize...
Synthetic Fluorescent Halite
This article was originally published by Stefano Buzzoni on Nature's Rainbow.To produce crystals at home is an interesting experiment and if they fluoresce, could be “magic”. Furthermore, it’s easy and cheap. The only ingredient you have to use in big quantity is...