You don't need a lot of fancy gear to get started. For over 20 years the Club has had its own purpose-built Clubrooms at Cross Keys Reserve, Bridge Street, Essendon (Melways map 28 K1). The Club has fully equipped workrooms for faceting, cabochon work, silverwork and jewelry making etc. There's even a small library from which members may borrow.

Regular courses are conducted to introduce you to various aspects of lapidary. Everyone has their favourite aspect of this broad-ranging, exciting and potentially profitable hobby and of course there's always someone to lend a helping hand if you ever get stuck...whatever lapidary craft you are into. There are occasional field trips to collect material, weekly workshop nights, monthly meetings and social activities throughout the year.

Lapidary work is an ideal way to relax and can make a great interest for those who have retired or who are about to retire. It's also something the whole family can share. The attraction of beautiful coloured gemstones is equally fascinating for children, parents and grandparents alike. For more information about lapidary, read the 'About Us' page.


HOW TO JOIN

1. Contact us for a tour

Phone Bill Gordon on (03) 9367 5230 or phone Darryl on (03) 9350 1804 to arrange a visit to our club and a tour of our workshops.

2. Fill in a membership form

Download the Membership form below, print it out, fill it in and send it with payment by mail order to the mailing address on the form or bring it with you to a club meeting.

Note that the single joining fee is $42 per year and there is no family rate. Children are free with parent registration until they turn 18 years old.

Download the Membership PDF

3. Attend your first club meeting

You will be invited to attend a meeting (usually held once a month), where you will be formally welcomed into the club.

4. Congratulations on joining!

After you have been formally presented at the monthly meeting, you will be notified of workshop times and dates, and will be free to make use of the clubrooms and participate in all club events that you choose. No events are compulsory and you can work at your own pace. We look forward to welcoming you to our club and hope that you will enjoy making beautiful gemstones and learning lapidary skills - as members have done for the past 40 years.

Please note: you will need to purchase the following items in order to participate in creating cabochons, faceting or going on field trips.

Earplugs (for working with the machinery). Bunnings sells these for about $2.

Safety Glasses (for working with the machinery - get ones that are covered on the sides of the eyes). Bunnings sells these at a reasonable price.

Orange Fluoro Vests (for attending field trips only). Available from Gavin at the club or buy your own from $2 shops or Bunnings.