Opinion by Al Fry

          If you ever find a little fug of crystals growing in Mother Earth’s womb, you just may find yourself hooked on further crystal hunting.
          I found my first little outcrop of baby quartz crystals in an area full of Black Tourmaline crystals northwest of Anza, Calif.
         Black Tourmaline crystals tend to mellow out the harsh electrical vibes in homes, and I sold them for this purpose. I have heard that even NASA uses them in their spacecraft.
         "Sensitives" can feel the different qualities in quartz crystals, and one girlfriend could tell me the background of larger crystals displayed in museums.
         Some came from monasteries and had interesting backgrounds. Some of the more high-tech civilizations of ancient times evidently used crystals to store data, and we still get hints of this in the references to the Emerald tablets, etc.
         Quartz crystals are found in many areas, but the most notable is the Hot Springs, Ark., area, which sends out tons of crystals. Some crystals, like Kunzite, have lithium in them. Oral lithium is given to mental patients to calm them down, and I once sold the crystals to give the same effect. The first mental hospital patient to whom I gave a lithium necklace told me the crystal gave the same effect and was totally surprised and delighted ... since the oral stuff has negative side effects.
         I rounded up some uranium crystals later that gave the opposite effect. A few minutes of wearing them was like drinking a couple of cups of coffee (danger in over 15 minutes exposure -- hyperactive effect). One woman found an outcropping of Kunzite that had some Gallium in it. This is what CoQ-10 pills have in them.
         Wearing these golden crystals gave the same effect as taking the expensive pills. None of this strategy will ever get approval, however, because of the entrenched medical cartels' profits.
         California is one of the most gem-rich states, and anyone mobile there in winter would do well to get a copy of the Rock & Minerals of California from Naturegraph (530-493-5353) for $12.
         I have never made much money from rockhounding, but I have a friend who uses the 'Net to unload gems and do custom faceting by mail. He closed up his gem shop and is home-based now.
         The Indians of the Southwest really do okay without too much investment. The current big rock craze for driveway entrances does take investment. A lot of people like more natural jewelry, and jewelry stores can never cover this. Joel's, across the Golden Gate Bridge, has sold natural emerald, etc., rings for big bucks for many years.
         Most libraries have copies of the Lapidary Journal, and this is where to pick up gems and supplies.
         Some new fads must be used to make money from this area of interest. I would make up silver electrodes that would be put in hot-selling colloidal silver generators some years ago.

         Al Fry writes from Garden Valley, Idaho.

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This page updated June 5, 2014