Reno Gem and Mineral Society

About Reno Gem and Mineral Society

The Reno Gem and Mineral Society grew out of a lapidary course run by the Washoe County School District. In spring 1950 its students and other enthusiasts founded the Washoe Gem & Mineral Society, which organized field trips and classes in stone cutting and silversmithing, and in 1955 a dozen more collectors started the Pyramid Gem & Mineral Society. In August 1964 the two voted to become a single society. For years meetings and classes moved between members' homes, garages and basements, until in 1976 the society settled at 480 South Rock Boulevard in Sparks, where its shop still stands. It became a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit in March 2012.

Before the merger, the Washoe and Pyramid societies took turns with Fallon's Lahontan society at hosting a regional show, the Nevada Gem and Mineral Show. The first Jackpot of Gems followed in 1966 and has run for six decades since. The 2026 edition, 18 to 20 September at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, also hosted the annual show and convention of the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies, the regional body for clubs in California, Nevada and Hawaii.

Entry and parking at the 2026 show were free. The hall held more than 50 dealers and more than 50 display cases, among them competitive exhibits judged under the rules of the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies, along with a fluorescent room, an identification desk staffed by geologists and a kids' corner with gold panning, metal detecting and real fossils. Mining companies working in Nevada, Kinross Bald Mountain and AngloGold Ashanti among them, were on the sponsor list, and the society says every dollar the show raises goes back into classes, field trips and youth programs.

Field trips are led by experienced members and range across Nevada and into neighboring states, from easy outings for beginners to tougher excursions; the details go out to members by email. In 2026 they went after Wonderstone, rainbow jasper, opal, fluorite, snakeskin agate, blue agate geodes, crystals, petrified wood and fossils, with a Black Rock geode trip still to come. Those fossil outings are why Eureka lists the society on the fossil map as well as the gem map.

Back on Rock Boulevard, members take classes in lapidary, metalsmithing, cold connections, faceting, slab saw work, wire wrapping, beading and mineral identification, with flint knapping and turquoise work announced next, and can use the open shop with volunteers on hand. The shop is growing: volunteers have been clearing out an adjoining warehouse, building shelves and putting in new electrical panels, with a mezzanine and a new wall planned before the two spaces are joined. Junior Rockhounds brings children and teenagers into the hobby, and the calendar also has an artisan festival and an auction fundraiser.

Monthly meetings are on the first Wednesday at 7:00 pm upstairs at Baldini's Casino, 865 South Rock Boulevard, and can be followed live online. They are free and open to the public, and each one has a talk, on subjects from geology and Nevada mining history to paleontology and meteorites. The society invites people to bring a mystery rock: with that many working and retired geologists in the room, someone can usually tell what it is.

Other clubs and places nearby

• GPAA of Northern Nevada, RenoClub · 1 mi
• Comstock Gold ProspectorsClub · 2 mi
• Crystal Peak MineFree public dig · 17 mi
• Great Basin Gem & Mineral ClubClub · 25 mi
• Plumas-Eureka State Park (Jamison Creek)Free public dig · 52 mi
• Nevada County Gem & Mineral SocietyClub · 72 mi

Sources

• Reno Gem and Mineral Society: home page
• RGMS: Our History
• RGMS: Field Trips
• RGMS: Monthly General Meeting
• RGMS: Jackpot of Gems 2026
• California Federation of Mineralogical Societies