Est. 1950 · 501(c)(3) nonprofit · Chico, CA
Paradise Gem & Mineral Club
A nonprofit built around the earth sciences and the people who love them. We collect, study, and preserve minerals, rocks, and fossils, and share their beauty through the lapidary arts.
Cut & photographed by Dylan Smith, Tuesday night shop steward, in the club shop
Coming this October
Rocktober
Pop-Up Market & Kids Faire
Sunday, October 25 11am–4pm · at the clubhouse
Vendors wanted! $75 for a 12′ × 12′ outdoor booth, right next to the Spellbound Arts & Crafts Market at Lassen Cidery.
The lapidary arts
From rough stone
to something that glows.
It starts as a chalky lump you could walk right past. A few evenings on the wheels later, it’s holding sunlight in your palm.
Our shop has the saws, grinders and polishers to take you all the way, plus members and personal trainers who’ll show you how, in a class or a one-on-one training session. The skills are priceless, and we’re practically giving them away so we all have a place to work.
Cut & photographed by Dylan Smith
Now open in Chico
We’ve moved!
Chico, CA 95928Get directions →
We’re open in Chico, and the new space is a real upgrade. For the first time we’ve got a dedicated classroom, with room to actually run classes and workshops the way they deserve, plus a showroom for the club collection and a lapidary shop that’s better laid out with more equipment than we’ve ever had.
We’re also rebuilding how we stay in touch with members. Communication has been rough these past few months, and if you haven’t been hearing from us, we want to fix that. Come talk to us at the shop or reach out, and we’ll make sure you’re on the contact list so you don’t miss what’s happening.
Everyone’s welcome to come visit. We’re looking forward to getting back to what we do: sharing our love for the earth sciences and the arts that grow from this strange and beautiful planet we live on.
Opal cut & photographed by Dylan Smith
Lapidary shop
Shop schedule
Member shop nights are free for members; open shop sessions are $5/hour. Please sign in whenever you visit so we can find the best common times for everyone.
Free for members
Member shop nights
- Tuesdays4–9 pm with Dylan
- Thursdays9 am–noon with Rob
- 1st & 3rd Saturdays9 am–noon with Christina
New · $5 per hour
Open shop sessions
- Wednesday2–6 pm
- Thursday2–6 pm
- Friday2–6 pm
$5 per hour for members. See the steward, Cyndie, to pay in the store when you arrive.
Oil saws: $1 per cut. Please see your steward to pay. Thank you!
Not a member yet? Join the club to use the shop.
Scott Friedman, our field trip coordinator, leading the gold panning trip. 35 signed up, and more just showed up.
Real Butte Creek gold. At the end of Dylan’s panning tutorial he scooped gravel from his feet to show it’s everywhere, if you know what to look for.
Member gallery
Cut by our members
Want your work up here? Talk to Dylan on Tuesday night. He’ll show you how to cut the stones and take the glory shots, right in the shop. Tap any photo to see it full size.
Rockhounds since 1950.
Paradise Gem & Mineral Club was organized in 1950. Generations of members later, and in a brand-new home in Chico, we’re still doing what the club was started to do: getting out in the field, bringing things back, and learning to make them shine.
In the background: the club’s original hand-drawn logo, from around 1954.
In our showroom
The Club Collection
Gems, minerals, rocks, and fossils, on display at our new clubhouse. Come see it in person, and help us keep local earth science education going.