Seventeenth Annual Sinkankas Symposium – Agate and Chalcedony

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL SINKANKAS SYMPOSIUM
– AGATE and CHALCEDONY

Lisbet Thoresen and Stuart Overlin, editors
Photographs by Mia Dixon, Erica and Harold Van Pelt,
Orasa Weldon and Robert Weldon

Specifications: 8.25" x 10.75", digital press, soft cover, perfect binding, 124 pages, 182 illus. full color throughout

Publication Date: June 1, 2021

Table of Contents

Dedication and Acknowledgments   3

Program 4

Speaker and Author Biographies   5

Dona Leicht   8
In Memoriam: Claren (“Si”) Frazier (1933–2020)

Timothy Adams   12
Agate and Chalcedony Objects by Fabergé

Peter J. Heaney   28
Iris Agates and Cantor Dusts: The Textural Complexity of Agates

William Larson   40
Collecting Cryptocrystalline Quartz

Çiğdem Lüle   50
Chalcedonies of Anatolia: From Neolithic to Modern Day

Nathan Renfro   56
The Microworld of Agate and Chalcedony

Si and Ann Frazier   66
A Historical Look at Gemstone Carving

Lisbet Thoresen   68
Harold Van Pelt: A Passion Carved in Stone

Robert Weldon   90
Challenges of Photographing Agates

Robert Weldon, Cathleen Jonathan, and Rose Tozer   100
Gem Virtuosos: The Drehers and Their Extraordinary Carvings
From Gems & Gemology (2017)

Ann Frazier   120
Agate Bibliography

 

ABOUT THE SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL SINKANKAS SYMPOSIUM
– AGATE and CHALCEDONY (VIRTUAL)

Named for one of the most distinguished and influential figures in gemology and mineralogy, the Sinkankas Symposium is an annual event featuring presentations by noted specialists working in diverse gem-related disciplines.

The theme of the 17th Annual Sinkankas Symposium was Agate and Chalcedony, presented in a virtual format in 2021. The virtual experience featured a menu of eight pre-recorded 30 to 40-minute exclusive presentations available to view on-demand from Saturday, April 24, 2021 until Monday, June 7, 2021 on the 2021 Sinkankas Eventbrite page (Now Closed).

Si and Ann Frazier

Si and Ann Frazier, in El Cerrito, California. Photo: Jim Parrish.

The Sinkankas Symposium has been described as the most important gemological conference in North America by respected authorities on gemstones. Organized by Roger Merk for 13 years (2003–2015), the annual event is co-sponsored by the Gemological Society of San Diego (GSSD) and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Bill Larson has been a generous supporter and speaker at the event since its inception.

The symposium in 2021 was held in honor of Si Frazier and Ann Frazier who have dedicated their lives to the study of the science, history, and beauty of agate and chalcedony. Si was a popular speaker at the Sinkankas Symposium and author of past Sinkankas Symposia articles.

 

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL SINKANKAS SYMPOSIUM
– FORMAT, REGISTRATION & TIMELINE

Eight 30 to 40-minute pre-recorded presentations available to browse on demand
at the Sinkankas Symposium EventBrite web page (Event Closed).

REGISTRATION: Closed.

 

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL SINKANKAS SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM
  – SPEAKERS & TOPICS*

Recognized specialists in fields ranging from geology and mineralogy to history, treatment, cutting and collecting will present on Agate and Chalcedony:

Tim Adams
    Fabergé's Work with Agate and Chalcedony

Patrick Dreher
    Dreher Carvings of Agates and Chalcedony

Dr. Peter Heaney
    The Complex Mineralogy of Agates

William Larson
    Collecting Crypto-crystalline Quartzes: A Conversation with Bill

Dr. Ciğdem Lüle
    Chalcedonies of Anatolia: From Neolithic to Modern Day

Nathan Renfro
    The Micro-World of Agate and Chalcedony

Dr. George R. Rossman
    Cause of Color in Agate and Chalcedony

Robert Weldon
    Challenges of Photographing Agates

* Presentations are subject to change without notice.

 

 

  •  Seventeenth Annual Sinkankas Symposium - Agate and Chalcedony 

    Iris Agate (90.2 x 86.1 mm), from Chihuahua Mexico. Photo by Robert Weldon, courtesy of Si and Ann Frazier.

  •  Dreher Carvings: Five Generations of Gemstone Animals from Idar-Oberstein 

    Wilhelm Lindemann, Will Larson and Ekkehard Schneider
    Dreher Carvings: Five Generations of Gemstone Animals from Idar-Oberstein
    (2018)

    Selected masterpieces of lapidary carving by world-renowned gem carvers Peter and Gerd Dreher.

    English. Hardcover with dust jacket, 240 pages, size: 22 x 29 cm, 200 color ills. Arnoldsche.

    GIA Library Holdings »

    Amazon USA »
    Arnoldsche Art Publishers »

  •  
  •  Agate – Banded Beauty 

    Peter Heaney, Gloria Staebler with Bill Besse, Ann Frazier, Patricia Gray, eds.
    Agate – Banded Beauty
    Mineral Monograph No. 21
    (2020)

    Contributions by: Peter Heaney, Si and Ann Frazier, Patricia Gray, Michael Gray, Alfredo Petrov, George Rossman, John Koivula and Tarun Adlakhaeds. Illustrations by: Robert Weldon, Jeff Scovil.

    Perfect binding, 140 pages, size: A4. Lithographie.

    Lithographie »

  •  
  •  Agates, 2014, English edition 

    Johann Zenz
    Agates
    (2014)

    This book is an updated, limited edition of the first of three volumes on Agate by Johann Zenz.

    English. Hardcover, 656 pages, size: 24x28 cm, 2,000 ills. Limited edition. Bode.

    GIA Library Holdings »

    Bode »

  •  
  •  Exquisite Agates, 2017 

    Dietrich Mayer
    Exquisite Agates
    (2017)

    This book features 900 favorite specimens from the collection of Dietrich Mayer.

    English and German. Hardcover, 424 pages, size: 24x28 cm. Limited edition. Bode.

    GIA Library Holdings »

    Bode »

  •  
  • There is a wide selection of Agate and Chalcedony resources available in the GIA Library

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