======== FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ========
Each morning next weekend (August 14, 15, 16) Main Street Parrsboro will be paved with gold – figuratively speaking – as Moncton-based gem-cutter and jewelry maker Hans Durstling gives a public demonstration crushing and panning Nova Scotia gold-bearing ore outdoors on Main Street in front of Parrsboro’s iconic 3-storey red brick former post office.
Gold is particularly apropos as Durstling’s Main Street activities coincide with the 50-th anniversary of the Nova Scotia Mineral and Gem show which will be running simultaneously at the Parrsboro Lions Arena and is also highlighting the gold theme.
Each morning’s (10 am) outdoor gold crushing starts off a full day of live hands-on gem cutting and related presentations. Free and public, these demonstrations will take place indoors at “Main & Station” – as the landmark former post office is now called after a renovation and repurposing that saw it transformed into a remarkable complex of cafe, bookstore, galleries and artists work spaces. All demonstrations are free and public.
Durstling, who has been coming to Parrsboro to collect semi precious stones and minerals for over thirty years, calls his one-man gem and jewelry weekend “Minerals on Main Street” to suggest that the gem and mineral interest is not a limited pursuit but holds fascination for everyone and moreover can offer economic potential for the town and area. In that respect, he’ll be giving a talk outlining his experiences in Tucson Arizona where the world’s largest gem and mineral exposition is estimated to bring some 100 million dollars to that city each year, and in Idar-Oberstein Germany, where local occurrences of agate much like those on the Bay of Fundy led to the growth of a precious stone trade which is the largest in Europe and the economic mainstay of the area.
In his gem demonstrations at Main & Station Durstling will demonstrate facet cutting, that is, cutting a gem with multiple flat faces like a diamond, and cabochon cutting which yields a round topped stone like an opal. He’ll be cutting mainly local or Canadian gems – Ruby from Cape Breton, smoky quartz from Halifax, garnet from Quebec, and of course agate from the Bay of Fundy. He will also be displaying an extensive collection of his one of a kind jewelry, both with Canadian gems and with stones from around the world.
Demonstrations are free and open to the public, Friday Saturday and Sunday August 14 15 and 16, at Main & Station, the former post office, a red brick building with a clocktower at 168 Main Street in Parrsboro.
===================== 30 ==================
“Minerals on Main Street” Program –
Aug 14-16 at “Main & Station” (the wonderfully re-purposed three story red brick former post office, 168 Main Street) in the center of Parrsboro Nova Scotia
Friday August 14
10 am
– crushing and panning Nova Scotia gold bearing quartz rock on the sidewalk out in public in front of “Main & Station”
10:45 am
– Public facet-cutting demonstration, cutting a Nova Scotia smoky quartz, indoors, at my display – workspace on the main floor of Main & Station
11am to 2pm
– I continue the facet-cutting of the Nova Scotia smoky quartz at my display – workspace on the Main & Station main floor
2 pm
– Presentation “The Economic Consequences of the Gem and Mineral Trade: Arizona and West Germany” – talk by me, briefly outlining the history, present stature, economic impact, and potential for Parrsboro – of the gem and mineral business in Tucson Arizona (world’s largest gem & mineral exposition, estimated 100 million dollar economic impact) and Idar-Oberstein Germany (Center of the gem trade in Europe, 800+ years history). Suggestions and possibilities for Parrsboro.
3pm – 5pm
Demonstration, cutting a cabochon-style stone (Bay of Fundy agate)
Saturday August 15
10 am
– crushing and panning Nova Scotia gold bearing quartz rock on the sidewalk out in public in front of “Main & Station”
11 am
– A general introduction to facet cutting. Selecting the rough, deciding on the cut, dopping the stone, cutting and polishing. Indoors, at my display – workstation at “Main & Station”
-12 noon
– Cutting a Cape Breton ruby. In mid-August 2004 geologist Dr. David Mossman and his associates identified reddish-purple crystals in metacarbonate rock from Frenchvale Cape Breton as being rubies. With many flaws and inclusions they are not high grade stones, and yet they are ruby, they are local, they are from Cape Breton.
2 pm – 5pm
– Cabochon cutting demonstration and explanation using Nova Scotia Bay of Fundy agate as the demonstration stone
Sunday August 16
10 am
– crushing and panning Nova Scotia gold bearing quartz rock on the sidewalk out in public in front of “Main & Station” 168 Main Street
11 am
– Facet cutting demonstration, indoors, at my display – workstation at “Main & Station”
Cutting a Canadian stone – most likely a grossular garnet from the Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos Quebec
2 pm
(Repeat) – Presentation “The Economic Consequences of the Gem and Mineral Trade: Arizona and West Germany” – talk by me, briefly outlining the history, present stature, economic impact, and potential for Parrsboro – of the gem and mineral business in Tucson Arizona (world’s largest gem & mineral exposition, estimated 100 million dollar economic impact) and Idar-Oberstein Germany (Center of the gem trade in Europe, 800+ years history). Suggestions and possibilities for Parrsboro.
3 pm – 5 pm
Cabochon cutting using Nova Scotia Bay of Fundy agate.
=======================================
Biographical details, Hans Durstling
A former TV news anchor and CBC Radio freelancer, from the mid 1980’s Hans Durstling became drawn to the world of gemstones. A university trained gemmologist, he has been cutting for some 30 years, including in Los Angeles for the then president of the American Opal Society; he has written widely for gem and jewelry and general interest publications; is the originator of a 7 hour Discovery Channel series “Stones of Fate and Fortune” and was the initiator of a public education facility “The Electric Park Learning Center” at the world’s top mineral and gem expo in Tucson Arizona.
His jewelry has ben shown in galleries in Los Angeles and Pasadena California, Dortmund Germany, Camden Maine, and locally. In addition to his own work he does precious stone repair and re-polishing, gem assessment, and sourcing; jewelry and stoner\ commissions, and occasional stone restoration. He is presently based in Moncton, New Brunswick. Enquiries are welcome at <[email protected]> or by phone at 506 204 3013.
A few pictures of work
Below – A sterling silver ring ornamented with copper and featuring a grossuilar garnet from the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos Quebec
Below – A smoky quartz pair from Bayers Lake Nova Scotia in the “old mine barion” cut,
Below – Ring with Canadian labradorite in copper, silver and gold
Below – pendant and earring set in Bay of Fundy agate
Pingback: Gold Crushing & Gem Cutting Demonstrations | Main & Station
Hello..Would you be the same Hans Durstling who published a book based on the biography of Kerosene inventor Abraham Gesner ???
I would appreciate hearing your reply.
Thank You in advance