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In 1934 a group of Boise rockhounds organized a club and named it The Idaho Gem Club.  Members were from all over the west and a few as far away as Ohio .  The IGC was the first to be organized in Idaho , the third in the Pacific Northwest and 12th in the USA .

  • February 10, 1939 - The Idaho Gem Club was incorporated under the laws of the state of Idaho as a non-profit organization.
  • January 20, 21, 1954 - 1st public Gem Show was held at the Boise Art Gallery.
  • 1st Annual Gem show was held at Larry Barnes Chevrolet in 1967.
  • 1967 With the help of Governor Don Samuelson, who was a member of the IGC the star garnet was declared Idaho ’s state gem stone.
  • December 1967 - Dudley Stewarts Idaho Star Garnet was feature on the cover of the Lapidary Journal.
  • March 1968 - The 2nd Annual Gem show flyer was hand drawn by life member Pat Conley to view it click here.
  • August 14, 1969 - Governor Don Samuelson presented the wives of the Apollo 11 Astronauts star garnet pendants, made by Lloyd Douglas and life member ships in the club to the Apollo crew as they were the first rockhounds on the moon.  Letter of thanks was sent by Neil Armstrong.
  • June 1970 - Quincy Howell (life member) won the NWFM prize for faceting as well as the AFMS Master trophy in Fort Worth Texas in along with the Texas Sweepstakes Trophy.
  • Feb. 1974 - Quincy Howell and some of his faceted stones were in a story of rocks in the National Geographic.
  • 1995 – The Idaho Gem Club hosted Combined Show and convention of the AFMS & NFMS.
  • 2001 - Quincy Howell was inducted into the National Rockhound and Lapidary Hall of Fame in the Deceased Division.
  • February 2008 was our 41st annual Gem Show.  The show is now held the last weekend in February at the Fairgrounds in Boise.

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For more information comments or suggestions email info@idahogemclub.com