Wikipedia.  Always a good place to start but anyone can add information and what you see cannot always be believed. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral

The Rock Collector.  A very professional looking site with a database of rocks and minerals.  Also includes a monthly editorial with interesting articles.  

http://www.rockcollector.co.uk

Teeda.  A commercial website in the USA but, for a good, simple introduction to rocks and minerals do take a look.  If you plan to get into the hobby of lapidary it also gives you a few clues as to what you'll be getting into.  

http://www.teeda.com/rocks-and-minerals.html

Mindat.org claims to be the largest mineral database and mineralogical reference website on the internet.  Includes reports from the major mineral shows.

http://www.mindat.org/

Agates from Sudetes.  If, like me, you particularly like agates take a look at what can be found in Poland.  There are further links from this site.

http://www.agates.eu/

Agates with Inclusions.  More agates, but this time a personal web site from the USA.

http://www.agateswithinclusions.com/

Internet Craft Fair.  Amongst other things this is an index of suppliers for many hobbies.  They were kind enough to include a link to my web page, so they must be nice people.  

http://www.craft-fair.co.uk

Rockhounding Arkansas.  This web site has now been expanded to include a lot of information local to Arkansas but the section on quartz still tells all that you're ever likely to need to know.  Select the "Rocks and Minerals" tab and you'll find not only the quartz section but an introduction to geology.

http://www.rockhoundingar.com/index.php

Agates from Hungary.  Another site containing photographs and information about agates and, as this is my favourite type of rock, I make no apologies.  Also includes photographs of the author's mineral collection and links to more sites.

http://www.mineraltivadar.hu

RocksForKids.  Although much of the content of this site is centred around Ontario, Canada, it does contain a lot of information that would be of interest to children who want to learn about rocks and minerals.  When you click on the link you'll probably get a window asking for your Username and Password.  Click on Cancel and it will probably let you in anyway.

http://www.rocksforkids.com/

UKGE Ltd.  A UK supplier with a reasonable range of tumblers and accessories, rock hammers, jewellery findings, books, DVDs and more.  There's also a children's section.  Fortunately for me they don't supply rough rock other than for tumbling.

http://www.ukge.co.uk

How to make a cabochon.  

Two sites to look at, both will be helpful.  The first is from the web site of Old Pueblo Lapidary Club. 

http://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/oplc_cab.shtml

The second is by a manufacturer of lapidary equipment.  It's written around one of their machines but the information contained is still valid.  http://www.inlandlapidary.com/user_area/howtocab.asp

40 Common Minerals - Tungsten, Silver, Feldspar & More!.  As the title implies this page provides information on the uses (and sometimes dangers) of 40 minerals.  This link suggested by Matty in Connecticut.

http://www.larsonjewelers.com/40-common-minerals.aspx

High School Earth Science: Rocks and Rock Collections.  Part of the Madison Falls High School web site providing a great deal of good information along with some very nice photos.  Also includes a section with puzzles and quizzes.

http://www.highschooldiplomaonline.net/earth_science.html

Rock Tumbling Hobby.  You should be able to find almost everything that you need to know about tumbling from this site, though you might need to search for it.  The "tumbling enthusiasts forum" appears to be the best place to start.

http://www.rocktumblinghobby.com

 Oil:  Not Exactly Dead Dinosaurs.  Not exactly related to lapidary either, but an interesting page about fossil fuels, from the Krill Oil Company.  This link included on the recommendation of Mary-Katherine and Christina of Green Mountain Central School, Vermont, USA

 http://krilloil.com/oil-not-exactly-dead-dinosaurs.html

Last Update 12 Dec 11