[Rockhounds] alternatives to labels (was) Paint/Ink

[Kitty & Bill Heacox]

I know that the permanent label is what everyone recommends, and I 
understand the reason for that.  Here where we have a lot of 
earthquakes, I know firsthand that specimens can easily get separated 
from loosely attached labels or display stands.  And at our age, Bill 
and I have to keep in mind that our collection is going to end up in 
someone else's hands, so accurate labels and records are especially important.

However, I can't tell you how many times I've been irritated and 
frustrated by a permanent label on a specimen I've bought, usually 
on-line.  Here are my objections:

1.  Someone else often has a different idea of what the "back" or 
"bottom" of a piece is.

2.  Some pieces simply don't have a "bad" side, and are extremely 
special from all angles.

3.  One of the things I love most about rocks and minerals is the 
wonder they inspire, and as an artist I hate the jarring effect that 
occurs when I'm gazing at a marvelous work of nature and see a 
label.  It would be like seeing a label stuck on a Van Gogh or a Michelangelo.

4. Labels fluoresce a jarring white (especially under LW) that 
seriously interferes with viewing fluorescent minerals.

5.  When an individual specimen changes hands---sold, inherited, 
donated---the label is usually meaningless to the person who receives 
it.  So they have to either remove it, or change it somehow to match 
their own identification system.

SO, here is the system I am using, and it is not perfect, nor is it 
completed.  If any of you have a better idea, or have suggestions, 
please fire away.

When I buy something on-line, I copy the photo and the descriptive 
text into a word document, which I call "Rock Orders."  When the 
specimen arrives, I check it for fluorescence and add any other 
observable information to that file, including copying any additional 
information that may have been included.  I always request that the 
dealer include any provenance, previous dealers or old identification 
cards that may belong with the piece.  I include, of course, the 
price I paid and the date or purchase.  I also type in the location 
where the piece presently resides (by number, with a key that 
translates the location, for example: #1 = cabinet next to the front 
door, # 2 = fluorescent cabinet, #3 = chest of drawers in studio, 
etc).  Once this is all typed into the rock's record, I cut and paste 
it into my "Rock Record" file which is arranged alphabetically by 
species.  When I collect something or buy from a rock shop, I 
photograph it and create a similar page to add to that 
document.  This is the part that is not finished yet;  I have a good 
digital camera so I can take lots of experiments, and then download 
them and select the best.  I regularly copy this Rock Record file 
onto a disc so that if there's a computer failure I have backup.

I label each specimen with the name of the species and location with 
removable paper stickers.  For those that in my opinion do not have a 
"back" or "bottom," or are too small, or do not have a surface to 
which a label will stick, or are just too magnificently gorgeous to 
mar with a label, I put the sticker on a plastic display stand for 
the rock.  For fluorescent minerals that are in this category, I 
paint the display stand black so the label will not glow.  This means 
that even if I'm not present, anyone can pick up a rock and see its 
name and place of origin;  then they can go to my computer file to 
get complete information.

The next step is also not completed, but hopefully I can finish 
before I lose my faculties or depart this world:  I print the pages 
from the Rock Record document onto card stock and place them in a 
file by color, similar to the Audubon Field Guide to North American 
Rocks & Minerals.  This way if a specimen gets separated from it's 
stand or a label falls off, hopefully even a non-rockhound can look 
at the piece, determine its color, and find its picture in the file.

Comments encouraged!

Aloha, Kitty