Workshop Equipment, Tools, and Machinery

This auction covers workshop surplus equipment and machinery to reduce our storage cost.

As you may know, the Ottawa Lapsmith and Mineral Club (OLMC) was the host of the biggest jewellery, gem and mineral show in the Ottawa region every year since 1966.

Unfortunately, the pandemic did not allow us to host such big events in 2020 and 2021, and the OLMC's reserve are running low. Accordingly, we have to close the workshop until we can set another Gem Show generating enough revenue to rent space for our workshop.

We will continue to set events relating to the jewellery maker, gemstone enthusiast, avid mineral collector and all the others who love jewellery and geology! We strongly hope to resume our full activities as soon as we can in a new setting.

Therefore, by participating at this auction, you are supporting the Club and the creativity of its members. This is a way for everyone to support a small business, that has served the Ottawa region for over 55 years, which has been heavily affected by the pandemic.

The club is exploring different types of events to bring more services to members, jewellers, lapidary enthusiasts and mineral collectors across the Ottawa region.

With the proceeds from this auction, we will be able to make new ways to offer content and activities for our members and host future public auctions and Gem Show as soon as we can.

In the email sent to you, you will find a pdf attachment which will help guide you through the procedures to create an account and the bidding process. You can also re-use your previous account if you have participated in the past auctions.

You may choose to do exact bids with 0.50$ increments or proxy bids. Proxy bids will allow you to put the maximum amount you are ready to bid on the item and the auction platform will bid on your behalf with 0.50$ increments until your maximum is reached. For example, the current bid on an item is 10$ and you put in a proxy bid of 20$. The platform will automatically bid 10.50$ on the item. If someone bids 11$, then the platform will bid automatically 11.50$. If a bid exceeds your maximum proxy bid (ex. 20.50$), then the platform will stop bidding on your behalf and you will have to enter a higher bid. This will allow people to bid on multiple items and not to have to be constantly monitoring the auction. You will be notified by email if you were outbid on an item.

Don't hesitate to email or check the FAQ for any technical questions. Due to the large volume of items up for auction, questions about specific items will not be answered.

Please enjoy the auction and good luck to everyone.

If you want to support us directly, please go to our gofundme: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/help-the-ottawa-lapsmith-and-mineral-club

The Ottawa Lapsmith Club was founded as a small interest group in 1966. The club incorporated in 1997 and amalgamated with the Ottawa Valley Mineral Association to form the Ottawa Lapsmith & Mineral Club, thus expanding its field of interest to minerology as well as the many facets of lapidary work. Our club also organises an Annual Gem & Mineral Show in September each year, and it is always a big hit with local residents and rockhounds alike. New members are welcome to join at anytime.

A small Newsletter is free to members. From time to time, there are demonstrations, field trips and other special activities.

Collectively, our members have a wealth of talent and knowledge, which they are always willing to share with beginners and advanced users alike. We welcome everyone with an interest in mineralogy, jewellery or gemstones.