Hinshaw Rock ‘N Gems

Merrill Hinshaw (named by Lapidary Journal as one of the top ten stone polishers in the nation) has always loved the outdoors. He and his father hunted arrowheads and collect interesting artifacts. Merrill’s wife Janis and children were involved and travelling across the country with him in search of rocks that could be turned into unique hand-made jewelry. On one certain trip to Wyoming in the late 1960’s, Merrill and the family ventured into a manganese mine. He quickly realized that he had a great find. Today he still has about 300 pounds of rock left from the 1000 pound find. The most impressive fact is that Merrill is all self taught, and each piece of jewelry is hand crafted. The unique craftsmanship can take anywhere from a week to a month to create one spectacular piece of jewelry. Merrill’s son Matthew and grandson cut and polish the stones, while Merrill’s daughter, Kim, is a geologist and joins him on expeditions. The Hinshaw’s have been revealing the hidden beauty of stones in the lapidary (the art of cutting and polishing stones) business for 57 years. They are Nationally and Internationally known artisans creating unique treasures. Once you have been to Hinshaw Rock N’ Gems you’ll never look at a rock the same way again!