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Wolfgang Mueller, Geologist and Lapidary Artist
Wolfgang Mueller has been collecting minerals since the mid-1960s. He has been a geologist over 40 years and involved in lapidary work for over 20 years.
He and his wife Diana manage DiWolf Fine Stone Emporium which sells gem stones which are cut, polished, designed and fabricated by Diana and Wolfgang. The name of their company is derived from Di for Diana and Wolf for Wolfgang. They produce stone eggs, spheres, marbles and cabochons. Diana also uses the gem stones in making finished jewelry including some items made using intricate bead work.
Diana has been making jewelry since the 1980s when she worked at a jewelry factory in upstate New York. DiWolf specializes in rare, unusual, classic, obscure and hard-to-work-with stones.
A sample of Wolfgang Mueller’s lapidary work.
DiWolf is involved in the February gem shows in Tucson. They also appear at the Pasadena Bead and Design Show in Pasadena, California and the Denver Gem and Mineral Show in Colorado.
Diana and Wolfgang Mueller
Wolfgang was born in Yugoslavia and came to the United States when he was nine and a half years old. His family settled in Southern California near the Los Angeles area. After high school he attended a junior college. He flunked out of physics, which turned out to be a blessing as it led him into the field of geology. He said when it came to calculus, his “mind went totally blank.” Wolfgang received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Riverside. He then became a member of the United States Army. He served as an officer with the Army Corps of Engineers and spent one year in South Vietnam. While in Vietnam he was in charge of a rock quarry.
Diana’s jewelry work.
Upon his return to the states, he worked as a mineral dealer and worked for the American Cement Corporation. He went back to school on the G.I. Bill and got his Masters in geology. He arrived in San Manuel. Arizona in 1974. Wolfgang said that on the day he arrived there was a wildcat strike. He worked in quality control for Magma for two years. He then transferred to Magma’s parent company Newmont in Danbury, Connecticut where he worked in their lab as a mineralogist for 10 years.
Wolfgang and Diana still get out and hunt minerals when they can. Wolfgang says it is a little tougher for rock hounds due to mines closing and preventing people from entering their property due to liability issues. They are members of two mineral groups in Tucson and the Gila County Gem & Mineral Society in Globe. Some of Wolfgang’s mineral specimens have been displayed in the Smithsonian reference collection, Cincinnati Museum, National Museum of Canada, San Bernardino County Museum, Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum and Bullion Plaza in Miami, Arizona. He is well known and respected in the lapidary/mineral world. He has published an article “Arizona Gemstones” in Rocks & Minerals magazine and has over 100 photos published in gem and mineral magazines.
A sample of Wolfgang Mueller’s lapidary work.
He is the Curator of Minerals at the Bullion Plaza Cultural Center and Museum in Miami, Arizona. He works closely with volunteers to make sure that all the mineral specimens are labeled correctly and are displayed properly in the permanent Minerals & Geology exhibit at the museum. He has also given lectures on the local mineralogy of the Miami-Globe area at Bullion Plaza. He also gives lectures to clubs and civic groups in southern Arizona. Most recently, he gave a lecture on minerals at Oracle State Park.
A sample of Wolfgang Mueller’s lapidary work.
If you would like to learn more about DiWolf Fine Stone Emporium or contact Wolfgang, visit www.diwolf.com, e-mail: dwm@diwolf.com or call (520) 896-3197.
A sample of Wolfgang Mueller’s lapidary work.
A sample of Wolfgang Mueller’s lapidary work.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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