What it is

Meltdown Studio is a jewelry-making school and co-working studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The official site describes group classes in metalsmithing and the lapidary arts, plus private instruction. Lapidary offerings on the classes pages are a weekend Introduction to Lapidary intensive (cabochon cutting across soft, medium, and hard stones, including turquoise) and a Lapidary Open Studio: Guided Session for students who have already finished that intensive. It is not a membership gem-and-mineral club and not a mail-order equipment or rough shop.

Who it’s for

Adults who want a hands-on weekend in cabochon cutting at a studio in Albuquerque, and returning students who want a four-hour guided session on the machines after the weekend intensive. The Introduction page says tools, materials, and safety equipment are provided and students take home finished cabochons. Open Studio says bring your own stones or continue with materials from previous classes, and it is open only to students who have completed the Weekend Intensive.

Why it’s listed

This is a first-party Albuquerque workshop studio with a printed Rio Grande Boulevard address, published lapidary class pages, and dollar prices and seat-status lines on those pages — not a scraped directory card.

Studio / contact (class-page footers — checked 2026-09-22): Meltdown Studio, 901 Rio Grande Boulevard Northwest, Suite E-130, Albuquerque, NM 87104. Phone printed as 5059771129. Email [email protected].
Sold-out / waitlist rule (Current Classes — checked today): “If the class shows $0, the class is currently sold out, and you are now able to register for the waiting list. You won’t be charged, you’ll be notified immediately if a spot becomes available for the class. If you’re still interested//available at that time, you can then register for the class.”
Introduction to Lapidary (class page — checked today): the page printed $360 beside a $0.00 price, and this sentence: “This class is currently sold out. Please sign up here to register for our waiting list and will notify you of our earliest availability.” Dates printed on that page: Saturday + Sunday, September 26 + 27 (9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.) and Saturday + Sunday, October 24 + 25 (9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.). The page says all tools, materials, and safety equipment are provided; students work soft, medium, and hard stones including turquoise; and they take home several completed cabochons. It points readers to the studio cancellation policy before registering. This listing does not add a seat count or a fee the page did not print.
Lapidary Open Studio: Guided Session (class page — checked today): $80.00. Printed sessions: Wednesday, September 23 (10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.) +++ ONE LAST MINUTE OPENING +++; Wednesday, October 14 (10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.) +++ ONE SPOT LEFT +++; Wednesday, October 28 (10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.) +++ TWO SPOTS LEFT +++. Four hours, led by instructor Jim, small group, open only to students who have completed the Weekend Intensive: Introduction to Lapidary.

Prices, the $0 sold-out/waitlist rule, and the open-studio status lines above are what the official pages showed on the check date. Seats change. Use the live class pages before treating any price, date, or opening as fixed.

Official URL

https://www.meltdownstudio.com/

Current classes: https://www.meltdownstudio.com/group-classes-1

Introduction to Lapidary: https://www.meltdownstudio.com/group-classes-1/p/introduction-to-lapidary

Lapidary Open Studio: https://www.meltdownstudio.com/group-classes-1/p/lapidary-open-studio

Location

Meltdown Studio — 901 Rio Grande Boulevard Northwest, Suite E-130, Albuquerque, NM 87104. Phone 5059771129. Email [email protected].

This is a studio class address, not a monthly gem-club meeting hall and not a lapidary supply warehouse.

Notes

Category is Workshops. Teaching studio with published lapidary class pages. Not a Clubs membership society and not a Suppliers equipment or rough shop.
The Introduction weekends were sold out on 2026-09-22, with the site’s no-charge waitlist. The page still showed $360 beside $0.00. Open-studio lines (one last-minute opening, one spot, two spots) and the $80 price are transcribed from the official pages and may change. No seat count or price was added beyond those lines.
First-party wordmark saved beside this listing as meltdown-studio-lapidary.jpg (from the Meltdown Studio site logo).
Not affiliated with Lapidary Plaza.
No Lapidary Plaza contact, purchase, booking, or publication action was taken.

FAQ

Q: Is Introduction to Lapidary open?
A: On 2026-09-22 the Introduction page showed $0.00 beside $360 and said the class is currently sold out. The Current Classes page says a $0 price means sold out and that you can join the waiting list without being charged. Dates printed that day were September 26–27 and October 24–25, 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Confirm the live class page; seats change.

Q: What does a lapidary session cost?
A: Pages checked 2026-09-22 printed Introduction to Lapidary at $360 (shown as $0.00 while sold out) and Lapidary Open Studio: Guided Session at $80.00. This listing does not add other fees. Read the studio cancellation policy on the live site before registering.

Q: Is Meltdown Studio a gem club or a supply shop?
A: No. It is listed here as Workshops — a jewelry and lapidary teaching studio. For monthly club meetings, see Clubs; for cabbing machines and rough by mail, see Suppliers.