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THE VAULT

This is a special section of the website dedicated to very significant, admittedly pricier, specimens in context. Many of these minerals find homes with collectors who not only enjoy the beauty of fine minerals, but also treat their collections as valuable alternative investments.

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1-24 of 85 Items
DEN14-1440
Stellerite
Ahmadnagar District (Ahmednagar District; Ahmed Nagar District), Maharashtra, India
Large Cabinet, 17.3 x 15.5 x 10.0 cm
$17,500.00
Stellerite is not, I admit, normally a species I go crazy for. However, this is almost certainly the best one or among the best few examples of this species, and it is extremely pretty. It looks like a turtle shell made of white opal, for lack of a better way to describe it. The surface has a crazy, wet luster to it and a smooth look that is just odd, somehow (in a good way!). The eye finds it hard to focus on a spot, as the crystals curve so visibly in a hemisphere. Subtle details of the interlocking crystal faces are mesmerizing on close inspection.
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VAULT21-01
Emerald With Calcite
Coscuez Mine, Boyaca Dept., Colombia
Small Cabinet, 5.5 x 4.6 x 4.1 cm
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An exquisite emerald specimen, simply "different" to my eye than so many others. It has a very castellated, complex multiple termination that to me looks like towers out of a fantasy movie made of gemmy green emerald. The color is a vivid, bright hue. Some collectors prefer darker colors, some lighter shades, and this is somewhere in between; and very vibrant for it. You can see the piece shimmering from across the room, as it also has sparkly luster on both the calcite and the emerald associations. The piece is beautifully trimmed, to accentuate the 3-dimensionality of the emerald and of the adjacent twinned calcite, atop.
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DEN13-1089
Opal
Ethiopia
Miniature, 4.1 x 2.2 x 1.7 cm
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This fine Ethiopian opal measures in at 88 carats, a lucky number in the Chinese culture. It is very difficult to find clean rough in this size from the Ethiopian deposits, and this stone would be expensive simply for its quality and size in any case. The lucky number target on carat weight was decided on by the cutter when he realized it would end up around 90 carats anyhow. Opals are notoriously hard to photograph, and keep in mind that in person, the piece would show a further chatoyance and depth that is hard to capture with the camera lens. Joe Budd Photos.
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J12-496
Tourmaline on Quartz With Cleavelandite
Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Large Cabinet, 25.3 x 20.3 x 8.5 cm
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This mine produced largely during a short run in the early 2000s, some of the best large tourmaline specimens we have seen in recent years. A spectacular large, upright, gem tourmaline crystal is the highlight of this piece. It is carefully centered on a well-trimmed shard of crystallized quartz, from which it shoots up dramatically. Small, sparkly, sugar-white crystals of cleavelandite are in association, for accents. As with all such pieces from this mine, or similarly gracile tourmalines from any locale, there are a few repairs. In context, however, the repairs are both minimal and acceptable given the size of the piece.
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TUC115-294
Azurite and Malachite
Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Mun. de Cananea, Sonora, Mexico
Cabinet, 11.7 x 7.0 x 6.0 cm
Request Price
Milpillas, to me, is the wonder-locality of the first part of this century. It is now producing, briefly, azurite of such a quality as to rival and surpass Tsumeb. Nothing like these has been seen in decades, and even then, Milpillas has a style and intense blue color in its large crystals that makes it stand out. With the mine scheduled to burn through the oxide zone in which these occur within the next year, I also believe that a great Milpillas azurite is a good investment now. The world just doesn't make azurites like this, often, from anywhere. This bonanza will not last...
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D06-243
Emerald - Huge 2-Inch, Complete Crystal
Muzo Mine, Boyaca Dept., Colombia
Miniature, 5.0 x 3.0 x 2.5 cm
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MORE GEMMY in person, please note! This large crystal weighs in at over 300 carats and is complete all around, terminated and with GLASSY luster on ALL faces. The color is intense! very FEW Colombian emeralds reach sizes of this magnitude, and of those a vanishingly small percentage survive "geology" itself in the form of crystals we would want as collectors after millions of years in the ground. Then, they have to survive mining, extraction, and those ruthless jewelers and faceters who break up lovely crystals for a sliver of rough inside. Can you imagine the value on the lapidary market, particularly in Asia and in the auction houses, of a huge emerald bird or buddha carved from this thing?!
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VLT-27
Kunzite
Pech, Kunar Province, Afghanistan
Large Cabinet, 54.0 x 12.0 x 8.6 cm (appro x 0.2 feet)
Request Price
weight: 29.4 pounds. Perhaps one of the world's largest crystals for the species! It is complete all around, and with remarkably little etching effects given the size of the crystal. It is nearly entirely gemmy, especially in the center. The tip just glows with purple and maroon hues, with any kind of good lighting, especially when light comes down the c-axis. For the remarkably equant and sharp termination, this would be major anyhow for the species, even if it were small (most have etched terminations as the sizes get longer, not as attractive to my eye).
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TUC14-1243
Fluorite
La Viesca Mine, Huergo, La Collada mining area, Siero, Asturias, Spain
Large Cabinet, 35.0 x 29.0 x 26.0 cm
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The photos tell the tale for this HUGE specimen of blue fluorite from the classic Spanish locale! The piece has crystals measuring to 14 and 21 cm on edge. It is nearly complete all around, with just a few peripheral contacts. All major crystals are complete. For what this is, in the condition it is in, it is simply astonishing that it has survived. I have not seen a comparable example in this size and condition.
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HALP-23
Rhodochrosite on Manganite
N'Chwaning I Mine, Kuruman, Kalahari manganese fields, Northern Cape Province, South Africa
Small Cabinet, 7.5 x 6.1 x 2.9 cm
$35,000.00
From the late 1970s, this is a very rare and desirable style of rhodochrosite we called "shields" in habit, that have never been found again since. The crystals feature a "flattish habit with a dominant pinacoid" according to the article in the 1978 issue of Mineralogical Record when the discovery was reported. This is a large, dramatic piece, free of damage except only on one peripheral crystal contact. It displays upright and very 3-dimensional; and glows a pure cherry red when backlit with light. It is featured in a small print-run book on the Halpern Collection called "The Reds and the Golds," 2010. Jack obtained it in 1984 from a well-known dealership that took Dr.
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TANZ01
Tanzanite cluster
Merelani Mines, Arusha, Tanzania
Cabinet, 10.5 x 3.5 x 2.0 cm
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Most tanzanite crystals, for whatever reasons of science and geology, form as "singles." A double, especially a cluster as balanced and symmetric as this, is extraordinarily rare in the mineral world. This piece is complete all around, 360 degrees. It is not the most gemmy, although it is translucent, but it has intense color and sharp geometry that draws the eye. As you can see in the photos, it exhibits the traditional famous dichroism of color for tanzanite, blue and purple at alternating 90 degree turns. However, the colors actually merge a little bit here, and you see purple highlights on what would normally be the blue side, and vice versa. Tanzanite crystals are often heated at the source to see if they go to a more uniform and deep blue color for the gem trade.
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GOLD21-02
Gold
Pontes e Lacerda, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Small Cabinet, 6.6 x 2.5 x 1.7 cm
$40,000.00
A spectacular tree-like, thick and robust crystallized gold from this important modern-era find from a few years ago. The first golds were actually imported as lapidary and gem material, and now it is not possible to export specimens, or to mine new ones as the zone is under control of a large gold mining corporation. This will be remembered as one of the major crystallized gold finds of a century, and the color and shape make them dramatic. Hefty, weighing in at 57 grams.
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JB17-1961
Scheelite with Cassiterite
Mt Xuebaoding, Pingwu, Pingwu Co., Sichuan Province, China
Cabinet, 11.0 x 11.0 x 8.0 cm
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Scheelite from this now-diminished mine near the famous Panda Preserve in China simply is, beyond any question, the gold standard for the species. I have followed these for 20 years, since the mid-1990s, and they got better for awhile and then tapered off suddenly after the big earthquake of 2008. The mine is remote, and dynamite is not allowed. Just accessing the mine site is enormously difficult, and at high altitude with no good roads, even before the quake... Now, it is nearly unreachable. Once a tungsten mine under military economic priorities, it has lost importance and now it is worked artisanally, and with increasing difficulty.
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JB16-1720
Apatite
Panasquiera Mine, Barroca Grande, Covilha, Castelo Branco District, Portugal
Small Cabinet, 7.8 x 7.1 x 3.6 cm
$7,500.00
A significant apatite from the most important European locale: Apatite from the Panasqueira Mine is justly famous as among the best examples of the species. Crystals like this one, showing the phantom inside a green core and the textbook shape of the crystal, have long been considered among the top European classics. This crystal is HUGE for the locality, and for this style, with a mass of 286 grams. It is largely complete all around. It is complete on the sides and back of the termination, with only small contact on the rear-left edge and at the bottom where it grew. It has muscovite coating a part of the bottom backside, and was almost a floater.
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JB17-1899
Azurite with Malachite
Milpillas Mine, Sonora, Mexico
Small Cabinet, 9.2 x 6.0 x 4.8 cm
Request Price
Milpilas flowed azurite, and then flowed some more when we thought the oxidation zone would not give up more (watercourse pocket going down into the oxidized orebody), and then finally came to a crashing end for supply of the worl'ds best and most prolific azurite finds in all of history. Nevertheless, amongst the crowd of azurites so good that everybody can now own a great azurite in any price range, there are special things that stand out. This is such a piece: I stashed this piece in 2012, from a special 2011 or 2012 pocket I loved with these robust, 3-dimensional crystals that looked more like Tsumeb azurites (but more blue), than the typical Milpillas styles to date. The crystal is 6.0 x 3.0 x 2.5 cm and stands proud and dramatically upon a white matrix with a little wreathe of smaller, slender crystals at its base, like a birds nest. The crystal is undamaged and pristine, and has fantastic color. It shows some partial alteration to malachite, particularly on 2 faces.
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JB16-1574
Brazilianite
Conselheiro Pena, Doce Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Small Cabinet, 8.0 x 6.3 x 4.0 cm
$13,500.00
Brazilianite from the old 1930s-1940s finds here STILL sets the standard, to this day, nearly 80 years later. These brazilianites have a depth of color, a high luster, and a unique crystal habit that completely differentiates them from more modern material found in other localities in Brazil. This is a huge crystal for the old finds, featuring a 6 x 5 x 4 cm crystal perched atop a smaller one. It displays very dramatically as a vertical piece, with the gemmiest tip facing out to the viewer and the natural contact (bottom of the crystal, where it grew on matrix) pointing to the back; and thus is complete on three sides. It can also display well horizontally, with the gemmiest tip facing up and the growth contact on bottom. Minor muscovite is included in one side of the crystal.
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JB17-1887
Pentagonite on Stilbite
Wagholi Quarries, Wagholi, Pune District, Maharashtra, India
Small Cabinet, 8.0 x 6.8 x 5.0 cm
$20,000.00
Pentagonite is the much more rare cousin of cavansite, technically a "dimorph" which means that it is the same chemistry but a different crystal habit, and therefore a different species. The color is equally good, but the sparkly luster on pentagonites at their best is better than most cavansite. The species is found at a ratio of about 1 pentagonite to 1000 cavansites at these rich quarries in India and simply nowhere else in good showy form. Usually, pentagonite of 1-2 cm is considered quite good, and some 2-4 cm floater clusters were found in the past. This specimen features a "tree" of crystals standing 6 cm tall on contrasting white matrix! I have never seen a cluster of the species of this size, so perfectly displayed, intact and undamaged.
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JB17-1994
Tourmaline (bicolor gem)
Cruzeiro Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Gems and Jewelry, 25 x 17 x 13 mm; 39.03 cts
$22,500.00
Cruzeiro has produced what surely are the most saturated, fanciest color bicolor tourmaline gems, over the years. This is from an old collection, and was mined and cut in the 1990's. It is a superbly cut modified cushion with an art cut on the bottom. The cutting is high quality, and the luster is absolutely top tier. From the collection of former Pro football player, gem collector, entrepreneur, and mineral collector, Ron Gladnick. Joe Budd photos.
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SOLD
JB17-1563
Rhodochrosite, Tetrahedrite, Fluorite
Tetrahedrite Stope, Sweet Home Mine, Mount Bross, Park Co., Colorado, USA
Large Cabinet, 16.3 x 9.7 x 6.1 cm
The size and coverage of this rhodochrosite make it have huge impact in a case and you can see it from ACROSS THE ROOM. It is not just "red," but it is "cherry red, with luster" way beyond average in each of those important qualities, and with crystals to an inch. Specimens of this size, without damage or repairs, are few and far between on the market - even at the time they came out. This would date to the late 1990s heyday here. Today, each new collector or up and coming collector wants a major rhodochrosite, but generally the only truly fine quality specimens on the market are small. This is a beast, and just dominates a display case.
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SOLD
JB17-1892
Tanzanite
Block 4, Merelani Mines, Merelani Hills, Arusha, Tanzania
Miniature, 4.1 x 2.6 x 1.6 cm
Tanzanite is briefly common on the market in crystals - but do not expect that to last forever, from this one-source deposit. And, not in this quality - the crystal is literally a gem, stunningly clean and transparent with only a few veils within, incredible luster and color, and a razor sharp and natural termination. At 32 grams, this is hardly the largest crystal, but for a miniature size and for something PERFECT from nature, it would be hard to find better. This is simply one of the finest in its size class I have seen in over 20 years of looking. It has a life to it, and a sparkle, that does not require backlighting as do most. The best modern specimens for color, luster, and sheer gemminess in crysatlline form, all seem to have come out of the Block 4 consolidated workings of the large company Tanzanite One, which is now over 1 kilometer deep in the earth.
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SOLD
JB17-1895
Fluorite
Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province, China
Cabinet, 14.5 x 13.6 x 6.2 cm
This fluorite is not like others we have seen, and it features a stark zoning at the ends of the crystals that give them such a sharp form and separated look, that it simply is more impactful than any medium-colored purple fluorite normally has a right to be. In person, it looks more three-dimensional, and the color contrast really leaps out. Steve Smale was one of the first Western buyers in China, meeting sources at Shenzhen on day trips, while based in and teaching Math at the University of Hong Kong in the early to mid 1990s. It gave him a unique access, most of us would cry for at the time. He bought heavily as the mines produced, in the glory days of polymetallic deposits like this mine, Yaogangxian ("heavenly celestial mountain," filled with cemeteries on the slopes). As the years went by, he reduced the average size of his pieces and his taste to miniatures and small cabinets, mostly, while I started collectinf cabinet sized China specimens in the late 1990s.
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SOLD
JB17-1898
Herderite on Blue Topaz
Xanda Mine, Virgem De Lapa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Small Cabinet, 7.5 x 6.0 x 4.5 cm
From the famous 1969 pocket of purple Hydroxylherderites (see Bancroft's famous book Gem & Crystal Treasures)... Herderite from the single amazing find of 1969 set the world standard, and these purple herderites are almost never seen for sale today as they remain in collections and museums which acquired them at the time. This remarkable floater specimen, complete all around, was in the original Ed David collection in the 1980s and 1990s, sold to Houston Museum in the mid 1990s, and then exchanged to collector Irv Brown in the early 2000s. It then resided in another collection until now, the well known gem crystals and aesthetic minerals suite of Dr. Matt Tannenbaum of Idaho Falls. For the first time since it was found, I had it sent to the lab for a proper cleaning, and a very minor bit of restoration in the corner tips (where there was a little bit of hoppering or etching, but no damage per se).
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SOLD
SM22-166
Tanzanite with Calcite
Merelani Hills, Lelatema Mtns., Simanjiro Dist., Manyara Region, Tanzania
Small Cabinet, 9.3 x 5.9 x 3.7 cm
We often see tanzanite crystals but since they are so rare we almost never see them except in books, we seldom step back and ask, but what about matrix pieces?...I want a matrix piece, when possible. This is a rare example because of several qualities: It is big and unrepaired; on matrix not just of the typical massive rock but of crystalline calcite in particular - which gives color contrast as a bonus; it has natural color (untreated by heat); and happens to be free of damage and very, very aesthetic. The video hopefully helps convey how dramatic this imposing small cabinet sized specimen is, and it is even better in person. Size is large - at 179 grams, it is hefty. We had the good fortune to be there at just the right time when a Tanzanian gem dealer arrived to Munich show a few years ago, and purchased this dirty and uncleaned from the mine. It is, really, a true rarity.
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SOLD
JB17-1904
Silver with Acanthite
Mildigkeit Gottes mine, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway
Cabinet, 13.5 x 8.0 x 4.0 cm
An important and old 1800's-era Silver, from the King of silver mines. The curator of the Kongsberg Museum identified the mine for me, saying it was immediately obvious to him the mine and the time it came out. Few enough of such size are on the market, and not tied up in museums already after all these years. A piece like this shows exactly why Kongsberg is the supreme ruler when it comes to large, thick, so-called ropes of silver (they are crystalline, by the way, and not amorphous at all). I have known of this fabulous specimen, like an upright snake in form, for over 20 years. Ed David originally owned it, having purchased it from English collector Richard Barstow's private collection before his untimely passing at a young age.
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SOLD
JB17-1856
Fluorite (twinned) with Muscovite
Nagar, Aliabad, Hunza Valley, Gilgit, NWFP, Pakistan
Small Cabinet, 8.0 x 6.8 x 2.5 cm
Nagar fluorite twins are unique in all the world, at their best, for the sharpness and gemminess that they can give you. Normally, you see this rare twinning shape in green fluorites, and the result is a crystal that is shaped more like a hexagonal greenish beryl at first glance. Here, we have a spinel-twinned PINK FLUORITE, that at first glance looks like a thin gem morganite! These are 1 in 100 of the fluorite twins, so rare that I have seen only a few per year, if that - and nothing of this quality. The crystal is thin, about 1 cm, and totally transparent and gemmy. It is optical clarity!
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The Wisdom Pocket Blog

Sep 5, 2023

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We're excited to be Colorado-bound soon, for the 2023 Hard Rock Summit show in Downtown Denver, opening September 15, and we hope to see you there.

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Aug 24, 2023

Transcending Barriers

Rare Earth: The Art and Science of Chinese Stones, recently on view at the Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas, explores the different ways that Chinese and Western cultures have celebrated the beauty found in, and created from, natural stones.

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May 23, 2023

Enhancements Coming Soon to MineralAuctions.com!

We're rolling out some updates to MineralAuctions.com to better meet the needs of our customers, effective June 15, 2023!

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May 1, 2023

Rock Roundup: April 2023 Edition

Welcome to the monthly rock round up where we recap some of our favorite and interesting specimens that we've uploaded this month. In case you missed it, here's a quick rundown on some of what we think you should check out!

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Apr 26, 2023

Peruvian Treasures

Between the recent Peruvian finds of saturated chrysocolla, deep green fluorite, and mirror-like pyrites, this region of the world is definitely experiencing a resurgence in interest from mineral collectors. We blended a combination crystals from newer finds and old classics (think old Peruvian rhodochrosites from the Jack Halpern collection, plus new chrysocolla specimens from Tentadora) to showcase a range of beautiful material from an assortment of Peruvian localities.

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Apr 1, 2023

The Search for the Perfect Stone

This year at in Tucson, The Arkenstone and Dr. Rob Lavinsky were featured in an interview by Rachel Monroe of The New Yorker titled, "The Search for the Perfect Stone."

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Mar 17, 2023

The Arkenstone Heads West!

Our Spring West Coast Road Show is coming up fast, and we've enjoyed our annual San Fran trips over the last decade. This year, we're adding LA to our list, too. We hope to see you for minerals and light bites.  Please make sure to let us know if you're looking for anything specific, so we can pack with you in mind! This is also a great opportunity for us to hand-deliver specimens to clients who might be interested in delicate species that might be concerning to ship, as well. 

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Feb 23, 2023

Rare Earth: Crystalline Treasures

Rare Earth: Crystalline Treasures, ran through September 5th, 2022 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and featured more than 200 spectacular mineral specimens from around the world. Many of these were on loan from the renowned collector and mineral dealer, Dr. Rob Lavinsky. The exhibit was uniquely interwoven with various themes and stories that make inspirational connections between architectural design & earth materials, art+science+culture, carvings and illustrations, striking color, fanciful formations, and a few cases at the end that took a deeper dive into crystal form.

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Jan 12, 2023

Collector Profile: Dr. Erika Pohl-Stroher

Dr. Erika Pohl-Ströher collected the minerals in her collection over a period of more than 60 years. The specimens are arranged according to geographical regions. Considering that Dr. Pohl-Ströher had no intention of exhibiting her mineral collection and therefore did not make a conscious effort to ensure that she obtained specimens from all over the world, she has succeeded remarkably well in setting up an extensive, comprehensive and magnificent collection that includes minerals from every continent.

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Dec 16, 2022

Collector interview: Alex Schauss

In this interview by Tomasz Praszkier, Alex Schauss shares some of his family history, and talks about his career researching nutrition and botanical medicine, and how these disciplines relate to his passion for mineralogy.

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