FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Hi-Psi]

Hey everyone!

I've been doing a lot of searching online and can't seem to find what I'm looking for. My girlfriend has been wanting to start a mineral collection since she is a geology student and studies rocks daily.

I have decided to surprise her by getting a starter mineral collection together for Christmas for her. This would be a mineral collection from scratch.

I live in Canada so unfortunately there aren't a lot of resources for me to purchase said minerals so I was wondering if I could get some advice on purchasing minerals and what I should be looking for. I would like to start her off with a pretty good selection of minerals but I don't know what types I should be looking for or how much I should be spending. I was hoping to spend no more than $500 but am flexible.

I really have no idea what I am doing or what to look for so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

If there are any online sites that you suggest for either mineral or cases, that would be great as well or if you know of anyone that sells like a mineral starter kit.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Jason

[chris]

Hi Jason,

I won't tell you which mineral to buy. There are so many of them ! Maybe a few advices that could help you :

- What kind of minerals does she like ? If you have no idea try to ask indirect questions. The usual thematics are by composition (native elements, sulfides, carbonates, ...) and location (a specific mine, mining district, country or formation structures such as Alpine, volcanic...).
- Do you have a lot of space to store them ? If no look for cases, knowing that small minerals need a loupe/binocular to be studied and/or appreciated...
- There are minerals in Canada, for more details search the web with this "the mineral and locality database" (I can't post website address on the forum), you'll have both an exhaustive list & pictures of Canadian minerals. Might help you. Otherwise go south. Between the US, Mexico & South America you'll have so many incentive that your budget will be gone quick soon.

Good luck

Christophe

[Jordi Fabre]

Chris,

Yes, you can post links on this forum, but on a different way. Please read this message with the details about it:

https://www.fabreminerals.com/forum/Message-Board/viewtopic.php?t=74

I'm sorry don't participate helping you Jason, but I'm also dealer so I prefer don't be involved on this threat.

Jordi

chris wrote:
______________________________________________________________________

> Hi Jason,
>
> I won't tell you which mineral to buy. There are so many of them ! Maybe a
> few advices that could help you :
>
> - What kind of minerals does she like ? If you have no idea try to ask
> indirect questions. The usual thematics are by composition (native
> elements, sulfides, carbonates, ...) and location (a specific mine, mining
> district, country or formation structures such as Alpine, volcanic...).
> - Do you have a lot of space to store them ? If no look for cases, knowing
> that small minerals need a loupe/binocular to be studied and/or
> appreciated...
> - There are minerals in Canada, for more details search the web with this
> "the mineral and locality database" (I can't post website
> address on the forum), you'll have both an exhaustive list & pictures
> of Canadian minerals. Might help you. Otherwise go south. Between the US,
> Mexico & South America you'll have so many incentive that your budget
> will be gone quick soon.
>
> Good luck
>
> Christophe
______________________________________________________________________

[chris]

Merci Jordi.

Ok Jason, you can try www(dot)mindat(dot)org. It also has a list of mineral dealers somewhere.

Christophe

Jordi : bon séjour à Munich & attention à la bière.

[Peter Megaw]

Jason...this should be easy and fun and if you do it right you'll wind up learning enough to be in danger of getting hooked yourself! Start by considering the merits of quantity versus quality. Quality always matters, even more so if you think she's likely to become a serious collector and you want your contributions to stand out in her collection as it grows. If you take this route, buy her a maximum of 2-3 very nice specimens...one REALLY good one is probably better and is more likely to turn her on (to collecting I mean) and remain a centerpiece in her collection. If you're more interested in stimulating her educational experience, then go for quantity...not huge numbers, but get at least one good example of the 6 major crystal systems with well enough developed crystals so she can appreciate the differences. Spreading these out across the major mineral groups (silicates, oxides, carbonates, etc.) should also be easy.. If she's especially interested in a certain area or geologic environment (Canada, pegmatites, etc.) then work that into the mix. Aesthetic preferences, like an eye for bright colors are also important considerations as are living realities...don't give her large pieces if she lives in an efficiency apartment. If she's a student she'll be moving several times in the near future, so stay away from delicate and fragile things.

Then find a dealer(s) you like/trust with fair prices... preferably where you can handle/view the pieces since size and quality can be very difficult to gauge from e-pictures. If you've got to go on-line, stick to a dealer with their own website who has advertised in a major mineral magazine or two for a while (Jordi qualifies despite recusing himself), ...e-bay is full of crap shown to best advantage. Be sure to check the descriptions for notations of damage, repairs etc...and if they don't mention any be sure to ask...this gives you a firm basis for return if the pieces are not as advertised! Have fun...your $500 won't last long if you do it right.

ps...don't forget to ask for a discount as a student or co-dependent! the hobby needs as many new collectors as it can get and many dealers recognize that there are long-term benefits to getting folks started on the right foot.

Have fun...and welcome aboard to you both!

[Tracy]

Oops - I took too long to craft my answer and Peter already touched on the point I wanted to make. Well, here it is anyway...
****

Greetings Jason from a fellow Canadian (in spirit if not in body)...

Expanding a bit on what Chris already wrote: you might also want to get her some "seed" specimens for her collection rather than a "starter set" - if she wants to build a serious collection she might appreciate a few good pieces, or even just one, especially knowing that they came from you! I suggest you try to find out the approach she wishes to take for her collection (e.g., minerals from Alberta or from Canada, minerals from a particular group, minerals that relate to her particular area of study, or minerals that are connected to some other theme), the speed at which she wants to build it (acquire a lot of pieces at once, or build the collection slowly and steadily), and any limitations on specimen size, and use that information accordingly when purchasing her gift.

Remember that it's the thought that counts, and you need not try to get her EVERYTHING (in actuality you can't) to get her going on a collection. One of the best birthday presents I ever received was a fairly large, polished septarian nodule which I received in grad school from a former love-interest, who had to haggle furiously to be able to afford it. It prompted me to learn everything I could about septarians and I still display it proudly and in appreciation of the gesture. My collection has expanded considerably since then and in different drections (as Jordi will attest), and I've seen many nicer nodules than mine (not that mine is all that bad), but all the same it will be a long time before my septarian gets relegated to a storage box.

Best of luck with your plan, and enjoy the holidays. I'd also say best of luck to the Flames this season, but I can't because I'm a die-hard Habs fan... :-)

Cheers,
Tracy

[Hi-Psi]

Wow, thanks for the great replies guys.

I am soo lost as to what type of minerals she would like so I might have to start asking her friends in her geology class that might be able to pick her brain for me.

At first I thought the best thing for her would be to get a bunch of small ones so that she could examine and interpret a bunch of different types but now I'm not too sure. Maybe it's best to get one good one, I don't know how crazy she plans to get with this collection and whether she plans to buy a lot of large ones or small ones or what. Right now she is a student so I'm sure she won't be spending an ton over the next year or so untils he is done but after that I have no idea.

I'll check out some more online sites, including the site associated with this site and see if I can come up with something. This site has quite the reputation so please don't discredit yourself just cus you run the site. I'd like to keep all options open.

Thanks

Jason

[lluis]

Good morning

Well, being from Canada, and having some famous locale sites, like Jeffrey mine, Mont Saint Hilaire and Francon Quarry, you could try to get any garnet from Jeffrey Mine

They are like little gems
You could find cognac shaded, pink coloured, green colored and what I saw described one time as frog's eggs : green cores with a colorless outer rim, really pretty grossular garnets.
And one time I have heard that someone find an amethyst coloured pocket of garnets...That were traded almost immediately.... :-(

Your 500$ could afford some of the set, or one really very good (the green ones, well positioned and gemmy are impressive...and expensive :-) )

With best wishes

Lluís

[Jordi Fabre]

Jason,

John S. White suggested to me to indicate to you a Canadian couple of mineral's dealers based on Ontario, who always had a lot of stuff with reasonable prices and nice quality.
They sold recently his business, so I'm not sure if they still have the same stuff as they had on the past, plus John suppose that actually they should be on trip to Munich Show. Anyway, John and me we feel that they could be a good possibility. Their names are Frank & Wendy Melanson, and his former business name is Hawthorneden Minerals. Although I'm afraid that they have not a web page, you can find all details about they using Google.

All the best,

Jordi

[mmauthner]

Hi Jason,
Living in sunny, hot (and smoky) California now, but I am from Invermere.
Take Peter Megaw's words into deep consideration. I highly reommend getting just one specimen, but the also get the STORY that goes with it. Want a suggestion? Try a piece of ammolite (set in jewelry, as a freeform piece, or as a rough ammonite). Ammolite is a trade name given to the irridescent coloured fossilized shell material. Most of the material comes from ammonites, particularly Placenticeras, from the St. Mary's River drainage in southern AB. Ammolite is local (and almost unique to Alberta), extremely colorful, and has a great paleontological, mineralogical and human history. (I'd be happy to help you on those fronts), and $500 will get you an impressive stone.
Just so you know, I am not affiliated with any ammolite producers. I work at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad. In an earlier incarnation I was involved in mineral museums (Vancouver, BC and Houston, TX). Had a heck of an ammonite on display at the Pacific Mineral Museum in Vancouver!

Good luck,
Mark

[John S. White]

Yes, I am recommending Frank and Wendy Melanson as a possible starting point in your own country. They live in Ontario but are likely on their way to Munich just now. I believe Jordi can give you their email address without publishing it in this forum.

[Jordi Fabre]

Jason,

Please use this link:

https://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/bookstore/collect/appendh_e.php

and you will find not only the Hawthorneden's details, including his email address, but also a list of all other Canadian mineral dealers.

Jordi


John S. White wrote:
______________________________________________________________________

> Yes, I am recommending Frank and Wendy Melanson as a possible starting
> point in your own country. They live in Ontario but are likely on their
> way to Munich just now. I believe Jordi can give you their email address
> without publishing it in this forum.
______________________________________________________________________

[mmauthner]

Another suggestion...try looking up Rob Belcher in Banff...he has lots of goodies (his business name is Aesthetics Underground)

One thing about your posting is that we really don't know what your girlfriend likes, or what her collecting objectives are (i.e. trying to build a show collection, a research/study collection...just "minerals" or also rocks as well...fossils?)...I am catching some flak for my ammolite suggestion as not being "mineral" (it is a mineral...aragonite) :-)

Anyway, Rob has a good selection of stuff (minerals and stuff made from minerals like gems, carvings, etc)

Cheers,
Mark