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David
Joined: 01 Nov 2011
Posts: 101
Location: Bucharest
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 05:11 Post subject: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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Which do you think is the best city in the world to meet fellow mineral collectors? (Not taking into account major international mineral fairs) |
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Riccardo Modanesi
Joined: 07 Nov 2011
Posts: 620
Location: Milano
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 08:46 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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Hi David!
Do you admit also towns located close to the main mines (i.e. Baveno, Idar-Oberstein, Baia Sprie etc.)?
Greetings from Italy by Riccardo. _________________ Hi! I'm a collector of minerals since 1973 and a gemmologist. On Summer I always visit mines and quarries all over Europe looking for minerals! Ok, there is time to tell you much much more! Greetings from Italy by Riccardo. |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 09:35 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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The question is, to do what? If it is to use as a base to visit mineral-rich places, then I would say Windhoek, Namibia. _________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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gemlover
Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Easley, SC
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 11:08 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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For me it is Franklin, NC, USA. Of course, that is close to my home and I can drive there easily.
John _________________ John
John Atwell Rasmussen, Ph.D.. AJP
Geologist and Gemologist |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 11:21 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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gemlover wrote: | For me it is Franklin, NC, USA. Of course, that is close to my home and I can drive there easily.
John |
Hahaha John; in that case I will vote for Cape Town, then at least I can afford to attend:-) _________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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David
Joined: 01 Nov 2011
Posts: 101
Location: Bucharest
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 12:03 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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Hello Pierre,
I've mentioned that: friendliest place to meet fellow mineral collectors.
Let me rephrase that: the city with the most mineral collectors per square mile. Hopefully it is also a friendly community. |
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Tracy
Joined: 15 Sep 2006
Posts: 551
Location: Toronto
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 12:15 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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I don't think that this is a question easily answered. There are many different levels of mineral collectors, from the serious and high-end to "I find pretty rocks walking in the woods and keep them in a jar at home." It's impossible to tally up all the people who like rocks and determine where they are most highly localized. Even though your initial question excludes places where there are majo shows, I would imagine that there is a greater exposure among people living close to these, such as Tucson or Munich. But it is just a guess.
Also, what's your definition of "city?"
- Tracy _________________ "Wisdom begins in wonder" - Socrates |
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Susan Robinson
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Posts: 163
Location: Hancock, MI
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 12:29 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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You mentioned to not take into account mineral/gem fairs - what about places where major mineral symposiums are held? _________________ Susan Robinson |
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David
Joined: 01 Nov 2011
Posts: 101
Location: Bucharest
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 12:42 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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Hi Riccardo,
Sure we can admit all sort of cities, towns, villages. So you’ve been to Baia Sprie? How was that, did you get anything nice from there? |
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David
Joined: 01 Nov 2011
Posts: 101
Location: Bucharest
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 13:00 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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Look, I am curious to know where most mineral collectors come from. My guess is most of them come from the USA, followed at a great distance probably by Germany, UK, Italy, Spain and Austria, not necessarily in that order. Obviously, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t many collectors also in other places. For instance I don’t think there are too many mineral collectors in my country although I know a few. Unfortunately FMF doesn’t seem to have a reference of collectors by country. I think that could prove useful in some cases.
I’ve introduced the city criteria because a whole country is too much, is not like you can travel all over the country to meet people. Unless that particular country is Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Singapore.
I chose not to mention places where major mineral fairs take place because most people come there from all over the world but that doesn’t mean they can be found there for the rest of the year. |
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alfredo
Site Admin
Joined: 30 Jan 2008
Posts: 981
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 14:49 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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David, I think you might be wrong about most mineral collectors being located in the USA. If we assume that a certain fraction (not all) mineral collectors will buy magazines and books about minerals, one can estimate from the number of books and magazines sold, and sales of mineral related publications in german is considerably higher than in english! So I draw the conclusion that most mineral collectors live in central Europe.
The UK has only a tiny handful of collectors, so strike that one from your list. I once sat at a restaurant table in Tucson with 6 British collectors and was told that half of all collectors in the UK were currently sitting at out table! An exaggeration, I hope, but it gives a clue as to why Britain has no international mineral show.
The number of collectors in China is rising rapidly, so we can expect them to be the world's biggest mineral consumers within another decade or so. |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Feb 04, 2013 15:13 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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I suppose the best way to find out which city takes the cake, is the one that buys the most mineral specimens on the internet (ask a dealer like Jordi). As for the friendly part, that will be a bit more difficult to establish (perhaps a city in India) _________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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alfredo
Site Admin
Joined: 30 Jan 2008
Posts: 981
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Posted: Feb 05, 2013 00:47 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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For a city to be "friendly to mineral collectors", you can hardly do better than one whose Chamber of Commerce actually assigns someone the job of helping visiting collectors to find local collecting sites! Therefore I vote for Bancroft, Ontario, Canada, as the friendliest city for mineral collectors. |
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Riccardo Modanesi
Joined: 07 Nov 2011
Posts: 620
Location: Milano
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Posted: Feb 06, 2013 05:51 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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Hi David!
I have been to Romania four times (cycling of course!), but not yet to Baia Sprie. I would like to visit this town and its mineral deposits. About the main question, I would vote for Idar-Oberstein or for Bramberg Pinzgau, Austria, or for any of the alpine towns in Canton Uri or Graubunden, Switzerland. But we all mustn't forget Freiberg of course!
Greetings from Italy by Riccardo. _________________ Hi! I'm a collector of minerals since 1973 and a gemmologist. On Summer I always visit mines and quarries all over Europe looking for minerals! Ok, there is time to tell you much much more! Greetings from Italy by Riccardo. |
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Gail
Joined: 21 Feb 2008
Posts: 5839
Location: Texas, Lone Star State.
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Posted: Feb 06, 2013 09:44 Post subject: Re: The friendliest city for mineral collectors |
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Dallas, bar none! _________________ Minerals you say? Why yes, I'll take a dozen or so... |
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