FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Mark Ost]

Seriously; I agree with everything said but there is a certain undefinable symmetry or rightness in a beautiful piece, aside from rarity and lack of damage. In Japanese the word is "shibui" which translates into roughly aesthetic good taste. A kimono with a small chrysanthemum embroidered may be shibui. A karate uniform (gi) with a bunch of patches and club name embroidered is definitely not.

[Mike P.]

A minerals quality can be judged by the same criteria that diamond is analyzed. To look at two diamond that appear the same, but under other specification they are not of same quality.

[valere]

I like a lot this link! Many interesting data from many style of collectors!

The comparaison with humans is a very neat way to explain the various ways to collect!

Charm and "academic" beauty can be two different concepts, seldomly combined. When combined, we have a "11". Some are botox and silicone fans , others are allergic to this! The same in minerals! However, to repair a broken bone makes sense! Beauty can be defined with trends and change with time, charm is timeless! Rarity and/or originality are key concepts to my opinion! One of my favorite specimens is a 53 kg rock. Most would trim it to keep the main crystal vug. I will never do, because the remaining of the specimen illustrates the geology of my favorite deposit and the environement in which the crystals developped. Added to that, if the rock made a long incredible trip, almost miraculous, it is to stay intact!

To be addict of the trends can be dangerous and costly, as trends change with time and are often artificialy manipulated like in fashion or now, mobiles, where the dealers decide what people will want! The architecture illustrates that very well! Art Nouveau for instance! First trendy, then out of trend, some of the best building have been destroyed! That said, some minerals like liroconite are trendy for centuries...

The most beautiful collections are not the one that combine calibrated specimens of the most trendy minerals, but the ones that have a signature, the fingerprint of the collector who built it! Collections where we can see a purpose, or where we can feel the eye and spirit of the collector, just like a painting.That can't be compared or similar to any other! Full of unpredicatable things that can't be seen anywhere else! A mineral collection is like a work of art. All the specimens that contribute significantly to that work, to that signature, is a quality specimen. The others can easily move away. This means that in one collection, a specimen can be essential and have important qualities, while in another collection,the same specimen might have little significance! That goes from tiny systematic specimens up to masterpieces of any size, that can share the same room. Other collections illustrate the love and obstination of some collectors for some mines where they selfcollected.

The best private collections (to my taste, "best" means a personal opinion) I have seen so far have a strong fingerprint, with specimens sublimating each other! Bringing admiration and a lot of learning! The favorite private collection I have seen so far combines all the above!!

Cheers!

Valère, Belgium

[Pierre Joubert]

This topic is, to me, one of the most interesting topics on this forum and one that can be endlessly discussed. The contributions by John, Jordi and others are very useful indeed. Sometimes we part with a specimen only to learn later on that that was a once off specimen. OUCH!!! There are a few such specimens that I wish we still had! Because every mineral has it's own unique identity, some are just irreplaceable!

When searching for a really good specimen from an area, it is wise to consult an expert from the spesific area before parting with your hard earned money. Trust is more worthy than gold, and an expert can guide you to the best as he/she knows what a good specimen from that area looks like.

[cascaillou]

Agreed, it is essential to learn about what you're planning to acquire, and see as much specimens as possible, so you will be able to recognize instantly the few specimens that have "something more" compared to other specimens of the same species and same locality.

A criteria that wasn't mentionned here but that I can be sensitive to is the didactic potential of a given specimen, i.e. a specimen that illustrates some interesting point of mineralogy is a specimen which actually tells something about this science, and that can be discussed.
For instance, I recently saw a quartz specimen with radioactive inclusions, and smoky radiation halos around these inclusions (contrasting with the otherwise colorless quartz): I find it interesting that this specimen is an opening on a scientific discussion about both radioactivity and causes of color (color center in this case), so that this specimen also had some real pedagogical potential (you could actually write a few pages about this single specimen!). Indeed there's something more interesting to discuss about this specimen than just its formal beauty or rarity. Which is incidentally excellent if you're willing to share your passion with other people.
In the same way, other specimens might properly illustrate some interesting points of crystallography, optical phenomenoms, crystallogenesis, etc...

[cascaillou]

as it comes to aesthetics, I appreciate well balanced and contrasted associations