FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jordi Fabre]

[Jordi Fabre]

The Show is fully confirmed, it seems that this year nothing will avoid the Mineralientage from taking place. With all the requirements that the Covid imposes, but all the fans of that great Fair we will be there!

Below I publish the requirements that are requested, which although very complete (and well explained) are not far from those that we usually follow when there are large groups in closed areas.

[Riccardo Modanesi]

Hi to everybody!
I am already vaccinated by the second injection of AstraZeneca, I got it on June 6. Therefore I achieved my Italian green-pass, which certifies me of being vaccinated. Also, I purchased my entry ticket on-line and already got it. I should have no problem entering the show, correct?
Greetings from Italy by Riccardo.

[Jordi Fabre]

Looks like it's starting to let up and little by little we are returning to normality.
Ste. Marie is already announced for 2022 and it will do so at the Munich Show 2021 which (with all the necessary precautions) this time it will be done 🍾

[Jordi Fabre]

I'm adding some photos and a video of the Munich Show that on Tuesday was already growing up.

Something important to point out for those who will attend the Show: pavilions A5 and A6 have undergone a main change in the regular distribution of dealers, which is why a 180º turn has been given to the aspect that we all have associated with.

[Jordi Fabre]

Although autumn is here, at the moment it is making a spring temperature

[Jordi Fabre]

Christoph Keilmann, the director of the Mineralientage, is a person with a great sense of humor 😁

[Peter Lemkin]

Jordi, How do the number of exhibitors [or total floor space with exhibitors] compare with pre-COVID times, generally?

Glad to see your official entry security badge has a smile face on it....perhaps a message from the Oracle at Delphi if not from the head of the show.

[James Catmur]

Photos are being shown on the Spanish side. Use this link:

https://www.foro-minerales.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=155366#155366

[Jordi Fabre]

Back in Barcelona and while the Show is still developing, some first brief conclusions of what I saw:

- Mineralientage 2021 is like a new Show, based on the matrix of the previous ones but different. The arrangement of the stands, the organization and the modes, all are quite different. I suppose that it is largely forced by the COVID but probably not only.

- Honors to Christoph Keilmann, his team and all the volunteers who have done a heroic work for, despite the challenge, and fighting against enormous difficulties, achieve that the Mineralientage could be done again.

- As already said by James, anyone who wants to see daily images of minerals and the general atmosphere of the Show can do so by following the Spanish thread:
https://www.foro-minerales.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14842

- Within the general line of changes are also the dates of the Show next year that will not take place at the usual end of October but before, at the end of September.
There we will be, and the more the merrier.

- Next weekend I will publish a new post with more though about this edition of Mineralientage, once I better digested the enormous volume of information that a Fair like this always generate.

[Jordi Fabre]

[Fiebre Verde]

My favorite specimen of this year's show was not for sale...

[Sante Celiberti]

[alfredo]

There were only about (guessing) 60% of the usual number of dealers there, which was fine for retail buyers, because even 60% of normal is still way more than you can visit in the time available, and there were indeed some spectacular pieces available for budgets of any size, from rare micromounts to huge museum display pieces. A buyer would have had to be remarkably inattentive or blind to not find anything worth taking home.

But for wholesale buyers the pickings were rather more meager, because so many dealers from the most prolific source countries were missing. I saw no dealers at all from China, Japan, Bolivia, Argentina and many African countries (although of course in such a large show I probably missed some). There were a few from Russia, the USA, India, Afghanistan, Morocco, but not with much new stuff in any quantity - Many of the dealers seem to have just had their leftovers from 2 years ago, and the current dismal global shipping chaos might perhaps have contributed to that. Only a very reduced number of dealers from Peru (with colorless quartzes, nothing exciting), Brazil, etc.

The sellers I talked to seemed to be reasonably happy. Without the usual crowds and noise, it was actually easier to conduct business with serious customers. There were very few families with children on the weekend. The constant barrage of multilingual loudspeaker announcements was missing this year, and I hope it stays missing in future years too.

There were some wonderful displays, although perhaps fewer than in a "normal" year. And of course it was fun to catch up with friends from all over Europe and the USA, although it was sad to miss my many friends from Asia and South America.

The organizers are to be congratulated for a very well run show, given the difficult global circumstances. Everyone, both buyers and sellers, needed to show evidence of vaccination or recovery from covid to get in, and those who did not have proof of such were required to undergo testing every 24 hours. I feared there would be long lines for the covid verification procedures, but there weren't - Everything moved along speedily and efficiently. Booth spaces were larger than in previous years and there were more partitions between booths. Mask use was obligatory inside the show halls, and well over 90% of the participants were respecting the precautionary rules.

Next year the show overlaps with the final weekend of the famous Munich Oktoberfest, the world's biggest beer blast, which will make the double event more exciting for some people, and the weather is likely to be warmer too, but on the other hand will make it harder to find cheap accommodations, plane tickets, etc.

[Fiebre Verde]