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CRITERIA for SELECTING CRYSTALLIZED MINERAL SPECIMENS FOR A DISPLAY COLLECTION
Mineralogical Record, Mar/Apr 2005 by Halpern, Jack
Every collection reflects the particular eye and mindset of its collector. In a sense it amounts to his or her mineral fingerprint. But despite these variations the tastes of experienced collectors tend to have certain basic tenets in common. Here are the ideal characteristics which I have found to be integral to many specimens in top-level display collections.
INTRODUCTION
Mineral collectors tend to be as different from each other as clouds in the sky. We do share some similar characteristics, but each of us is an individual. Though we all share the desire to possess a fine collection of minerals, we each have our own predilections, our own preferences, our own motivations. As a result, our mineral collections are each unique, reflecting the diverse tastes, personality traits and technical training each of us brings to the hobby. This is as it should be.
Every collection reflects the particular eye and mindset of its collector. In a sense it amounts to his or her mineral fingerprint, but despite these variations the tastes of experienced collectors nevertheless tend to have certain basic tenets in common. As one among you, I have been guided by certain ideals in gathering specimens for my collection, based on the characteristics which are integral to many specimens in top-level display collections. I aim to share these with you. You may or may not subscribe to these ideals yourself. However, choosing among the vast array of specimens offered for sale or trade can be a daunting task! The criteria listed below often direct the experienced collector's eye and hand in singling out a particularly worthy specimen from the many thousands (actually millions!) offered for sale, and may likewise be useful to you in making your own selections.
For a display of mineral specimens in one's home, different criteria may dominate over those which might apply to minerals stored in drawers, in boxes, in vaults or located on the backroom shelves of a museum where scientific study may be a paramount objective. For a home display, it seems to me that visual delight should be among the primary satisfactions to be experienced by both the collector and his guests, whether or not those guests are themselves "mineral people." Their response to the phenomenal world of crystallized minerals is a rewarding dividend that comes from displaying your selectively assembled minerals.
Following are my personal criteria for selecting specimens for a display collection. Many of them were discussed by Wendell Wilson (1990) in his essay on "Connoisseurship in minerals," and by Keith Proctor in his videotapes, The Proctor Collection (1988) and The Buyers' Guide to Building a Fine Mineral Collection (2002). The criteria are presented in no special order, and many of them overlap, but I hope the list will serve as the basis for a useful discussion.
CRITERIA
(1) Appealing overall form. A pleasing architectural shape is a major attribute of a fine display specimen. What is desired is an attractive conformation (or "composition") about the entire specimen as well as about the arrangement of the crystals it harbors. Keen-minded collector Steve Smale uses the term "Good Horizons" in referring to a specimen with a generally pleasing aesthetic form.
(2) Good crystal form. The shape of the crystals should be clearly revealed. They should be complete and undamaged, and ideally, they should be morphologically perfect.
(3) Clean, bright color. Clear, vivid colors carry appeal. I avoid muddy colors. I vitalize my display with glowing greens, beckoning blues, radiant reds, opulent oranges, wintry whites. Black minerals stand out much more clearly when they are interspersed among specimens exhibiting bright colors. Red usually elicits major interest, hence the great value attributed to Sweet Home mine and other rhodochrosite, ruby, red beryl and cinnabar. The purity and "cleanness" of the color are important factors, and the presence of a color rare or unusual for the mineral adds to the desirability.
Generally, the deeper the hue, the better. Pink fluorite has traditionally been in high demand, but when it is deep pink it is more desirable; if pale, it is less so. Strong color contrast between crystal(s) and matrix also contributes visual excitement-as when, for instance, green dioptase studs a white calcite matrix, or blue-green aquamarine couples with deep pink apatite, or the green of emerald rests against the white of calcite, or red rhodochrosite cohabits a matrix with purple fluorite.
(4) Luster. High luster delights the eye! I choose lustrous examples of a mineral rather than dull ones whenever that choice is possible. Brilliant luster is stunning in stibnite, cassiterite, quartz, vivianite and gold. A more satiny luster characterizes some benitoite, barite and rhodonite. The presence of lively luster rewards the viewer with visual stimulation, a quality often absent in dull-lustered crystals.
(5) Desired size. Generally, I prefer hand-size specimens, but many factors come into play here, such as cost and degree of acceptable damage. Also of significance is whether one prefers to collect specimens of various sizes or whether one specializes in one size category, e.g. thumbnails or miniatures. The smaller the specimen, the greater the chance for perfection; thus more perfection is demanded by those who collect the smaller sizes. Also, the space available for display may influence the size-preference of a collector: a greater number of smaller specimens than larger ones may be accommodated on a shelf.
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