Our Comment…

The 41° edition of the show was caracterized by the presence of about 800 dealers  , 130  of which   located in a new exhibition area called Euromineral-2.  The visitors were almost all the same as last year  concentrated in the first day  of the show ( the specialists) and on Saturday the maiority.

As a difference from last year there were very few visitors from overseas , expecially from USA , probably due to the bad exchange rate of the USD.

We arrive for set up  on Wednesday morning on our place on the Thetre stage and as a differrence from last year we saw less confusion than in past years also because the entrence were controlled and permitted only to exibithors and the others have to pay 30 euro to enter . (click here to see a movie of the Theatre 1700Kb)

A part from these considerations, every year the show is growing: new areas are set up and the feeling is to be really inside a huge stone market,with a grest deal of business dedicated to wholesale and to other activities.(teaching,meetings)

About the really new stuff offered at the show , we think the most important news for this edition were the Rutile on Hematite from Brasil and from China  we point out some pieces of creedite and fluorites and new sphalerites   in association with galena and quartz. Finally from Madagascar  some new Chiavennite specimens from the same mine of Pezzotaite . From Morocco the new purple flourites on barite

As the past year in the show there were some exibitions and conferences for all the 4 days , the main was ' Du Brut à la pierre taillée ..'  showing all the process , technique and instruments for cutting stones.

Our impression is  beside the grown , the show is going to be more a commercial stuff  show  than a   collector show   and the prices are growing from year to year   this due also to the cost of supplying new material. Anyway we noticed after speaking with some dealers friend that the business was better than last  years... we hope the trend will continue.

Another consideration is the effort to education that the Organizers are putting towards general understanding of minerals and fossils.There was the area dedicated to clean and reproducing fossilss , space for crystal healing and therapy,meeting on gemmology and atelier for artisans. Interesting to see and welcomed by the visitors.

For us S.Marie show is always a good experience and trip not only for buy & Sell but also to meet friends , know some of our web customers , have good food  in a friendly atmosphere.

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