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Our days in the Show... |
Here a short report on our days
in Saint Marie Mineral Show to summarize our experience and to sign what for us
was interesting, ...we hope you enjoy to visit the show toghether us.
June, 22 - The travelling day
...wake up early today to start the 2005 Saint Marie experience; the appointment
is in Voghera (PV) at 7.00 o'clock in the morning and we all arrive on time
(...ok, someone a little later: but it's normal italian style!!!). A 6-hour car
trip through Northern Italy, Switzerland and Southern France and finally we
arrive: it's very hot in Saint Marie this year!!!!
The preparation of the stand is one of the most important and more delicate
activities of the day: Why have we taken minerals
for 10 tables when we have only 2 tables? This is what we ask ourselves at each
mineral show. In Saint Marie it's more critical due to the narrow tables: only
60 cm!!! ...and then someone wants to put everyrhing on top and someone else
thinks that too many things create confusion: a critical situation for our
team!!!
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In the afternoon a short trip around the show: many exhibitors are preparing their exhibition and others are closing waiting for the start of the show tomorrow. During our trip we've seen some interesting things...
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A German dealer was exhibiting a rich series of systematic minerals from the old and famous Italian Collection: the Tealdi Collection. Tealdi was one of the most important Italian collectors, famous for the variety and quality of his minerals. He also was director of Rivista Mineralogica Italiana for many years.
Other stands specialized in Moroccon Minarals, some of which were displaying new local findings: Green Titanite on feldspat, large and rapresentative Acantite crystals and, from the same mine, interesting native silver; bright but very expensive blue octaedrical fluorite crystals and floating complex quartz aggregate sometimes in association with Dolomite and, from Tata, interesting Quartz on Siderite. Among the other usual minerals many good quality Roselite crystals and some good specimens of Erytrite. However, there are fewer specimens from Toussit and Mibladen.
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| New blue octaedrical fluorite | New green Titanite |
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| Some good Erytrite specimens | Quartz & Calcite & Siderite from Tata |
As has become usual in these shows, many Chinese dealers and many Chinese minerals (...not all of which were of a good quality!). This year we found for the first time specimens of Native Silver from Yunnan, Axinite, Plumbogummite (...recently recognised), elegant nice Selenite crystals and also some Amazonite (...we make attention with new chinese finding, and normally we verify with different dealers, at the end the stand of Ottens is the best way to have a confirm) . Among the other minerals important specimens of quartz with Helvite (with crustals till 5 cm), bright fluorite specimens from Xianghupau and some interesting Topaz in associaton with Orthoclase and Quartz that look like the Pakistan one; and from Ping Whu good specimens of Scheelite and Goeshenite. On the other hand only a few specimens from Yaogonxian Mine, Shimen Mine and ....... Mine, so only a little Inesite, Realgar and all the Sulphides.
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| New elegant Selenite crystals | New Silver from Yunnan |
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| Goeshenite and other things from China | Outstanding Topaz specimen |
...ok, that's enough for today, time to close and go to the hotel and afterwards to the restaurant where we find (it's a very small world) our friends from Minservice and Minernet ( ...the service in the restaurant is very slow, but there are many comments to fill the spaces...)
June, 23 - The first day
.....ok, ok, I know that this is only the official first day but, as usual in
these last years, the collectors were around the stand since Tuesday, and
there's no difference from yesterday (...the only pity is that hungry collectors
came on Tuesday in Saint Marie and go away on Thursday, on Friday only the
dealers are in the show. Saturday the last collectors came and Sunday full of
curiouses....); anyway for us it's the first day so we have to work hard to
follow clients on our stand and look for new things in the show. It's a very
hard life!!!
We continue our trip around the show. Among the many stands and different locations we find from Russia very big and bright Perowskite Crystals (...till 5, 6 cm!!!) in association with Magnetite, and in the some stand a very interesting Cromo-Titanite of 4 cm on matrix from Urals. No other new things from this country, but from Mongolia new Green Fluorite and brown Gypsum Roses. In Karp stand was in esposition many specimens of nice 'mushroom' tourmaline from Burma some of them on matrix.
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| Outstanding Perowskite | Outstanding bright Cromo-Titanite |
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| New green Fluorite from Mongolia | New Gypsum Roses from Mongolia |
From Africa some interesting new finding: first of all bright Hausmannite Crystals in association with andradite and, in the some stand, showy Hematite on matrix from South Africa. From Namibia interesting Tupersuatsiasite from Aris Quarry, nice Boltwoodite and interesting Red Quartz from Orange County. From Mali bright green andradite and the usual Prehenite on Epidote, from Senegal interesting Senegalite in bright crystals on matrix, from Ethiopia new lose crystals of Amethyst Quatz. From Tanzania a new find of nice pink and purple Spinel on matrix and also interesting Tsarovite garnets, Tanzanite, Scapolite and Zircon from Merelami.
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| New Hematite with Hessonite from South Africa | Interesting Red Quartz from Namibia |
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| New Amethyst Quartz from Ethiopya | Outstanding Boltwoodite from Namibia |
From Pakistan and Afghanistan no many news but only many specimens with different prices and quality: anyway to sign new tourmaline from Azad Kashmir and interesting good quality Anatase from Kharan with crystals till 1 cm; to finish some interesting specimens of Ialine Quartz on Prehenite.
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| Lose Acquamarine crystals | Quartz on Prhenite |
Also from India no many news, maybe only the consideration that good specimens from this country are disappeared and this is more evident for green aphophillite; however was present interesting specimens of Calcite on Mordenite and new Celadonite on Heulandite and Stilbite from Aurangabad.
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| New Celadonite | Nice Pentagonite specimens |
From Europe no many things, only some old finding with good specimens in exposition: among these nice bright yellow with blue edges Fluorite from Aveyron in France and, in the some stand, interesting Torbernite specimens. From east Europe the usual things from Rumania and no many more things.
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| Nice yellow Fluorite from France | Nice Amethyst Quartz from Bulgaria |
About South America to sign big blue Topaz and many nice tourmalines and beryls ( among them we saw a good rubellite in association with a light blue herderite) from Brasil, bright Barite from Perù and interesting Brochantite and Linarite specimens from Armor Mine in Argentina. From USA some very nice piece from collection like old copper from Michigan and some Red Cloud wulfenites. From Brasil many nice tourmalines and beryls among them we saw a good rubellite in association with a light blue herderite. From the other things only old specimens from old finding and old collections.
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| Rubellite and Herderite from Brasil | New Barite from Perù |
In the evening we went to eat
to the pass above Saint Marie with a characteristic Alsatian Cooking and more of
all a cold temperature that are fantastic after the hot temperature of the day.
June, 24 - The second day
...as I said usually this is the day of relax, and also in this edition the law
don't change!!! Su much of time to walk again around the stands, to look for
single specimens, other interesting things and, especially, a lot of words with
the many people that is possible find in the show. It's impressive how many
information you can collect in a show like Saint Marie!!
First of all a short visit to Euromin 2, that look like a hot desert oasis empty of visitors..., in this part of the show (ten minutes by the main site) are located mainly Gems and Bijuox, but in the tents also many dealers from China, Morocco and Romania (....with a good exhibitions of many false specimens). We don't spend much time in this part of the show (...also because the sun is very strong on our head!!).
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In the mainshow many nice specimens in the top dealer stand, with, obviusly a very top price, ...many other nice specimens under the tables to show on request!!! Around, in the other stands in the show, some interesting specimens but our impression is that this edition is a little more poor of minerals: in quality and in quantity and the visitors follow this tendency....
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Anyway the day slowly arrive to
the end, ....till to finish in a big dinner with a mountain of dessert...
June, 25 - The Third day
Saturday, the day of the collectors that arrive on Saint Marie only for two
days, all the spaces are full of people that look, ask, ...and sometimes buy.
Today like tomorrow is completly dedicated to our stand, all the day in the very
small space that this show reserves for exhibitors, the temperature is high and
it look more like a big sauna than a Mineral Show..
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....after an heavy day a long
dinner with our friends, is what we need to relax our mind and, at the end, a
Cognac is the best way to close the day.
June, 26 - The Last day
....the closing day in Saint Marie is a long waiting for the first afternoon
when is necessary to pack everithing and leave Saint Marie direction Italy;
during the day very nice and very attractive the short musical interlude that
vivify the life in the show, in this edition a Jazz Band and a Medieval Chorus:
all very interesting!!!
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In the late afternoon start the
long return to Italy: arrive after midnight....
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