My mineral collecting did not start out well. I dropped a prized calcite specimen and it broke. Thirty five years later I still regret it. My clumsiness put me off collecting minerals for twenty years. Evidently I was not up to looking after these treasures that grow in the dark. Instead, as an unconscious penance, I concentrated on faceting, which really is a matter of painstakingly transforming broken crystal fragments into reflective gems, giving them renewed sparkle and life.

But the hunt ...
Continue reading ...