Collection: Collector's Items

The Collector's Items collection is where the exceptional material goes: high-grade, well-formed specimens with the clarity, color, termination or matrix that separates a display piece from a shelf piece. Many would not look out of place in a museum case, and several came out of long-held private collections.

Who this collection is for

These pieces are for people who buy with their eyes and their references open, collectors who know what a sharp sphalerite crystal or an undamaged apophyllite cluster is worth, and who care about locality, formation and condition. They also suit anyone assembling a small, serious group of stones rather than a large casual one.

How we find them

Katie Sutton buys directly from miners and from collectors selling down long-standing collections. That access is the whole point. It means we see specimens before they are broken up or graded down for the wholesale market, and it means we can keep the best pocket material instead of the average. Almost everything in this collection is one-of-a-kind by definition, and once a specimen sells we do not expect its equal to come through again.

Buying and keeping a specimen

Read the listing closely and study every photograph. Look at termination, contact points and any repairs or damage noted in the description, and ask if you would like more angles before you commit.

• Handle by the matrix or the base, never by a single crystal.
• Keep light-sensitive material such as vivianite out of direct sun.
• Dust with a soft brush rather than a cloth, which can catch on fragile edges.

Expect a specimen to look different in person than it does on screen, usually better, and expect natural imperfections that are simply part of the record of how it grew. Take your time with the pieces below, and ask us anything you need to know first.