I have been collecting since 1966 - starting at the ripe old age of six! I originally collected pyrites and Herkimer diamonds as I lived in Western New York until I was 13. Now, I collect old German and Italian specimens and rare faceted gemstones. You can see some pictures of my collection in my photo gallery. In addition to my collecting experience, I have a Graduate Gemologist degree from the GIA.
My philosophy is simple. I endeavor to offer quality specimens in all price ranges. I try to keep my prices as reasonable as possible. My descriptions, locality information, and photos are as accurate as I can make them. And I value customer service - I will try to answer all inquiries as quickly as possible, whether about my offerings or about mineral collecting and gemology in general.
All graphics and photography are done by me using
the following equipment:
Nikon D200 Digital Camera with remote (all photos taken in
RAW format)
Daylight-balanced Lighting - natural sunlight or Solux 5400 ºK bulbs
Wacom Intuos Tablet
Adobe Photoshop CS3
Samsung Syncmaster 214T Flat Panel LCD Monitor
No enhancements, alterations, or manipulation are done to any image
except cropping, file size optimization, and color balancing (to
achieve a true on-screen representation.) Although images will
differ from screen to screen depending on hardware, I make every
effort to ensure the specimens will look the same in person as on
screen.