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Crystal Models

In the list below you will find photos and information describing wood crystal models I have made. Please enjoy scrolling though and reading about what I’ve done so far, and check back often to see what’s new! To learn about the models themselves and how they’re made, please see About The Models. If you’re interested in purchasing one, or if you have questions or suggestions for future models, please contact me here.

Based on a specimen from Yekaterinburg, Russia

This model is based on an unusual specimen, and there is a story behind it as well.

Most of the time, I model specimens that are in my personal collection. I’m not strict about this rule, but having a guideline in place prevents me from being distracted by all the gorgeous crystal drawings out there, and keeps me from spending all my time modeling beautiful rarities that I’m not likely to see in person. But just this once, I allowed myself to be persuaded by the incredible form of John White’s “Odd Garnet” described in the March/April 2025 issue of Rocks and Minerals magazine.

Based on a specimen from Uri, Switzerland

The Dauphine twin law is a parallel axis twin combining either two left or two right handed quartz crystals. Quartz is commonly twinned according to the Dauphine twin law, but specimens exhibiting ideal form are less common than might be expected. Faces that would reveal twinning are not always expressed, and twin boundaries are often irregular and hard to see. That means in a crystal whose faces don’t reveal its handedness, twinned regions with seamless boundaries can pass unnoticed. (Models of quartz crystals whose handedness can be determined are shown here)

Based on a specimen from Canton of Graubunden, Switzerland

The Brazil twin law is a parallel axis twin found in quartz, combining a right and a left handed individual. Ideal drawings of a fully developed, symmetrically twinned crystal are often found in textbooks, and make for some really lovely diagrams (see below for one of them). Unfortunately, actual crystals with these faces are extremely rare, but it’s possible that I have one in my collection. More about that below, but first here’s a wood model representing the ideal form, depicted in fig. 455 from Dana’s A Textbook of Mineralogy, 4th ed., edited by W. E. Ford.

Based on a specimen from Gachala, Cundinamarca Dept., Columbia.

One of the most recognizable crystal drawings in any mineralogy textbook is the diagram of the pyrite iron cross twin. It’s a penetration twin of two pyritohedra, and their interaction creates the distinctive cross-shaped pattern where the edges of the two pyritohedra intersect at 90 degrees. Below is a drawing from a crystallography textbook, with the model I made next to it.

Based on a specimen from Akhtaragda River, Russia

I had a good idea a few years ago as we were getting ready to go to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. I had just started making crystal models, and was looking for an easy way to let other collectors know what I was doing. Wouldn’t it be nice, I thought, to make a crystal model handbag and take it to the Tucson show as a conversation starter? The shape of the model I was currently planning seemed perfect for a handbag, and I could just imagine how great it would turn out! The problem was that I didn’t have much experience making models yet. I was still in the slow and careful stage, and I knew I didn’t have enough time left before our departure to finish a handbag.

Based on a specimen from Thomas Range, UT

This model was inspired by a beautifully symmetric but tiny crystal of bixbyite. There are little concavities along the edges of the main crystal, as well as the expected trapezohedral corner modifications. A little investigating convinced me that the faces that made up the concave regions were also trapezohedron faces, but what were they doing in the centers of cube edges, and why were they so nicely symmetrical? And what, if anything, did they have to do with the striations that crossed in the center of every cube face?

Large complex tsavorite garnet model based on a specimen from Merelani Hills, Tanzania

I bought the crystal fragment this model is based on at the Tucson show in 2022. It’s about the size of my thumbnail, and around half complete. While it’s a pretty shade of green, it’s not gemmy, and certainly not undamaged. According to objective standards, it’s not a great specimen, and not the type of crystal most collectors are looking for, but I dug through about 6 flats of “better” specimens to find it. What attracted me to this specimen was its complex and interesting crystal habit. But, as you can see in the photo, it’s difficult to see all the faces clearly and tell how they are arranged, so I made an idealized CAD model to better represent what the crystal would have looked like if it had developed symmetrically.

Based on a specimen from Luc Yen Mine, Yen Bai Province, Vietnam.

I love the idea of displaying a mineral inside a box or case that’s a matching crystal model. It seems like a perfect way to show off a specimen with particularly good form, and present an impressive or surprising specimen in a unique way. This twinned spinel specimen isn’t perfectly smooth or gemmy like some smaller crystals in my collection, but its large size made it the perfect candidate for a custom display.