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.

This site is under construction. I am adding to it as fast as I can, but for a while information will be limited as I struggle to get everything posted. The “Contact Us” form works, so if you’d like to send me a message and ask a question in the meantime, I’d love to hear from you! Please bear with me as I work on adding to the site, and check back frequently for new updates!

Based on a specimen from Novello Claims, Zimbabwe

This model was one of the most labor intensive I ever made, and occupied the entire winter of 2026. Although it turned out well, it was an extremely difficult and complicted model to make. Every set of pieces was a challenge - reverse bevels, extremely narrow pieces, angles over 45 degrees, and complex assemblies of pieces that had to be cut and assembled in multiple stages. Not to mention the surprising complexities introduced by including the dotted line! Most of my models include a challenge or two, and I’m happy to have them since they drive me to improve my technique. But every aspect of this model seemed to present a new issue.

Based on a specimen from Yekaterinburg, Russia

This model is based on a very unusual but completely natural 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., Colombia.

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?

Based on a specimen from Shigar Valley, Pakistan.

I’ve been going to mineral shows with my achtaragdite crystal model handbag for a while now, and it’s been a reliable conversation starter every time. (If you haven’t read about my crystal model handbag yet, you can do so here.) People really seem to love the idea of wearable crystal model art, and after a little while I thought maybe the world needed another example - perhaps a hat this time! I went through my collection looking for a crystal with the correct proportions and the right level of complexity, eventually settling on a perfectly transparent little topaz from Pakistan.