Posts

Achtaragdite Handbag - Positive and Negative Tristetrahedron

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.

Spinel - Spinel Law Twin Display

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.

Topaz - Wooden model mounted on a hat

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.