The Earth’s crust mainly consists of minerals that are more or less well-crystallized. One would therefore expect to find beautiful crystals in all countries. But this is not the case. Several exceptional conditions must be met during a crystal’s formation in order for it to exceed the microscopic size shared by the great majority of the crystals in the rocks around us. And the accidents of geology only created the necessary conditions for the formation of visible crystals in a few mines situated in a few countries. And so, visible crystals are quite rare, exceptions in nature, and this is the reason that collections have been established all over the world to preserve them.

The mim collection boasts more than 1,100 specimens from 61 different countries of the planet’s five continents.

All countries are not equal because numerous conditions must come together to create beautiful crystals. And so, seven countries weigh in for more than half of the collection’s samples, with more than a 100 pieces from each: Brazil, Mexico, the USA, Namibia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China.

And even within each country, only certain zones are favorable for the harvest of such crystals, most mines generally producing industrial-use ores that rarely exhibit the esthetic characteristics demanded by a collection.