Hey Everyone, it’s that time of the year again… I just got back from the famous show in France and I want to share my experience for those who missed out. It’s held in a beautiful tiny town called Sainte Marie Aux Mines and the show takes place in the same place each year at the same time and has for the last 50+ years. This year I decided to fly into Frankfurt Germany on Sunday afternoon and take the train to the nearest main town Colmar. However sadly there was an issue with the train service ( very unlike Europe ) and I had to go to another small town near Colmar and get picked up by my friend, or wait another hour to go a few miles. After getting picked up by my friend Willem a belgium collector and his girlfriend we went and got situated at our Airbnb. We stay in a cute town called Berghem and our place this year was neighbors to the place we stayed last year with a beautiful vineyard view. After a fair coin toss to decide who gets what room, I quickly got settled in the master after wining the coin toss. And then it was time to adjust to the time and try getting some sleep. Which if you have any experience flying internationally, jet lag is a real thing. I had some difficulty falling asleep that night as it was 9 hours ahead of my time zone back home. It also didn’t really help how late the sun stayed out… setting around 9:30 and getting dark at 10pm.
I thought Sunday would be an ideal day to fly in and get situated as the show didn’t officially start for dealers until Wednesday and to the public Thursday, but after going to the show on Monday and talking to some dealers I quickly learned that the early bird gets the worm and this year I was a late bird. Each year it gets earlier and earlier, so next year I think I may fly in Friday, kick the jet lag Friday and Saturday, and limp my way to the show Saturday afternoon and hopefully be ready to go by Sunday morning. This will give me a 1 day lead on this years trip which may secure me more material.
One thing that threw a wrench into some plans was the cell service being completely down for all American travelers. This made communicating very difficult away from the Airbnb ( on wifi ) and luckily I was always with someone who had service because their phone was on a different server, or at the very least knew how to get where I needed to be. I know that there were some dealers who weren’t as lucky as I was and had to join wifi at many different places in order to navigate their way back to their Airbnb’s and communicate with people at the show and back home.
Getting into the show this year was harder and more strict than any year in the past as they cut back on the amount of badges they were offering dealers, so to guarantee me a badge I decided to utilize the fact I write these trip reports and was issued a media badge. While the show was giving out less dealer badges, somehow there was a lot of dealers / collectors in the show on Monday. Definitely the most amount of dealers I’ve seen on a Monday at the show, and this is I believe my 4th year going. The amount of dealers / collectors hunting the show reduces the amount of things you can secure as everyone wants a deal… especially in this market. If you are going to come to the show in the future, which I highly recommend, get to the show as early as you can.. both the date and the time. You want to arrive at the show before 9am every morning otherwise parking will be near impossible.
The mineral market is really interesting right now with a lot of dealers…. I would even say the most amount of dealers there has ever been. And with that comes competition. Everyone is looking for that one deal that makes it worth while flying all the way to Europe… while Europe is beautiful, it still has to make sense financially to go to the show. And it seems year after year the prices of material continues to rise ( people having access to the internet to see what other people are asking for things hasn’t helped with this ), quality in quantity numbers has dramatically reduced (as if it’s a nice piece at a good price it’s usually gone within hours), and the demand from everyone for new and exciting finds seems like it’s an all time high. However new finds are brining the retail of the old finds, and the premiums of it being a new find. The exchange rate wasn’t as even as it was last year which made negotiating in US dollars a little difficult, but I only found 1 dealer who was adamant about taking only euros. All the dealers I did business with were fine with US Dollars, some added a percentage, otherwise were happy at an even exchange rate which allowed me to save a few extra dollars. I try and avoid going to the ATM as much as I can in Europe, 1 reason for the horrible exchange rate you get, 2, the fees being crazy high, and 3… well the horror story of what happened last year when they charged my card $800usd and never gave me my Euros. And then the bank canceling my card thinking it was fraud…
With the market being how it is, I honestly didn’t find much to buy at this show, and there wasn’t 1 piece that I got for my collection. This is very sad as I’m always trying to add something special for each and every trip I go on to remind me of the trip. While buying wasn’t ideal, the weather was actually much nicer than years prior. It was a little warm but nothing that couldn’t be handled… although on Wednesday it did rain which made it difficult to pack up the things I had bought and also humid. This year unlike others I was lucky and before going to the show I had pre arranged how I was getting all the material I bought at the show home, which took a lot of stress out of buying. Last year I brought all the material I had bought to Namibia which I don’t recommend doing…
This year we didn’t venture too far off the beaten path to get food after the show, 3/4 nights we stayed in Berghem which calling it a tiny town is an understatement. And just like any tiny town, the food options are very limited. The first night I got to try Beef Tar Tar, while I don’t think I had a good version of it, it was underwhelming and people should stick with tuna tar tar in my opinion which is much better. The next night we ventured off to colmar and were met with a large amount of options for food. Tuesday was the opposite… we went to 3 restaurants and they were all booked and not taking new reservations… after striking out everywhere we found this restaurant that was closed and they were having a little family party, after a few mins of explaining to them everywhere else is not taking new people they decided to open up their restaurant for us. There was no menu… just this very thin crust French style pizza, what Americans call flat bread. The 4 of us would eat the pizza and then they would come back and bring another one, and another one, and another… who knows how many pizzas we ate that night, my guess would be 10. They didn’t want to charge us which was crazy… so we left a very generous tip and called it a night walking back to our place with the sun setting.
My last day at the show was Wednesday and I really wish I had booked it to stay longer as I felt I hadn’t had enough time to get everything I had wanted to done. I spent most of the day showing a friend / client around the show with his 2 friends, and then packing up my material which didn’t leave much time for shopping. Monday I was just too jet lagged to get as much as I wanted done, Tuesday I did as much shopping as I could, concluding the last minute purchases on Wednesday. I only left with 14 flats of material. While 14 flats may seem like a lot of material it’s really not much material for flying all the way to Europe.
Thursday I packed up the Airbnb and Elke and I hit the rode back to Frankfurt. We went out for a nice little lunch on the way and then I got dropped off at the airport which I then spent 5 hours at the lounge. A really nice and comfortable lounge in Frankfurt was much needed before my red eye flight to Namibia. My flight left at 9pm and arrived at 6am.
Namibia Trip Report 2024
I arrived into Namibia on Friday morning after taking a red eye flight from Frankfurt Thursday night. A 10 hour flight is easy to do when you’re leaving late at night and arriving in the morning. Luckily I got a few hours of shut eye and that allowed me to be somewhat rested up for the day. It was nice this trip because I didn’t have any rocks with me, which made the customs clearance a lot less stressful.
I was met with a deal for material in the Capital of Namibia which is Windhoek. The seller had some Okorusu Fluorite and it was a good representation of how the market was going to be this year… the price was extremely high and the seller and I couldn’t come to a deal. The quality was low, and the price was higher than what I could buy it for already in the USA cleaned, prepped, and already in the USA. Which is rather costly these days with just the cost of shipping on my last shipment at $8/kilo.
Like always I decided to make big brother guesthouse my headquarters. This place is located in Usakos and it’s a beautiful little place with lots of helping hands.. this year sadly the room I usually stay in didn’t have running hot water which meant staying in a new room. I was the only guest this whole trip which meant the service was even better than the normal service I receive. The room I stayed in was very close to the place where I meet the sellers that come to see me. On a given day I will meet with 20-60 sellers who have a wide range of material to offer me. The first couple days were slow, much slower than usual and that’s when I found out that there were other buyers actively staying in the town I was in. The demand for material around the world is up quite a bit, and the supply is also down with a lot of the miners taking a guaranteed paycheck by mining for the large scale mines for things like lithium.
This year definitely had the least amount of material I had seen on the market and quickly the tripped turned to a focus of Demantoid Garnet, Orange Garnet, and Fluorite from Erongo. It was funny because along with having more buyers in town, there was more sellers as well. The sellers are people who are buying from the small scale miners and reselling to the buyers who are visiting. Sometimes this can lead to relationships being built and business continuing over time, even when the person is back in the states or Europe. I bought rocks from the old mayor of the town I stayed in, and even a police offer. These are people who have extra income and wanted to invest in a local market. I found their prices to be the highest around as they didn’t have much experience in the business, but after a lesson or two I was able to get the price down.
It’s starting to be a tradition to celebrate Karl’s birthday with him, as last year i helped throw a surprise bday party for him, this year we had a family gathering and they got a goat. I was thinking the ribs would be the safest bet… well after a few hours of cooking, and the food getting ready around 10pm I quickly found the stew which looked the least appetizing at the beginning of cooking was the yummiest…
Karl and I even decided to go golfing this trip which was a nice break from getting swarmed with rocks each and every day. We even got a caddy and that was the first for me… I could really get used to golfing in Namibia… springbok running around the course, fresh gin n tonics from the caddy who grabbed them from the bar, and some really good golf help… quite a few pars, couple birdies, and almost a couple eagles… almost is the key word. A great time was had and now it is time to go back to usakos and face the massive pile of rocks to wrap for shipping and maybe find some more treasures.
Once I had packed a lot of my material which took 2 days and 13 barrels that’s when my trip took a turn for the worst… how you might ask? Well I was playing some pool and drinking some beer, and that’s when I was alerted by the workers at big brother that someone may have stole some stones from me at 9pm… we rush back to my room and saw that there weren’t any rocks stolen, that we could tell… but definitely my bag… which included my passport, phone, computer, and cash along with some gems being stolen. They came through the window… and cut a hole into the fence. So what happens when stuff gets stolen out of your room in Namibia? Well you go on a Namibian police chase… luckily I had another phone with me… yes I always travel with 2 phones. I called Karl and he was on the phone with the detective within a few mins… sadly no one had a vechile at big brother. After a few mins we finally got ahold of the owner of big brother and he allowed us to take a truck which apparently had a little bit of gas. We all piled into this truck and we went after them…. I was yelling right right right, and the guy made a left and said we needed gas… I was in disbelief. We pull up to the pump and the manager of big brother says put in $400 which is equivalent to like $20, which clearly will take some time, so I am yelling at the guy put in $60, it will be faster. After a quick match at the pump and quickly putting $60 the equivalent to maybe a gallon of gas, we then continued on the chase and that’s where I was met with the police truck and I then moved vehicles.
After moving vehicles the police chase started. I was using my other phone to track where the phone was, that’s when the police said it was best we continued on foot to not scare them away. That’s when we parked the truck in the direction of where the phone was going.. we then continued to walk maybe 2 miles under the moonlight with the police carrying ak47s. It was quite a sight to see. We then walk up this large hill and were met with some street lights and once the dogs saw us… well that blew our cover. We then spent a few mins assembling a new plan… which involved walking back to the police truck… and back to big brother. And it was at that moment I realized I had at some point misplaced my wallet as well ….all the panic that was happening certainly didn’t help… it wasn’t until I got to the truck that I found it on the ground inside the truck…. Whew what a relief. How shitty would it be to have lost my wallet too…
We end up getting back to big brother and that’s when I start tracking the devices again… this time the phone is showing up in Karibib which is about a 20 min drive… however the bag which is where my passport, cash, and some gems I bought that day were, was showing up at a different location. How ? Well… I have an AirTag in my bags that way if something like this happens I can find the bag. So at now 1am we are back on the hunt looking for the bag. The bag is showing at this person house… and it hasn’t moved… it’s updating while we are there saying I am with the bag. So we found the suspects right?? Well the police make some calls, and they make some calls, and at 1am the homeowner comes out and asks what’s going on. That’s when after a few mins of explaining we enter the property and I start to try and find the bag with the AirTag on my find my iPhone. After a few mins of having no luck I decided to take the L, and go back to big brother to get some sleep. Which if you can imagine is harder said than done. That morning I wake up and I try and play around with the other AirTags in my bag to see how they work. After becoming an AirTag expert Karl and I head back to the house and start the search again as the bag updated again being at their house. We go back and I get a hit on the app, however it’s showing 60 ft away and the direction, so I start walking closer and the number is going down and it’s pointing straight… that’s when I could see the bag was thrown in someone’s yard. We found the bag… but is the passport in there? Why wouldn’t it be? We call the police and tell them we found the bag before we enter the persons yard, and sure enough my passport and the AirTag was the only damn thing in the bag. Bye bye to the cash… and some gems…
Now that we have the passport in hand, I can call the embassy and cancel my passport appointment. Which for those of you who were wondering it sounded like a really easy process… a few hours of your time… $160 bucks, and you can get a passport in 4 hours same day. And the $160 you spend on the temporary passport can be used as a 10yr renewal passport once back in the states..
The phone…. Well that’s the only thing I could track and it showed up in Otjiwarongo the next morning… which is the nearest town to the mine Okorusu. That’s when we knew the phone had to been stolen by a group who came from Okorusu… a really shitty situation and very off putting. That’s when I didn’t buy any more rocks for the trip. So we decided to go to Swakopmund and try and have some down time. I went to my favorite restaurant and tried to relax, something about the beach helps with calming down, but nothing like having your phone stolen to create stress and a lot of it.
Now it’s time to leave Namibia… with less than I came with, but with as many rocks as I can put in my 2 checked bags. I’m allowed 2 checked bags with 23 kilos in each bag, and that’s exactly what I planned on doing. I filled both suitcases up and headed for Windhoek to get my permit.. which accordingly to Karl it wasn’t ready as of 3pm on Friday. It didn’t look good.. but someone was on my side and the permit was signed by the time we got to the ministry and I was on my way to the airport. No issues this time … and no drinks were bought for any officials… maybe a couple for myself… I was flying into Frankfurt this time, not South Africa so it was much easier at the airport… I almost didn’t make it out of South Africa last trip… and after 2 very quick 10 hour flights, ha ha.. quick… I was back in the USA. One last layover before getting home and again no issues… I wasn’t randomly selected this time. Wow my luck may have come back.
I arrive home with my 4 bags, and from Big Brother on Friday afternoon to my house… It was 37 hours. Tired is an understatement… but home sweet home… my shipment is on the way to me and with luck it should be here without any hiccups. So while this trip definitely wasn’t the best, at least I have my health, you live and you learn.
Munich Show & Namibia Round Two 2023
I’ve wanted to post my trip report for both Namibia and Munich for a while now, however I was waiting for my material to come in. Since Munich started first, we will start with that. Munich, the largest Gem and Mineral show in Europe was another great show. Just like last year it starts earlier and earlier every year. I landed on Sunday night and did what ever traveler should do when arriving in Germany, I went to the local pub, had a schnitzel and a liter of Weis Beer. After finishing my yearly ritual it was then the difficult task of sleeping with excitement of the show, and jet lag. You would think by now I would have that part down, but this trip it took its toll. First real day in Munich I went on a little adventure with Alan and Elise Benson of Alan’s Quality Minerals. The Bensons rented a car and we went to Mount Zugspitze, which while there, I learned is the tallest mountain in Germany (3,000 meters). I highly recommend visiting as it was only about an hour and half trip! After a very casual walk around the lake, Alan scared me by saying it was a hike, we then took the cable car to the very top… very cool view, highly recommended unless you are scared of heights… well then I don’t recommend.
Tuesday then consisted of getting ready for the show that opened for dealers at 3:00. After getting into the show, there wasn’t too much to see as there really were only dealers who had paid extra for an early opening pass so they got in Monday morning. A few things were scored on Tuesday, my best score being some Okorusu Fluorite. One dealer was un packing his material and putting it into the case and as he let go I would then grab the piece, examine, and put it in my pile. After about 30 mins of looking over my shoulder the unpacking was done and a swarm of people went to go look at the leftovers, but of course not before they all looked at my 2 flats with my business card, sighed and asked if I’m getting all these, and then walking away discouraged. This is one of the best feelings in the world, being first to see everything, but also on the other end it can be one of the worst feelings. Wednesday I found myself back at the show all day shopping, finding a decent amount of wholesale deals, but nothing extraordinary which was somewhat a disappointment. I slowly had a small pile with everyone… Wednesday was a fun night, after going out to dinner we then went to the local hotel bar. After having a few gin n tonics and finding fascination in the glass straws at the bar, our waiter kindly wrapped some glass straws up in a napkin and secretly handed them us.
Thursday was a stressful day of trying to find a trolly to push around to collect all my paid items… of course they were out of pay to rent push carts, so I had to go to some friends that are dealers. Finally found a dealer and I went around the show collecting everting I had bought. As I pushed the cart around I realized I was a little more crazy than I originally thought… rock crazy that is. On this journey of collecting all my rocks I did happen to lose 2 small gem boxes with some loose diamond crystals. Hopefully a kid found those… that’s really the only way I can get over a loss like that. Luckily they weren’t too expensive, but still sucks! Luckily Elise helped me pack up all this material… and then I dropped it off with a friend. Will keep the friend private so he doesn’t have a million people trying to do this next year. I then went to my room and packed up the loot I was going to bring with me to Namibia and then back home. Thursday was a fun night with the YMC Young Mineral Collectors group. After the the dinner we then went back to the glass straw bar, and of course were given some more glass straws. Friday was bitter sweet as I finished shopping and I got Karl, my Namibian friend settled in Munich. He was taking over my Airbnb booking and I was flying to Namibia. I was surprised to see that he brought a pretty large selection of stuff to the show, and was only there for 1 day. I picked through the material and he then went off to the show and sold everything.. quite crazy the market right now. Later in the day I headed to the airport for my long 16 hour journey from Munich to Namibia due to having a layover in Frankfurt and also in Ethiopia. I do have to say that those Airport lounges are worth every penny for long flights like this.
After landing in Namibia I quickly realized that Lufthansa always has to make my trip fun… so they lost my bag again. This time the bag with all my checked gems and minerals from the show that I decided to carry back. Luckily I have learned from the past experiences and I got an AirTag for my luggage… thanks Paul Cory for that suggestion 😂. This was my first trip landing in Namibia without Karl there to arrange everything for me, since he was still in Europe on vacation for a couple more days. I had Karl’s son, Fapi and some family pick me up at the airport. Karl’s cousin was the driver… for the police stops, and Fapi was the driver for non police stops 😅 nothing like being about 1/4 mile away from a police stop and switching drivers to get the adrenaline running. In the USA I feel like this would only get a more extensive search but in Namibia it’s just another day. After getting about 1/4 mile away from the road stop we switch drivers and continue our journey to Usakos about 3 hours from WDH. It didn’t take long for people to find out I was in town… had people visiting me that day.. nothing crazy was coming out Erongo that week, but word got out quickly I was looking for Okorusu, and numerous guys would meet with me sometimes as much as 2 times a day.. now it’s day 2 and still no missing baggage but it shows it has arrived in Namibia around 3pm. I thought to myself there was no way I would get the bag today, but at 9pm that night the workers at big brother said I had some customers… as I tell them guys you gotta stop coming so late, just come in the morning, I see that they aren’t selling rocks, but they do have rocks… my rocks! I pick up the bag, and realize instantly my rocks are still in there… First thing I do when I get back to the room is throw the bag on the bed and see if there is any damage and luckily everything looked good.
This trip I decided to keep it simple and just set up at 1 place, and not venture out too much. It worked out well getting offered a large selection of Oko and Demantoid Garnet. There was a large amount of fakes on the market this trip, I saw numerous Jeremejevite that were Aquamarine cut and polished on matrix, and many other fake Fluorite. One can wish… I spent one day in Swakopmund, my favorite place in Namibia to escape from the ridiculous mosquitoes in usakos. Please watch the video to see these large swarms of mosquitos… when moving into my normal room, there was over 100 mosquitos in the room until Kyle and Fapi the exterminators got in there… we sprayed raid for killing cockroaches in the air close the door, came back to a dirty floor because of how many had fell. This trip it was hot there, I really got to remember this so I can plan better next time. Phoenix had finally got nice before I left, Munich was cold, and Namibia was hot. I sure did have a wide variety of clothes in my 2 bags. After getting tired of eating the same things over and over I decided to have the lady’s at big brother cook for me a few times this trip. It’s not a trip to Namibia if you don’t eat some Donkey with pop also known as porridge. I didn’t realize how long it took to cook this meat.. so even though they started cooking around 5:30 my food wasn’t ready till close to 8.. after getting enough food to make me a happy man I gave the rest to the chefs and big brother staff. By the time Karl was back from Europe I had compiled quite the stash of rocks… so we needed to start packing the barrels. The only goal for this trip was to have less barrels than last time… which was 18 barrels. After two days of tedious packing with a few assistants we had packed this shipment and realized I did a good job with my goal, but I still had a LOT of rocks, this shipment was just shy of 600 kilos.
To celebrate having all this hard work done I had my favorite meal prepared for me, fat cake. Went to the store and bought all the ingredients, I just wish I had watched her make them from the start to beginning so I could make them for my family. Only way to describe them is they taste like a sweet bread with a meat gravy curry stuffing. Next time I will be coming back with rocks and that recipe for sure… now time for my favorite part… exportation…. Kidding, not fun at all. The hoops you jump through change every trip.. this trip there was quite a few hoops. A lot of the hoops don’t make sense, but such is life. I then was dropped off at the airport, and on my journey home. When getting to the airport I went through Namibia security with my rocks and they were pretty tedious. I showed him my permit and he let me on my way, but not before saying he would come on the other side and come get a cold drink. I smirked and thought to myself there is no way this guy is going to come get a drink with me. Well after having a gin n tonic I sure did have a friendly visit. We chatted a few, he got something to eat, and he went on his way. I was thinking to myself wow, I’m glad that’s over. I board my flight to Johannesburg… trying to transfer there I didn’t think I was going to make my next flight with how much trouble they were giving me. The permit they didn’t care about and were even calling Namibia to verify. Mind you at this point in time it’s around 9pm, so I’m not sure who was answering. 😅 after they let me go, of course the agent couldn’t go without asking me if I have a cold drink for him, I chuckled and said dude, we just went through all my stuff, I don’t have anything for you. I did offer some Namibian candy I was bringing back for friends and family, but he said no shockingly. Now it’s time for a 5 min lounge detour for some more gin n tonics before my 16 hour flight… filled up my hydro flask, and then went to the secondary security for my USA flight. Can’t have anything liquids so may have had to chug my hydro flask, sorry mom. After landing in NJ, I reclaimed my bags thinking I made it yay… well, I made eye contact with the tsa officer before rechecking my bags, and of course had to answer a million questions and tell him my life story; and about 30 mins later I was through my 3rd security check.
How rock crazy am I, you ask? Well crazy enough to fly straight to a gem show in LA straight from Namibia. I spent the night in Costa Mesa and had a great night with all the gem show family, and then drove 6 hours back home. If you don’t let yourself rest, you complete beat Jet lag. I hope you guys enjoyed this write up, and the photos. Now that my 600 kilos has landed and cleared customs I can post this story. One last little story… for some reason I just can’t break up with my favorite airline ( Lufthansa) kidding of course so I gave them the privilege of moving my 1300lbs of rocks from Namibia to Phoenix for me. After paying close to $5,000 for export, Lufthansa was kind enough to mark my shipment as Departed Lax, Arrived in Phx, an ready for pick up in Phx… before it arrived in Phx. So there goes a day of renting a U-Haul and driving to pick up a ghost shipment, hopefully they will do something about this as I have filled a claim with them, I think it’s the least they can do. Till next time, all the best.
My adventures in Namibia 2023
After my trip to Sainte Marie Aux Mines I arrived in Namibia to a beautiful sunrise. Shortly after landing we went to the Windhoek mall and got some necessities for my trip. I checked out one of my favorite grocery stores, its called “Food Lovers Market”. I can’t think of a better name for a store. My hair was a little long so I took matters into my own hands and picked up some hair clippers and had my friend Karl give me a haircut. I was a little skeptical getting a haircut at the barber shop in Namibia, which was one reason I decided to do it myself, but it didn’t come out to bad. Shortly after it was time to hunt some gems, we started by going to see my other friend Lui. He’s a Chinese man who lives in Usakos, Namibia, which is rather strange, however there are some Chinese that live in Namibia. A lot of the Chinese here have what they call a “China Shop”. Its similar to a knock off brand store, that sells almost everything. If you ever need anything in Namibia you should check a China shop. Lui doesn’t own a China Shop, but he does still export containers to China. Currently Lui is mining a lot of large clear Quartz with Schorl Tourmaline inclusions. Of course that isn’t what I was hoping to find, but he did gift me a nice piece to display in my house. His minerals were slim pickings this trip, however he did have some nice Demantoid Garnet. Demantoid quickly came the focus this trip as the material cuts very nicely.
As I got settled in Usakos (the place I always set up as headquarters in Namibia), I had people left and right coming to visit me at the Big Brother Guest House. The first few days of my trip always shows me what’s being produced currently. Once people found out that I was back in town I had lots of familiar faces visiting to see me. Everyone and their mother were bringing me stones (literally), and let me tell you it was such a wide range of qualities and types. Everything from Erongo Material to Goboboseb Material.
One thing I did have my eyes out for this trip was old school Okorusu Fluorite. A lot of the really good material that came out in the 80s is very hot on the market, and I was hoping I may be able to find a few pieces. I knew it was unlikely as I would have to find an old school collector, which there aren’t too many of in Namibia. However I did find a couple pieces I would consider scraps, and with my surprise I did have some people offering me newer production Oko. The material was on the darker side, rather damaged, and some still coated with secondary growth of what looked to be Quartz. I decided to pass as the quality wasn’t close to the value of the pieces, especially with the work that was in store for them. The same sellers with the newer Oko took me to one of their storage rooms…. I had high hopes until I saw the room and it looked like a tornado went through the place…
The miners were hitting Fluorite from the Erongo Mountains and the material was rather aesthetic with the Fluorite crystals on Schorl needles that looked like Lolipops. Hence why they are referring to the pocket as the “Lollipop Pocket”. Lots of this material had damage, but when you found a good piece… it was GOOD! I am excited to see how these clean up and display. I will hopefully have some of these and lots of other good material available soon.
Karls daughter messaged me before I came to Namibia to help put together a birthday party for Karl. Since Karl has always been a great contact in Namibia I thought it would be a fun way to spend an evening. What I didn’t expect was how many people would show up, and how hard it is to get someone to show up to their own birthday party, and the lies you have to tell to get them there. We were holding Karls party at the youth center, and I had to tell Karl that there was a miner who wanted to meet there to show us rocks. When we pulled up and I saw the person who was playing the “miner” I thought it was going to be a difficult task to get Karl inside. Right when he saw who wanted to show me stuff, he was disappointed that we came here to see the material and Karl was saying that he should have just brought them to where I was staying. Seeing Karls reaction was priceless when there was 60 + people in that room. For a surprise bday party on a Wednesday it was rather impressive. Karl knows lots and lots of people and it felt special to do this for him. They even got me a translator so I knew what people were saying when they were doing speeches. It was even funnier when I realized that Karl and I were seated together at a table for 2, when I thought his wife should be there.
After spending close to a week in Usakos and having Karls birthday party we made a trip to Goboboseb / Brandberg. This area is known for producing some remarkable amethyst, and in my opinion some of the best Amethyst from around the world. Sadly I was very disappointed with this trip for many reasons. With the huge demand for Lithium lots of miners have switched from being an artisanal miner to a lithium miner for a large corporation. While this job takes away the uncertainty of a paycheck month to month, the pay is lower on average. This made extremely difficult to find any new production Brandberg… and that doesn’t even included the crazy demand in Goboboseb now that the pandemic is over. Supposedly there are a few people who are cornering the market for anything and literally everything. When arriving to Goboboseb we were quickly met with LOTS of flies. I have never experienced something like that, and it just made the trip un enjoyable. It would be a little bit of a different story if the minerals were better, but after going hut to hut… the pickings were slim, and it was practically all Smoky Quartz, nothing exciting. We were there for the afternoon and quickly left. I’m not sure what caused all the flies, it might be time of year, or it might be all the miners there with lots and lots of kids. When I first visited Goboboseb in 2019 there was maybe a handful of kids, this time there was 10x that this trip.
After leaving Goboboseb we stayed in my favorite place in Namibia. A beach town Swakopmund. I was able to get a beach view room, for just $60, That room in a popular city like San Diego could be in the $400+/ night range. Each and every time I go to Namibia I find myself wanting to spend more time in Swako. You can easily find good food.. and its just a nice relaxing place to spend time. I usually go there to escape the heat, but it was winter this time of year, and overall the weather was perfect.
Driving off road to go to places like Goboboseb often causes damage to your vehicle.. I don’t know if I have the worst luck when in Namibia, but its really not a trip to Namibia if you don’t have car problems at least once during the trip. Our center bearing prop shaft was giving us some issues and making a knocking sound. Next few hours was spent on the side of the road waiting for back up so we could do a good ole bush fix. After a couple hours waiting, and underneath the car we were able to get it fixed…. Since we had to go back to Swako later that week we set aside some time to have it looked at by some professionals. After spending a couple hours napping in the car while they worked on the car, the mechanic said it was done. He took it for a test drive and parked the car. As we got settled up for that fix… the car just started dripping coolant. At this point in time it was close to 6:30 on a Saturday and I could think was.. we are screwed. Well luckily they work differently in Namibia than they do in the USA. The mechanic pops the hood and realizes its the coolant hose. He does a quick fix and within 30 mins this hose was fixed. Nothing some hose clamps, old parts, and elbow grease can’t fix. Now all that’s left to do is hook the trailer up to the car. What could go wrong?
As we go to hook up the trailer…the mechanic realizes the tow hitch on the car is loose… and well it won’t work. At this point I am laughing as I know whatever will go wrong, can and will go wrong. We come up with a game plan… and we were off to get dinner at my favorite place in all of Namibia… called the Tug. At dinner we talked about how long it would take to fix, and I was told repeatedly by Karl that it would be fixed by 10am the next morning. Whatever time someone tells you in Namibia, add at least 1 hour and then maybe 30 mins depending on who tells you… but by 12 it still wasn’t ready. Apparently it included taking the hitch off a similar vehicle, and swapping them.. Around 1pm we left Swako with the trailer and all…. And we were on the way to Usakos to pick up all my rocks… all 820kgs… We hadn’t even been on the road for 20 mins before Karl is saying “shit.. shit.. shit… “ which that’s when I knew I had some bad news coming my way. Karl never curses…. Well in the distance I see a police road block. I am thinking what could be wrong… we are law abiding citizens lol. Well that’s when Karl told me the lights weren’t hooked up to the trailer. We pull up to this police road block and there must have been 3 cops that are just walking around the vehicle.. and of course one of them sees the trailer lights aren’t hooked up. He comes back and says the lights aren’t working. Karl quickly says something in Damaran… the cop looks at Karl and then waves him to continue. I am shocked as we drive away and he can’t stop laughing. I ask what did he say to get us out of that mess. After he finishes laughing he says “I said in my tribes language. I am in your hands”. I couldn’t stop laughing. I was like what does that even mean. He said it was the cops decision on what was going to happen to us.. and since he was part of Karls tribe he let us go. We joked as we drove off saying only 2 more police stops.. Well joke was on us.. there was another police block not even 10 minutes from there. This time the cops wanted us to do a breathalyzer. No problem… right? Well it was too windy so we got pulled to the side and our vehicle was inspected again. This time for the front headlights.
Thankfully we made it through that police stop and he didn’t check the trailer lights.. he did notice as we drove off.. but by then it was too late. Ok now only 2 more police stops… We finally made it to where we were going and loaded up all 18 bins. That took A LOT of work wrapping. We had 4 people working non stop for 3 days. And now that I have got all the bins in… I can finally post about it. We decided to go by air this time as last time took over 5 months via boat.
Overall it was a really great trip.. I didn’t come close to dying like last trip, and I made some memories that will last a life time. I also think I may have enough rocks to last me a life time, but somehow I always end up back in Namibia searching for more. I will start flatting and cleaning that 820kgs (1800lbs) soon so I can lighten my load a little. I hope you guys enjoyed this little write up, and I look forward to the next one which may be Denver 2023 or Munich 2023. I guess only time will tell.
Sainte Marie Aux Mines Gem Show 2023
Every year I attend the Sainte Marie Aux Mine show in France, each year its a little different. This year I was scheduled to get into town on Monday, even though the show officially opened Wednesday, which was earlier than years in the past. The show was rather busy on Tuesday with a very large percentage of dealers set up and ready for business. After asking around a little, it seems some people started set up as early as Saturday. There was quite a bit of competition this year with lots of American buyers.We all have the hopes of finding that one hidden deal, for me a Benitoite or Red Beryl that has lived in Europe for a long time, or for others a great Illinois / Elmwood Fluorite (something that’s very hot on the market currently). Some collectors come to SMAM for…. You guessed it, European specimens. This show has a great selection and variety of specimens from all around Europe along with the occasional old European collection being released. Being at the SMAM show is like a treasure hunt taking place in a really beautiful country side European town. You take out your treasure map from previous years of going to the show and you visit the same dealers from previous years to see if they have anything new and exciting. While on the hunt you may come across some new dealers on the way, and mark it down on the map to circle back for years to come.
Prices at all shows seem to continue to rise to new highs, and many dealers/buyers complaining about the lack of new material, and higher prices. Things that you used to be rather accessible on a wholesale level, have now doubled or tripled in price. This makes reselling the same items harder and harder as your customers will only see the increase in price. There are a few factors for these new high prices, one being the amount of competition and the huge decline in new material on the market. Whatever is being produced is for the most part being priced at retail after just touching a few hands, and people are having to buy in order to keep their material fresh and exciting. Another factor is the prices the dealers are having to pay to set up at these shows increasing year after year, not to mention with the businesses like Airbnb capitalizing on the demand for places to stay. I had hopes of renting the same place as last year, but the owner of the home stated that Airbnb was raising prices based of search history, dates, etc, which caused the price of the Airbnb to be more than double for this year. The exchange rate didn’t help much this year either with the US dollar down on Euro compared to last year. Occasionally you can get lucky and find a dealer to take USD for the Euro price, however only getting more difficult each and every year.
While I got both my checked bags without any problems this year, unlike SMAM and Munich last year, I do have a fun little story. I was robbed….. by the ATM. There is always so much going on in SMAM that the ATMS almost always run out of money. When I had ran out of cash I went to one of the ATMS and of course it was out of money just like me, which made me go to the next one to close the deal since most dealers only take cash. After putting in a request for 700 euros, the ATM told me to take my money, but it wasn’t dispensed…. So for proof I took a quick video of the machine spinning, and not dispensing any money, and luckily a receipt popped out shortly after saying thanks for using us…. With an “Error occurred” message at the bottom. I check my phone…. And there goes the $$… I try again, and my bank declines it cause that would put me over my limit. Well….. I was quite confused so I took a lunch break to unwind… went and got the good ole daily Kebab, and came up with a game plan for what I was going to do. I ended up going back to the bank, and brought my friend in hopes that he could translate if there was any issues, but when I confronted the bank, they said they were aware of the issue and that it was going to be refunded to me. After a couple weeks I finally got my refund, but there is another story about this card to come in my Africa Blog.
Besides the HEAT….. Oh I forgot to mention.. IT WAS HOT. I don’t know why Europe is living in the 20th century regarding AC, but they need to step up their game. With SMAM being an outside show for the most part, with some inside halls, it made for a sweaty show. Going into the Halls with so many people stuffed in them really makes it feel like a sauna, and there is no escaping it. It was almost as hot as 2019, however this time it was much more HUMID. Overall I left with a few fun items out of old collections, found some good wholesale deals, and it was really nice hanging with some friends and sharing some stories over drinks. My friend and I tried something new staying right outside of Colmar. Colmar is a great place to stay as long as you are okay with a 30-45 minute drive into town. It is much more convenient as there was a surplus of restaurants, which was a nice change compared to the last couple trips to SMAM. The only downside to Colmar is you do have to leave a little early to guarantee a parking spot, otherwise you may find yourself taking the shuttle bus into the show. I hope you guys enjoyed this quick write up, and I hope to get my 2023 trip report to Namibia up soon.
My adventures in Namibia 2022
As many of you guys know, after my trip to Munich I went to Namibia. I lucked out by breaking up my trip from Arizona to Namibia with the 6-day trip in Munich. Flying there directly from the USA is a LONG process and with the 9-hour time difference it definitely takes a few days to recover.
There were lots of funny stories for this trip, the first one I can think of was at the beginning of the trip where I was exchanging some of my money into local currency. After finding the place with the best rate, we started the process and the girls behind the counter passed through the bullet proof window some Vicks Vaseline. In the years prior they needed my fingerprint, and after a long flight I wanted to get this done with so I could finish my last leg of my adventure. So after dipping my thumb in the Vaseline and waiting patiently for me to do my finger print… the girls had pointed to their lips, and that’s when I realized I was supposed to use that for my lips and not the finger print… Odd, but it was nice. After the money exchange I proceeded to the town I was staying in which is in Usakos. This is the town I call headquarters, and when I come to Namibia, I stay with a good friend of mine who does a phenomenal job as a host. I have known my buddy Karl for close to 5 years now, and even with the pandemic we have kept very close. Karl is my man on the ground at all times in Namibia and it sure is helpful when something new or exciting comes out of the ground. We have done some great deals over the past 5 years and this year he is even going to come to Tucson with me.
On the way to Usakos we pass by the town Karibib which is the town that produces some of the best indicolite (blue Tourmaline) in the world. We were offered a few bags of misc. qualities, and every now and then you’d find a decent piece in the bag. Even though this was my 4th time in Namibia it takes a while to remember how to negotiate. It’s unlike any place I have ever been to. One of these days I will do a spreadsheet analysis on prices you pay compared to the first price the seller is asking. The negotiating price can vary as much as 5-90%. And after coming straight from the Munich show, and about 15 hours of traveling it definitely took a little while to adjust.
I ended up buying this large citrine with Tourmaline going through it for just $30. Karl and I thought it weighed a couple kilos, but it turned out weighing 7 kilos… this was the realization that we would have a lot of material for this 2 and a half week trip. Shortly after buying this piece and a few Tourmaline bags I was dropped off at the Big Brother Guest house in Usakos. A lovely little place to stay in the middle of nowhere. And it was nice to see some familiar faces. I hadn’t been in Namibia for over 2.5 years as I left right when Covid started ramping up in March of 2020.
The next few days consisted of getting settled into Usakos and going to the crystal market. The crystal market is a tourist trap/destination, however you can also find great deals here, as this is where a lot of local miners bring what they have found to sell. Along with the crystal market, I had numerous people flag Karl and I down and show us some new finds out of Erongo. One thing that they were producing a lot of on this trip were these lovely Goshenite, Fluorite, Schorl, and flower Mica. I will have lots of this great material to share once I get my shipment in. I will also have some of this material available in Tucson at Mineral City.
After a few days of hanging out in Usakos it was finally time to explore a little more and venture out to Uis, which is the nearest town to Goboboseb and Brandberg. Over the last few years the market for that material has changed a lot. There are a few people who are trying to turn it into a Monopoly so buying material has become extremely difficult, especially at fair prices.
When we arrived in Uis there wasn’t much to see, the town was quiet with material. In years’ prior I was offered numerous lots of Amethyst, however this trip I was only offered 1 lot. After realizing Uis didn’t have much to offer, I had told Karl that I wanted to go to the one and only gas station in Uis to see if there was any material over there. In years past I have gotten a few pieces from some sellers who sell to the tourists who stop to get gas, I was hopeful that this could turn the trip to Uis around. After a few minutes’ drive from one side of Uis to the other I had gotten out of the truck and looked at what a few people had hanging out underneath the shade of a tree. However, just like the other side of town, it wasn’t much, and I didn’t buy anything.
After getting back in the truck someone approached the truck and offered me 3 crappy crystals for N$150, just about $10usd. I quickly said no thanks, then he said N$100.. again saying no thanks, he then said N$10… Less than $1 USD. After that, I looked at Karl, laughed and pulled out N$10. He then took the money and said thanks…I signaled to him to give me the crystals, but he just backed away and said no. I then realized that I had just been robbed LOL. We left and Karl was driving a different way than we had planned. I asked and he said he was driving to the police station. I chuckled and said it’s okay, it’s less than $1… Well Karl was quite upset and he didn’t want this guy doing it again. So once we made it to the police station we gave a quick breakdown on what happened, and they asked what he looked like. I looked to Karl to give a good description of this guy and all he said was…. “he has a big nose”. I chuckled thinking that wouldn’t be enough… however the two police officers then quickly talked back and forth and had an idea of who it was. They asked what they wanted me to do, and Karl quickly took over the conversation saying that he wanted them to go get him. Mentioning that he doesn’t want this happening to others. So we waited at the police station for about 20 minutes until they brought someone to the police station. I was thinking there is no way that they would be able to know who it was off just the nose…. But sure enough to my amazement they did. We couldn’t stop laughing as it’s pretty bad if you can describe someone out of a whole town with a big nose and they find you. After a quick lesson the big-nosed robber quickly realized why he was there and tried to give me the crystals and the money back, but it was never about the money, or the crystals. It was about keeping Namibia a safe place for all tourists. After this encounter we proceeded to stay at Goboboseb later that night.
From Uis to Goboboseb it’s about a 1 – 1.5-hour drive if you are lucky. We arrived at the camp just in time for us to set up the tent, and do a few deals with the miners while the sun was still up. Like I had mentioned before the material wasn’t as good as years past on average, however it was still great seeing the miners again, some the same as years past. To spice up this trip and have some fun we did a few fun coin flips, and the miners won every time. I am not sure if it was how they were “flipping” the coin (holding the coin in their hand and shaking it) or if it was just their luck. It must have been their luck as they won the next coin flip too where I took over and did the flipping the good ole normal way.
The next morning, we finished a few deals, wrapped all the crystals I had bought the night before, and then traded one of the miners for my tent and mattress I had used for the night. The highlight of the Goboboseb trip was to see all the great miners after 2.5 years, and finding a cool skeletal smoky Quartz scepter to add to my collection.
After the trip in Uis & Goboboseb we proceeded to Swakopmund which was a wonderful break to the heat, and an amazing treat of good food. Swako is one of Namibia’s most popular attractions as it’s a beautiful coastal town. This is where most of the tourist’s hangout. I lucked out and found this lovely restaurant on the beach right down the street from my hotel called The Tug. After eating mainly chicken strips, porridge, random meat, and Biltong from the local grocery store in Usakos and Karibib, this quickly became a staple for whenever we were in Swako.
While Karl and I were enjoying the beautiful ocean view and having lunch in the Tug parking lot, I stuck my hand out the window feeling the fresh ocean air. All of a sudden I felt this weird thing on my hand, so I pulled my hand into the truck quickly. After looking at what had just happened I looked at the window and saw this dog just sitting there politely. Apparently my food sounded good to him too. After playing with the dog for a little I decided to call the number on its collar to make sure he returned to their owner. They quickly came to pick up her dog, and had asked me what I was doing in Namibia. To her disbelief I was there sourcing gems. She also was there sourcing gems, and asked me to look at some of the things she had bought. That’s when I realized that a large percentage of the stones this lady had bought were fake. I did a post on this as spreading knowledge on fakes in the market is very important. I felt terrible for this lady, but it seemed like fate that her dog came and licked my hand so maybe I could save her from getting ripped off again in the future. Weird things like this confirm I am at the right place at the right time.
After pressing the reset button in Swako, I decided I wanted to do a trip to the Erongo Mountains and camp up at the top of the mountain with the miners. While we were prepping for the trip, we made a few detours to the famous Crystal Market. Once we had gotten all the necessary goods (beer, chicken strips, biltong) from all the shops we had arranged for me to stay at the top of the Erongo Mountains Saturday through Wednesday. I really had no idea what was ahead of me when I started my adventure Saturday morning. It didn’t take long for me to find out. We made it to the trail where we hiked from around 8am and didn’t make it to the base of the mountain until around 10am. From there it was all uphill… no joke. This mountain gains elevation very quickly and is almost straight up in some places. We made it to the first camp where I was greeted by a large group of miners at around 12pm. I thought I had made it to where I was staying, but boy was I wrong. After catching my breath for about an hour and looking at some great fresh crystals, the miners then told me where I had to hike to, to get to where I was staying. At this point I remember asking how much farther… though it wasn’t very far, it was practically straight up. To get to the first camp there is a trail, however from that point it’s a free for all on how to get where you’re going. The miners are like mountain goats climbing up these steep boulders making it look effortless. Meanwhile all I could think about was the headline that would read in the newspaper, “Young American Mineral Collector dies falling off the Erongo Mountains.” On a serious note I finally made it to the very top about 1pm… and I was exhausted. When I looked out toward the breathtaking view, that’s when reality set in….I was not going to go down that mountain unless I was leaving for good.
After spending the night up there and having a few beers, the miners started to quickly offer me more and more things. I really didn’t know where they were coming from, word spread fast I was up there. Sunday came rather quickly and that’s when I wanted to go inside of the hole that they were working in. The miners had been working on expanding the hole and told me they were on Aquamarine. I felt like a kid in a candy shop, I pictured what it was going to look like in my head and I was so excited. Shortly after they teased me with a crystal they had just pulled out, and well… I got even more excited. So there I found myself repelling down this mine shaft that was about 35-45ft deep with just a rope. I am not one to get claustrophobic…but something about repelling yourself down a hole 35-45ft deep, and maybe 2.5-3ft wide at best with just a rope changes that rather quickly. Lets just say that the miners catfished me, and the vision of what it would look like was far from what it really was like. After a few quick videos of basically nothing, documenting one of the worst ideas I have had, I told them I had to get out of there. I barely got out of that hole… rumor has it without the help from Karl’s son, I probably would be still down there today.
The bag I was storing minerals in quickly filled, and I was ready to get down the mountain. I had enough near death experiences that weekend to call it a successful trip. I then had to recruit someone to hike all the minerals down from the top of the mountain. The person who took the job was named Kenny, and I told him to come to camp at 6am so we could hike out before the sun really got on top of us… well Kenny had other plans and decided to come to camp at 4:45am… And he brought more crystals to sell me. After buying crystals seconds after waking up (which was a first for me), he somehow convinced me to leave even earlier than 6am, so there I found myself hiking down this steep mountain with a headlight. Again not the brightest thing I had done that weekend, but the sun quickly came out and made it a little easier.
I don’t think I have ever been so happy to get back on flat ground after that hike/climb down. We made it back to the road at around 9:45am, and we ended up weighing the bag Kenny carried down after being on the top of the mountain for 3 days… 35 kilos. 77lbs carried like it was nothing. The miners there are really built differently.
The rest of the trip consisted of tying up loose ends, getting the permits ready for export, wrapping all the crystals, and sorting which crystals were coming back with me. At the end of the trip I had purchased just about 600 kilos or 1,320lbs of material. I will have a great selection of wholesale minerals from Namibia in Tucson, just in time for me to go back to Namibia sometime soon. Whenever I do go back, I need to keep in mind how much travel time is involved with getting back to the USA from Namibia. From my hotel on the day of departure to the second I walked into my house it was close to 40hrs of travel. Consisting of over 25hrs in flights. I highly recommend breaking this trip up into at least 2 journeys, but as some say, I am young and can still do stuff like this.
I hope you guys enjoyed this write up. It was a fantastic trip with lots of great stories. Please also checkout the photos and videos attached with this story to really get a better idea of how amazing Namibia is, and how crazy I am for climbing the Erongo Mountain, and then going inside of that hole….
Munich Gem Show 2022
As many of you know I just attended the Munich Gem Show. Munich Germany holds the largest Gem and Mineral show in all of Europe! It’s a fantastic show, and there are hundreds of dealers. This year was a month earlier and conflicted with Oktoberfest. This caused a large influx in hotel prices and people visiting the lovely city of Munich. I always stay at the Novotel which is right next to where the show is held, where the prices were twice as expensive even though I booked months in advance. The Novotel is so close to the show it’s as easy as hoping on the U train and riding one stop. Another thing I love about staying at Novotel is all the resources next to you. There is a grocery store, ATM’s, clothing shops (which came in good use again, you will see why soon), restaurants, and even a DHL if you buy too much like I have done in years past. Lots of other mineral dealers also stay at this hotel which is nice for meet ups after the show. On the way to the show I regrettably took Lufthansa again, why do I say regrettably? Well… they somehow lost both of my checked bags again. I was really thinking what are the odds that they could do it 2 trips in a row?? Well I quickly found out those odds as soon as I landed on Monday. At least I learned my lesson last time and packed a few changes of clothes in my backpack alongside my minerals. I was also lucky because I had a few days to get situated before the show officially opened on Friday. However, if you have never been to this show I highly recommend getting in as soon as you can, and trying to score a dealer badge some way. The badge at this show is very important as it’s kind of like a sporting event. Without the badge there is no way you are getting in. While the dealers are setting up is the best time to get the deals as you are fighting head to head with other dealers who have also scored a dealer badge. One thing that was interesting about this year’s show was the fact that there was a large decrease in the size of the show. What used to be 4 and a half full halls in 2019, there were only 2 and half to 3 full halls this year. There were also quite a few delays with dealers setting up. Some dealers didn’t even get in to set up until Wednesday or Thursday which made buying a little more difficult. As you walk the show you sort of cross off parts of the show on your own to-do list. With the dealers setting up later it meant more time wasted covering ground that you have already covered. I lucked out and I scored a nice 1ct Benitoite gemstone on Friday. I was honestly shocked, but it was also a stone that wasn’t out on display and the dealer tucked it away in the back. I don’t think he wanted to sell it, and I don’t blame him. But this taught me a very valuable lesson, it never hurts to ask. I would say that was one of my best scores for the trip alongside a few other rare stones. Prices seem to continue to rise at these large international shows, which makes sense as it seems everything these days is increasing in price to adjust for inflation, booth fees, hotel costs, and just everyday expenses. I sadly didn’t get that lucky sourcing any new finds unlike years’ in the past. In 2018 I scored a killer Rhodochrosite pocket, I luckily purchased 20+% of the find, and in 2019 I got close to a kilo of AAA Rhodonite gem crystals.I didn’t get to experience Oktoberfest till Thursday night, as the other days were busy finding deals. I never realized that the Oktoberfest was more of a state fair surrounded by massive beer halls. I brought along a childhood friend with me, and we had a fun mix of business and pleasure as we met up with a few other mineral dealers that night. Lots of beer was had, along with good times. Those halls can get crazy, I’ve never seen a building so packed. Luckily before I left Munich both of my bags got delivered on Friday, right on time for my trip to Namibia the next day. I hope you guys enjoyed this quick write up of my trip in Munich, tomorrow I will be posting a longer write up on my trip to Namibia.
Sainte Marie Aux Mines Gem Show 2022
Hey everyone, I hope you all are doing well! As some of you know, I just returned from the Sainte Marie show in France. This show is arguably the second best mineral show in all of Europe, and some may say top 5 in the world. In memory of John Veevaert, who used to do write ups on all the main shows, I thought it was only right to do a write up on this show for those who weren’t able to make it. RIP Benitoite Buddy.Overall it was a great trip to SMAM, a large amount of people showed up and the show was very lively starting as early as Saturday… which was the day some dealers got there to set up. It seems every year people show up earlier and earlier. I showed up on Wednesday morning and the show opened officially Thursday. As the show went on it got increasingly busier, the streets were jam packed and it was at times hard to walk around some parts of the show. The parking lots in this tiny town are often full by 10 am so if you are staying outside of SMAM which most are, you have to get there early! If you do go to the show in the future, be prepared and bring cash…. Any kind of cash. You can expect to spend around $1000 – $2000 round trip on flights from the USA and anywhere from $100-200/night on a hotel or Airbnb. SMAM itself is a very very small town, the population is around 5,000. Most stay in neighboring towns like Colmar (40 minutes), or even as far as Strasbourg (50 minutes)! This year I was lucky enough to get a very beautiful Airbnb with a friend right outside of SMAM only about 15 mins from the show!There were things to buy you just had to do a little more digging than normal, but that may be because I got there a little later than others. There were no new finds to report as a lot of mining has slowed down with the pandemic, and cost of mining going up due to diesel prices. It’s always nice seeing a large selection of European minerals, from Gwindels to the Pink Fluorite. I was fortunate enough to score a Hayune collection the last day I was there, for a relatively good deal. I have attached a picture of some of the gemstones and specimens I was able to score. People definitely were excited about having a chance to buy in person which made it a great show for both the buyers and sellers.One thing that makes this show so different than shows in the USA is the fact most of the dealers are selling mineral specimens unlike a lot of the shows here in the USA that are now selling the hottest item on the market…. Tumbled rocks, or towers! It was also interesting to see more and more Moroccan dealers. There presence makes sense in France as Morocco is close to France, however there attendance at all shows in the USA is also through the roof. I am not quite sure how they make it at these shows with the cost of shipping and the amount of dealers selling the same goods.A lot of the dealers at SMAM are old time collectors and a lot of them use this one show along with Munich as a source of income for the year. Dealing with them sometimes can be a little difficult with the language barrier and payment preferences, however at the end of the day it only adds to the fun trying to negotiate for a rock in a different language. Most dealers only take cash, which puts a lot of stress on the ATMs, there were basically lines for 20+ minutes unless you knew where the secret ATM was which basically had no line( sorry I can’t share my source ).Another interesting thing to touch on is the euro conversion to the dollar. This year it was close to being equal to the dollar which was great for USA dealers. In years past it was very difficult to buy due to the conversion rate being higher. You would have to add an additional 10% + a few extra percent for the exchange fees.The weather this year was interesting, the only other year I had to compare to was the 2019 show, which was the last year this show was held. I was packing for it to be hot like last time, roughly 100+ Fahrenheit.. 40 Celcius. However that didn’t really matter anyway because British Airways lost my bag. Luckily there were only clothes in the bag, even though I didn’t really realize how important my own clothes were until they lost my bag. So there I was in all European clothes. No I am not sponsored by Puma, and honestly wouldn’t recommend them. They never did find my bag; but maybe one day it will show up. Back to the main topic, the weather. This year was was much more enjoyable as it was cooler and even rained a few times. This spiced up the show as it is mainly an outdoor show with only a few inside rooms. It made the indoor show like a sauna after the rain and amount of people.Luckily they do have beer and food stands almost every where to keep you hydrated. In 2019 they even had misters everywhere because it was so hot. The food in Europe is always so great, from the breads to the beer. Lots of great food to be found all around. I only wish there was more restaurants to chose from in SMAM. I was stuck eating the same thing almost everyday. At least it was tasty, and very affordable.A little side story and important lesson to those that collect minerals… I think this is very suspicious, however on Friday I found a dealer with an Ok benitoite; and 2 larger Moldavite specimens. I had negotiated with the dealer and figured out what my price was, then I had left thinking I would go back tomorrow to get them. I didn’t put them on hold… well I thought about it more as I walked away and returned about 10 minutes later with the cash, and those exact 3 pieces were gone. I couldn’t believe it… and honestly thought it was funny. Someone must have saw me looking at those 3 pieces and then went in after me. I am usually known for being the vulture, so there must have been someone stalking the vulture. The dealer and I couldn’t believe it, and I even asked if they had been out the whole show.. and he said yes. We both thought it was weird, but it was a good lesson to learn… don’t leave a good deal on the table. It was great to see some of my friends from all around the world. I only wish we took more pictures. Enjoy some pictures from the show, and thanks for reading. I will try and do more write ups in the future.
My adventures in Namibia 2020
With all that’s going on in the world, I thought I would write something that will take your mind off what’s happening, even if it’s for a few minutes. As most of you know, I just had my third trip to Namibia this week, and as always it was an amazing trip. Every time I come to this country I learn something new, and my appreciation for the hospitality increases. I have never been somewhere where the people want to help you as much as they do here, it really does amaze me, and I never really get used to it. If you are driving down a gravel road in the middle of nowhere, and you see someone headed the same way as you, then you usually pick them up, this is something that almost will never happen in the USA. But what’s more shocking is that if you get a flat tire or something happens to the vehicle, they are more than happy to do everything they can to get it fixed. They are always looking out for each other and wanting the best for each other, this is one thing that is so important in these current times. These people don’t look out for just themselves they think about everyone. The first day of my trip composed of travelling from the international airport in Windhoek to Usakos which is where I set up my headquarters. It was a little late in the day, so there wasn’t any rock buying planned, but here, you don’t have to look far to find gems and minerals. And that is one other thing I love about this country. We were at the gas station outside of Karibib around 8:30pm and someone saw that I was in town and looking for gems and he pulled out a few tourmalines that he was trying to sell. This area is around 30 minutes from the nearest mineral producing area, but still shocking to be offered crystals so late at night. Which leads me to my next topic. In Namibia a large majority of people don’t see minerals as something to hold onto and collect, but more as a means to provide shelter, and food for themselves and their family. This is always hard for me to understand as I see minerals as something nature has created that is so beautiful and I am lucky to own while I can. However, it makes the hunt for these gems so much more rewarding, knowing that you are helping someone and their families survive for a few weeks, or sometimes even a few months depending on how big of a pocket they found. It really is a dream come true as you don’t know what’s right around the corner, as there are so many artisanal minerals and different minerals to be found. And if they see you, they approach you with open arms trying to sell you their minerals. One second you can be looking at Aquamarine, and the next Phenakite, Tourmaline, or Fluorite. During my last trip I learned buy what you can while you are being offered it, as long as it’s a good price. The first trip I did in March of 2019 produced hundreds of Fluorites from the Erongo Mountains, and the second trip in November, practically no Erongo Fluorite. The reason is they don’t hold onto the minerals that they have found very long, it is usually the first buyer that gets them, unless the price is too high. Someone can find something Friday afternoon, and it will be gone by Saturday morning. You have to stay on top of things, or else you snooze you lose. So you are probably wondering what was the hot item this trip, and I would have to tell you that it was these awesome Quartz and Fluorite combos found in the Brandberg Mountains…. Yes the Brandberg mountains and not the Erongo Mountains where you would expect these fantastic specimens to come from. I secured as much of this find that I could, and I am excited to start cleaning these pieces. Sometimes the Quartz crystals shot through the bluish/purple phantomed fluorite cubes. Similar to the ones I saw found in Colorado last year. Although these pieces were sold uncleaned which is fairly common with Namibian minerals they looked amazing after a quick bath in the iron out solution that I brought to Namibia. And once they get the proper cleaning they will look even better. After spending a few days tracking down these wonderful specimens I spent some time looking for indicolite tourmaline in Karibib. This is one item that basically sells itself due to the rare blue color. In my opinion this is the best blue tourmaline in the world. These are always hard to find as the miners are digging by hand, and most of the material has a closed c axis which makes cutting these dark beauties difficult. But when you find a piece… it makes all the time you spent searching worthwhile. Some of the miners insist on weighing the stones and selling them per gram, others don’t care what they weigh and price for the necessities they need. Which leads me to one of my last topics…. Pricing and negotiating in Namibia. WOW it’s like nothing I have ever seen before, and it takes a few days or even weeks to adjust to. One reason is the exchange rate, which is currently $1 USD equals N$16.5 Namibian dollars. So before you start negotiating you need to keep that in mind. 90% of the time the miner will start with an outrageous price….. and you usually end up countering anywhere from 10-30% of what they are asking. At the beginning you feel like an ass, but you are honestly giving them a very fair rate for what they have. You usually close paying around 30-50% their starting rate. Which is really hard to understand as an American, but for them, they start high so they don’t lose any potential profit they can make. Everyone can learn something by travelling to this country, whether it’s the way people should treat others, or how minerals are brought to the market. I hope you guys enjoyed this quick read about another fantastic trip to Namibia. I would say once in a lifetime, but not for me, thanks to your guys continued support.