And here’s part 2! If you haven’t seen Part 1 (and want to), here it is!
A quick reminder: the gallery of mineralogy and geology OR the Galerie de Géologie et de Minéralogie at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris is an iconic venue for geology, mineralogy and paleontology enthusiasts. This gallery, located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, is one of the richest in the world in its field.
Here we go! We start with this superb “bush” of native gold and quartz. The structure is magnificent!
That quartz sphere! I love quartz, it’s probably my favorite stone, and I love spherical stones! These are the kind of balls that were generally used by fortune-tellers and clairvoyants!
A superb orange topaz! I’ve never seen one so vibrant! I don’t know if they cheated a bit with the light underneath or not!
Empress Marie-Louise’s reconstructed necklace.
These enormous amethyst geodes!
The great sapphire of Louis XIV!
This incredible fresco is made up of hundreds of thin strips of different stones! The work on it is impressive and it’s super pretty!
This large quartz with engraved inclusion!
A beautiful kunzite!
Malachite in azurite! The mix of pattern and color is superb.
This beautiful rubellite from the tourmaline family! Its prismatic shape is striated along its entire length!
This slice of very rare agate is called “polyhedral agate” because it has naturally taken on a crystalline form instead of its usual solid form.
Ce’st agates fossilized in dinosaur bones! We talked about opalized fossils, but the same thing can happen with quartz, especially agate.
An iron meteorite!
And that’s it for part two! Let’s finish with this beautiful bronze statue!
And that’s it for part 2! So, which one did you like best?
Lauréline Colliard FGA
FGA Gemmologist, graduate of London's prestigious Gem-A Academy (and former lead 3D animator in the video game industry). Her focus is on research, the ethics of gemstones and their environmental and social impact, and the protection and education of gemstone buyers and enthusiasts.
