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  Other displays of Loose Minerals:

Primarily loose amazonite with several pieces in matrix
Primarily amazonite and some smokey quartz on left side.

Smoky quartz and amazonite clusters

Smoky quartz.
Smoky quartz on left and top right, amazonite lower right.
Collection of better and more interesting samples.
Primarily smokey quartz with nice milky quartz and amazonite in matrix in upper right.

Specimens of smoky quartz crystals along with tan feldspar crystals and greenish Amazonite feldspar.

Two masses of smoky quartz crystals, tan feldspar crystals and some greenish Amazonite crystals. This is an example of the coarse grained pegmatite which can contain gemmy crystals. “Pegmatite” is the term for coarsely textured zones in the granite which cooled slowly and allowed larger crystals to grow.

Ok this is cheating.  These did not come from our property.  Notice center right - lava rock and center left - different type of mica.

 Displaying Specimens and Jewelry from the Mine

Wooden trays filled with crystals span our dining room credenza.

Displaying products from the mine can be more problematic than one might think. Because we are fortunate enough to have found (and continue to find) so many nice specimens it becomes a challenge to find adequate and appropriate ways to display them. Below is an attempt to explain with pictures how we display our minerals.

 Glass Display Case:

My friend John found a mirrored glass display case for sale on Pinecam. So in the winter of 2015 off we went to buy the thing. Finally, we had a display case worthy of some of the fine minerals we were finding in the Beaver Creek Mine. I decided to label groups and individual minerals so that the case and contents were not only decorative but educational.  Truth in advertising requires me to mention the top section, although mostly from Colorado, are not from our property.

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 Pedestals:
 Making Pedestals and Taking Photos:

Levels - top to bottom

Full view

Close ups

With the addition of the mirrored glass display case came a new hobby - custom pedestal making. Now that we had a nicer way of displaying the better mineral specimens from the Beaver Creek Mine, it seemed that it would only be appropriate to have stands for most pieces.

Below are some of the material and tools used to make the pedestals. 

Acrylic and plastic glue.

Scroll saw for cutting special shaped pieces.

Standard drill press.

Chop saw for cutting larger rods.

Miniature chop saw fur cutting small rods and small flat pieces.

Dremel tool on a miniature drill press. Used for making holes.

Various size acrylic rods and pieces of Plexiglass.

Plexiglass cutting tool.

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  Jewelry Made From Our Crystals:

This is a smoky quartz crystal that John found in mine hole number 1.  It is double terminated (pointed at top and bottom).  He then placed it into a setting and made it into a necklace for Sheila.

A jeweler friend from Texas visited the mine and took a number of pieces of amazonite.  He cut and polished them.  Then he placed them into settings.  This is a necklace he made for Sheila.
This is a bolo tie he made for Neil.  Amazonite is a very popular crystal used for jewelry.

For more recent photos, I made a box lined with mirrors and use colored matte board to bring out the natural color in the crystals.

The mirrors maximize the light from the daylight bulb and minimize shadows.

This is a smoky quartz crystal that was faceted and mounted by 
our friends Jeff and Don that  just opened up a mineral shop in Florissant.  The image does not do justice to the pendant.

Display unit added 2019

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