I had fully intended to write this up immediately after the Show, but other jobs got in the way. I saw Jolyon's recent post to the effect that he had been unable to visit the Show this year and resolved that I had better get on with it. In the meantime Jessica and Robert Simonoff have published an article http://www.mindat.org/article.php/1531/Ste+Marie+Aux+Mines+2012 with a lot of mineral photos so I've changed tack slightly and will try to give a flavour of the general atmosphere and ambience of the event for those who have never been, or are hoping to visit in the future.

Sainte-Marie is located in the Val D'Argent in the Alsace region of France. I travelled as part of a group with friends from the Russell Society, Sussex Mineral and Lapidary Society and Norfolk Mineral Lapidary Club. There were about twenty of us altogether and we stayed in a small hotel in Sasbach, just across the Rhine in Germany, about 40 minutes drive from Sainte-Marie.

[Click on the images for larger versions with additional explanatory or descriptive notes]



As noted by the Simonoffs, the organisation and parking arrangements were excellent, we queued for hardly anytime atall to get into the car park on the edge of the town. As with many events nowadays, the organisers had put in place a system of purchasing a coloured security wrist band which you could not take off unless you cut it, rendering it void.



After only a short wait the shuttle bus arrioved and we were transported into the town centre. Once dropped off outside the rather attractive pharmacy building with its famous turret it was only a short walk through the narrow streets to the Show entrance. There were two major areas - mineral and gem. We (obviously) elected to head for the mineral zone first, and it seemd that this was probably the case for most visitors.



The streets were full of people dragging wheeled trolley cases with them (a bit like the scene at an airport terminal), and all sorts of other mechanical aids were in use too - trolleys, sack trucks and so on.

Most of the the "top end" dealers are clustered in the Theatre building and this was where started our day.



Once inside the Theatre it was hard to know what to look at first. The truly dazzling array of fine minerals was quite overwhelming, as were the prices. It seemed that many of the top quality pieces were not priced, dealers presumably opting to size-up the potential purchaser and pitch in with an opening offer if someone showed any interest. I saw several of these fabulous native sulphur specimens, but this is one of the best.



At the far end of the Theatre, just below the stage was the large Crystal Classics-Kristalle booth, manned by a strong team - Ian and Diana, Wayne, Dave and Liz Hacker and David Lloyd were the faces I spotted, but other members of the team may have been around too.



Ian Bruce and the team at Crystal Classics-Kristalle had the usual fine selection of high-end specimens on offer, including this rather nice malchite.



There were so many wonderful things to look at that it is not really possible to do justice to the assembled suite of treasures. This large and unusual specimen of calcite on amethyst drew a lot of attention and admiring comments.



Outside in the streets the sun was coming out and the temperature was warming up nicely. As well as LOTS and LOTS of minerals, fossils and gems, Sainte-Marie boasts dozens of bead, jewellery and polished / worked goods vendors - see for example this polished stone stall.



These nice specimens of green Prase from Greece caught my eye.



The mineral world is not all that big and we kept bumping into people we knew or recognised - here's one, British collector-dealer Andy Castleton spotted from afar.



Monomineralic businesses can clearly be successful and this one was built around specimens of colourless rock crystal quartz.



Like all trade shows and shopping in general, it is a tiring business, and as it got hotter and hotter, the refreshment stalls and eateries were doing good trade - maybe if only for just a cold drink.



There are two large indoor halls which house the bulk of the more serious dealers (Val Expo 1 and 2). The layout of these is along very traditonal mineral show lines - islands and rows of trestle tables with the dealers occupying the "well" inbetween, and they were a veritable hive of activity.



Against one wall was Richard Tayler's stand, but when I passed Richard was away, so Austin Woodbridge was holding the fort.



A nice feature of the Show was a selection of displays and demonstrations of various sorts. This stand, staged by the AFM (French Association of Micromounters)proved to be extremely popular inded and the Team were always busy when I passed by.



In the connecting lobby between the two halls, several display cases housed a selection of local minerals from the Val D'Argent area - the sort of thing which local collectors have found in recent years, and could presumably still be found today.



The pace and hum of activity is evident in this shot - it really needs a soundtrack too ....



Another splendid exhibit was a large display of polished agates from the Idar-Oberstein region, staged by Peter Jeckel



and there were plenty of other impressive agates for sale too including this enormous slice from Brazil.



Mineral shows around the World are always bedecked with fantastic, and large, specimens of zeolites from India. This tent stall had some really impressive pieces



and if you like your zeolites in bulk, they were available by the pallet-load too.



As well as being a Mineral Show, Sainte-Marie also functions as a major trading event, wth people building contacts and forging deals across the globe. There's clearly some serious discussion taking place here ...



Most mineral collectors would probably head for the better organised and structured stands of the recognised dealers, but there were literally dozens and dozens of jumbled heaps of stuff of all descriptions - it seemd that anything which might conceivably be saleable had made its way onto someone's stall, and if you could only just find it, there might be a bargain or two to be had ...



The organisers seemed to have assembled a veritable army of helpers, marshalls and so on, mainly identified by these smart blue tee shirts .....



We stopped by at the tent booth of Minerlien (Jurgen Margraf) to admire his fine selection of pegmatite minerals from various localities,



including this fine topaz specimen



and a truly outstanding tanzanite



One of the things which stuck me at the Show was the preponderence of aquamarine crystals and crystal groups, from various localities - clearly these are very popular, but the better pieces are not cheap!



Keeping tabs on the other members of your party and arranging rendezvous points for meeting up again takes some doing, but a popular meeting point seemed to be this plaza just by the Theatre - a good spot for watching the comings and goings.



Most people were finding their way around using the colour printed show guide / plan, but some were determined to take the hi-tech approach ...



Chinese minerals are much in the news nowadays and there were a good number of people with Chinese material for sale, including this couple from the Huan Qui Mineral Museum.



Back on the "single product" theme - these guys just had sodalite, but boy did they have a lot of it!



For some it was clearly all just too much, and forunately the organisers had laid on a tranquil rest area, complete with Feng Shui and various therapies, just off the main square by the Theatre.



This stall in the corner caught my attention, and whilst I'm not able to comment on the efficacy of what was on offer, it was "different" and quite melodic



Here's another familiar couple from the UK



One of the booths which I visited several times, and really thought was very good, was that of Wendell Minerals.



Here's just one of the pieces on offer



Just by the Show entrance was this stall offering belemnites, belmnites, and well,... more belemnites.



There are plenty of nice pubs and places to eat immediately outside the Show perimeter, and it is a great idea to pause and have a break before walking the short distance,



or taking the little "train" to the Gem Zone.



Local traders also take advantage of the influx of visitors, and all manner of local crafts and foods are on offer



This guy seemed to have a good job (in the shade), making sure that no vehicles came down the road to the Gem Zone entrance



These banners marked one of the entrances to the Gem Zone



There were lots of very nice (and expensive) things to see but most stall holders would not permit photography, which is a real shame.



I was amused to see that even the "Bubble Gum" machines had been converted to rocks for the occasion !



It was extremely hot in the main hall - lots of high power lights to show off the treasures ...



There were lots and lots of people selling tumbled stones and beads / bead threading kits and so on - clearly a complex business selecting the correct item ..



The warm afternoon sun really gave a very nuice feel to the place



And of course, when it was time for a rest, the bar was never far away



A rather nice exhibit, which seemingly not many people found, was housed in a large marquee just opposite the main Gem Zone area and featured a beautiful display of insects which mimicked minerals in colour, texture or form - well worth seeing.





We had been told that the local Mineral Museum was worth a visit, but unfortunately it was not open due to the staff members being required to man a show mine for the Show weekend.



Back in the main Mineral Zone one could not help but be impressed by these amethyst geodes



and I was intrigued at the way in which this guy had packaged his very fragile and superb brookite specimens for transit



these must be some of the finest examples of the species in the World



A rather fine, large hand specimen of bournonite for only 250 Euros .... (it is not from Cornwall!)



This stand almost seemed to glow in the daylight, never mind in the dark



Time for lunch anyone?






It was very pleasant sitting outdoors whilst enjoying lunch



and we were entertained whilst eating by this large and boisterous school party who were being taught how to "knap" flint to make arrowheads - supporting one piece of flint on their heel whilst striking it with another flint "hammer" - great fun, and no gloves or safety eye wear in sight!



By any standards this is an extraordinarily fine mineral specimen, but strangely I felt that it was devalued by the crates and crates of similar pieces stashed under the tables.



This gentleman with a table full of African malachite and carved items had fashioned a "hat" out of a piece of cardboard - full marks for ingenuity.



At the end of the afternoon we climbed up onto the hillside above the town to try and get a view of the area



As one drives around the local region there are many many roadside stalls selling cherries - and very good they are too



Like the Simonoffs we too played tourist for a couple of days, so I'll end with a couple of photos of the Mineral Museum at Wolfach (highy recommended)





and the fabulous local Butterfly Farm - where we saw an amazing range of different varieties



and instead of a monkey - here's a Chameleon eating a freshly caught locust!



We thoroughly enjoyed the visit to Sainte-Marie and I'm sure that if you go next year (the Fiftieth Show) you will not be disappointed.

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