I have been going to this show for more than twenty years as a mineral collector and the last two as a dealer. I felt an article was in order because if you mention Rock and Gem these days to any mineral collector you are typically met with wrinkled noses and it is dismissed as a place that any serious collector would go to. I would like to challenge that belief!
Let’s be honest, it has changed a lot, many of the dealers we remember have now retired and there are less mineral dealers. The name is now Rock and Gem and Bead and there are a lot of beads and polished hardstone material aimed at a much broader set of customers. This is perhaps no surprise since the wellbeing market is expanding and the mineral collecting market is shrinking in the UK.
However if you skip past all the things you are not interested in is there enough to interest a mineral collector? I did a show walk-about at the March 2024 show and this is what I found. Geminlogical had a wonderful selection of fine minerals and crystals to suit a very broad customer base. Dave from Harlequin Minerals had a fantastic selection of pieces, plenty to covet and spend your cash on. Rod always has an eclectic mix, including a beautiful pair of Edar Oberstein geodes and a whopper of a German amethyst geode.
Charlie Bexfield always has an interesting selection of small but perfect pieces. Kamran never disappoints with his fine heulandites from India and I really did want that spinel in matrix (a lot).
Joe from Agate Bands had some cracking halite specimens, amongst a selection of very fine pieces. Precious Gems from the Himalayas had several tables of interesting pieces.
I have just included the dealers who mostly sell minerals, but there are others dotted around with more of a mix. The question remains “is it worth going if you are a mineral collector?"
I may be a bit biased, but honestly I think you can still find some cracking minerals amongst the other things for sale. The show has definitely changed but then so have peoples interests, the show now reflects what people are interested in collecting and that is much broader than it used to be.
Next show at Kempton is 27th & 28th July. Rock and Gem schedule below and link to the website.
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