Mineral specimens: where to buy
A mineral specimen is a natural piece of a mineral kept for its crystals, color or rarity, often still sitting on its host rock, which collectors call the matrix. A good one comes with a label naming the mineral and, above all, the locality: the country, the region and ideally the mine where it was found. Locality is what turns a pretty rock into a specimen you can learn from and compare.
Not everything in a rock shop is exactly as nature made it. Some specimens are heated, dyed, irradiated or coated: most orange citrine on the market is amethyst baked in a furnace, dyed agate and quartz are common, and some "turquoise" is dyed howlite or magnesite. None of that is a problem when a piece is sold for what it is, but there is rarely a label that says so. Ask whether a piece is natural, treated or lab-grown, and where it comes from; good dealers answer plainly.
A local rock shop is also the place to see the minerals of the region you plan to explore, so you know what you are looking for before you go.
16 shops across the US that sell mineral specimens. Each one links to its own website, so you can compare them one by one.
Earthforged Rock Shop
Dealer · Storefront · Huntsville, Alabama · Ships nationwide
Locally owned rock, mineral and fossil shop in Huntsville. The shelves hold mineral specimens, fossils, geodes, gemstones, rough material for lapidary work, carvings and jewelry, sourced over 30 years of direct dealings with miners and collectors. Most of the stock is only in the store, not online.
Also sells: Rough & slabs · Fossils
Arizona Gift Center
Dealer · Storefront · Apache Junction, Arizona · Ships nationwide
Gem World's year-round sister store in Apache Junction
Crystal and mineral importer in Apache Junction with a warehouse showroom open to the public: crystals, geodes, mineral pieces, beads, jewelry-making supplies and bulk lots. Same company as Gem World in Quartzsite.
Flagstaff Rock Shop
Dealer · Storefront · Flagstaff, Arizona
Calls itself the smallest rock shop in Arizona; on US 89 in Flagstaff
Small rock shop on US 89 on the northeast edge of Flagstaff, run by Greg Horn: crystals, fossils and rocks, many of them from Arizona, lapidary work, wire-wrapped jewelry and Native American jewelry.
Also sells: Fossils
Gem World (Quartzsite)
Dealer · Storefront · Quartzsite, Arizona · Ships nationwide
Quartzsite stone wholesaler, by the pack, box or pallet; Oct to Apr
Seasonal crystal and mineral warehouse in Quartzsite selling geodes, crystals, pyrite, freeform pieces, palm stones, bowls, beads and pendants, at retail and wholesale by the package, box or pallet. Same company as the Arizona Gift Center in Apache Junction.
Half Fast Mining Co.
Dealer · Storefront · Quartzsite, Arizona
Quartzsite rock shop with fluorescent minerals; inventory posted on Facebook
Rock shop on Main Street in Quartzsite with mineral specimens, including fluorescent material. The owners post their inventory on Facebook and also sell at gem shows.
Havasu Rocks
Dealer · Storefront · Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Shop of the Lake Havasu Gem & Mineral Society, run by volunteers
Rock shop and lapidary workshop of the Lake Havasu Gem & Mineral Society, open to the public: rocks, slabs, crystals, fossils and London Bridge granite, with a club workshop, classes and field trips for members.
Also sells: Rough & slabs · Fossils · Classes & training
Jim Gray's Petrified Wood Co.
Dealer · Storefront · Holbrook, Arizona
Digs, cuts and polishes its own petrified wood near Holbrook
Large rock shop in Holbrook, close to Petrified Forest National Park, specializing in Arizona rainbow petrified wood: rough by the pound, rounds, tabletops and bookends, plus petrified wood from around the world, fossils, meteorites, minerals, rough and carvings. A free museum, and windows onto the workshop where the wood is cut and polished.
Also sells: Rough & slabs · Fossils · Meteorites · Petrified wood
Mammoth Mine Rock Shop
Dealer · Storefront · Apache Junction, Arizona
Rock shop of Lost Dutchman author Ron Feldman, on the Apache Trail
Rock shop on the Apache Trail below the Superstition Mountains, selling local Arizona rocks, minerals and gemstones, fossils, dinosaur bone and petrified wood, along with gifts and coffee.
Also sells: Fossils · Petrified wood
Miners Rock Shop
Dealer · Storefront · Tempe, Arizona
Family shop with a lapidary lab, UV room and jewelry classes
Family rock shop in Tempe with a UV room of fluorescent minerals, geodes, fossils, lapidary rough, and lapidary supplies and equipment including faceting machines. The family works five mining claims in Arizona, and the shop runs a Facet Club with gem faceting classes.
Also sells: Rough & slabs · Lapidary equipment · Fossils · Classes & training
Natural Expressions
Dealer · Storefront · Gilbert, Arizona · Ships nationwide
Crushed stone for chip inlay, over 200 kinds; custom stone cutting
Rock shop in Gilbert selling rough, slabs, cabochons, crushed stone for inlay and minerals. You can pick your own geodes and have them cut on site for a fee.
Also sells: Rough & slabs
Raining Rocks
Dealer · Storefront · Tucson, Arizona · Ships nationwide
Meteorite shop of geologist Suzanne Morrison; ships worldwide
Rock shop run by geologist Suzanne Morrison and Ilana Brin at the historic Kino Rocks & Minerals site on the south side of Tucson, a rock shop since 1958. Meteorites and impactites, minerals, fossils, petrified wood, lapidary rough and slabs, faceted stones, cabochons and books; the shop also buys collections and lapidary equipment.
Also sells: Rough & slabs · Fossils · Meteorites · Petrified wood
Rare Earth Gallery
Dealer · Storefront · Cave Creek, Arizona · Ships nationwide
10,000 sq ft Cave Creek gallery; natural stone fountains installed
Rock and fossil gallery in Cave Creek, north of Phoenix: raw crystals and clusters, geodes, fossils such as ammonites, orthoceras, shark teeth and fish, meteorites, Arizona and Indonesian petrified wood and large decor pieces.
Also sells: Fossils · Meteorites · Petrified wood
T-Rocks in Quartzsite
Dealer · Storefront · Quartzsite, Arizona
Big Quartzsite rock yard: rough, slabs, geodes and knapping stone
Large outdoor rock yard on Main Street in Quartzsite. Stock includes mineral specimens such as calcite and fluorescent and rare-earth minerals, geodes you can crack yourself, rough for lapidary, carving and knapping, agate and jasper slabs, petrified wood, fossils, meteorites and tektites, tumbled stones, beads and books, plus landscaping stone.
Also sells: Rough & slabs · Fossils · Meteorites · Petrified wood
The Rock Yard (Tucson)
Dealer · Storefront · Tucson, Arizona
Over 100 tons of rough; open in gem show season and for open house
Tucson warehouse of Barlow's Gems, the cabochon business of Bruce and Debbie Barlow, open during the Tucson gem shows and on a few open-house weekends a year. More than 100 tons of rough in barrels, slabs, petrified wood, thundereggs, agates and jaspers, designer cabochons, minerals and carvings.
Also sells: Rough & slabs · Petrified wood
The Wizard's Workshop
Dealer · Storefront · Tombstone, Arizona
Bisbee copper minerals since 1971; fire agate jewelry made on the premises
Tombstone jewelry and mineral shop of Don and Kathy Paonessa, who have collected Bisbee copper minerals since 1971: turquoise, azurite, malachite and Slaughter Mountain fire agate, cut and set in gold and silver on the premises, plus a large stock of mineral specimens.
Tucson Mineral & Gem World
Dealer · Storefront · Tucson, Arizona
Tucson rock shop open since 1968, with over 100,000 items
Rock and fossil shop on the west side of Tucson, run by the Ratkevich family since 1968: minerals from Arizona and around the world, fossils, dinosaur bones and teeth, meteorites, petrified wood and geodes.
Also sells: Fossils · Meteorites · Petrified wood
Other gear
Metal detectors · Gold pans & classifiers · Sluice boxes · Highbankers & power sluices · Dredges & parts · Drywashers · Sniping & crevice tools · Rocker boxes · Trommels · Picks, shovels & hand tools · Fine gold recovery · Assay & refining supplies · Paydirt · Rough & slabs · Lapidary equipment · Fossils · Meteorites · Petrified wood · Classes & training
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