Key points in displaying your mineral collection   Managing a Collection Getting Serious Labels Sizes Trimming Cleaning Displaying Disposing

Chapter 7 page 6 The display You don't want the display itself to distract from your proud collected works. We've seen displays entered into competitive shows and, likely without realizing it, the owners went to a lot of trouble to make the display ugly. It's worth saying in bold letters, the focus of mineral displays should be the minerals. A simple stand, if the piece won't stand up by itself, is much preferred over an elaborate decorative support, which competes for the attention with the mineral. I've seen lovely crystals fastened onto antique bottles for a support, mixed with china bowls holding crystals, and wooden-carved-somethings-or-the-other holding crystals...it was such a mish mash that nothing was a center of interest and the effect of the crystals was lost. Lead your eye to the minerals Contrast your light-colored minerals against a dark background when you can. And vice versa. Clear quartz is beautiful against the dark jewel colors: deep blue, purple and burgundy, but washed out when displayed on a white or neutral gray background. Mirrors behind your specimens are nice, but therein lies a secret danger. Besides the minerals and your admiring faces, what else will the mirror reflect? If you have an enormous stack of weathered cardboard flats across the room, do you really want to double the appearance of them? Next time you are at one of the museums, look at how they have their collection displayed. What parts of it look best to you and how could you use their display tactics in your own collection? Lighting makes the difference If your display is tastefully done, but in the dark, you have a problem. To fully appreciate what you're showing off, lighting is the difference between an OK display and one that is a prize winner. If your collection is on a shelf in your room, or in a bookcase, under-the-cabinet fluorescent lights may be a very good choice for you. If you have a place you can mount a swing arm lamp or two, being able to move the light around might be an alternate choice.   the next page concerns the inevitable.... Ch 7 page 6 Contact JMichaelHoward@rockhoundingAR.com revised July 1998 ©Rockhounding Arkansas 1998 http://rockhoundingAR.com