Micromounts

Big specimens are fine and wonderful, but I have chosen to simply collect micromounts.

What is a micromount?

First of all a micromount is a mineral specimen that requires magnification for proper appreciation. You would be surprised how many spectacular crystals and beautiful sights are hidden on many seemingly ordinary specimens. Secondly, a micromount is such a mineral specimen, permanently mounted and labelled. Micro collecting is only half the game, the second involves art and craft, with the ultimate goal being the preservation of the specimen and vital information pertaining to it.

Why collect micromounts?

Some people will ask this with a snort and a scornful look. I won't take up space trying to convince this group here. However, if you are asking why with a real interest, there are several things you ought to do and consider:
  1. Look through a microscope! Take a look at some good micro minerals and you will be amazed. Find a friendly micromounter and ask him or her to show you some nice things. (The next best thing would be to look at some good photographs taken through the microscope).
  2. Check the prices on some quality specimens at the next mineral show you attend. As I am writing this, I have just spent several days wandering around the Tucson Show, and I can tell you that my entire budget for the show would not suffice to make a down payment on many of the larger pieces.
  3. Make a list of places where you can go and expect to be able to collect good larger specimens.

This is not universally true, but I have noticed that many serious collectors of micro minerals become respectable mineralogists in ways that collectors of larger pieces seldom do. Conversely, many serious collectors of larger minerals end up acquiring a microscope (Dick Bideaux owned one), even if they do not become micromounters.

Is micromounting for me?

Micromounting is not for everyone. It appeals to the kind of person who is a bit of a tinkerer and enjoys working with their hands. It also appeals to the serious mineralogist, as the micromounter soon finds him or herself involved with rare minerals, and will appreciate a good background in crystallography. I particularly liked the following article on the 1998 Tucson Micromounting Symposium, where the author calls micromounters, "arguably the truest connoisseurs and appreciators of rocks".
(Thank You!)

The micromounting culture

Many mineral clubs have micromounting interest groups (I get together with the Tucson Gem and Mineral Clubs micro group, which meets once a month). These get togethers are a sharing of knowledge, enthusiasm, and material. A great virtue of the "micromounting culture" is that it is a tradition to share material. Many get-togethers involve giving away material, lots of trading, or sales at ridiculously low prices.

Many parts of the country have a seminar or symposium one a year. Tucson has a one day event on Friday during the Tucson main show. There is one in southern california in January, just a week or two before the Tucson show (those of us who live nearby, prefer it two weeks before, so we can rest up for Tucson, those who live farther away, would prefer to have them close together, so they can travel and hit both events). The Northern California group has an excellent event in the summer (3 days), and the Baltimore group has another 3 day event (and may be the group that originated the concept). The Tucson event is the only one day seminar, and people complain that there isn't enough time for talking and swapping, with most of the time given to lectures.

The micromounting world has a hall of fame. I have had the chance to meet several of these people, and I can simply say that it is worth it to make their acquaintance. This is their passion, and if you show a real interest, they will be eager to help and share, and they have a lot to offer. As much as anything, they were elected to the hall of fame because of their helful and generous attitude.

Shopping for micro material

Having just spent a lot of time wandering around the 2008 Tucson Show, I have several tips to offer. First of all, many dealers won't have a clue when you tell them you are looking for micromount material. You will get a much better response if you ask for rare minerals, and this will usually lead you to what you are looking for.

Buying micro material is a very nice contrast to other parts of the mineral world where big money changes hands and things are getting increasingly insane. The flip side to this is that low prices do not encourage dealers to handle micro material. Be willing to pay a decent price for what you get and make it worth a dealers while to do business and spend time with you. Also realize that some dealers love minerals and will be delighted to find someone interested in unusual species. (Hmm, I see a pattern here: micromounts and rare minerals.)

What about a microscope

You would think this might be the first topic here, and maybe it should be. Buying a microscope can be an obstacle to some folks, but it really shouldn't be. On one hand, a quite good microscope can be purchased for less than what many decent mineral specimens sell for these days. However this is hardly a convincing argument for those of us who are disgusted by the current trends that indulge wealthy mineral collectors. Take heart though, some snooping around on Ebay and careful bidding can fetch a person a perfectly fine microscope for less than $300, perhaps much less if you are patient and lucky. The next purchase, and almost as vital as the microscope is a high quality illuminator. I provide some notes on various microscopes which are hardly comprehensive, but may be useful.

Don't neglect the mounting part of micromounting

Neal Yedlin wrote the original micromounting column in the Mineralogical Record Magazine. He said that a micromount is a mineral specimen requiring magnification for proper appreciation, permanently mounted and labelled. I have noticed that some people who are enthused about micro minerals are reluctant or even strongly opposed to permanent mounting. I am a little baffled by this, perhaps because I understand the ravages of time. Mounting and labelling will preserve these little treasures, first of all for the mounter to enjoy in months and years to come (just a few years accumulation of dust, or a few years lapse of memory can cause real and tragic loss). To mount is to preserve!

It recently seems to have become "in vogue" to not make permanent mounts, but instead to simply perch specimens on a dab of "mineral tack" in some kind of box. These can hardly be called permanent mounts and would thus fall short of Yedlins definition of a micromount. This kind of thing may have its place for temporary storage (but the tack can leave a mess and hinder the ultimate preparation of a permanent mount). This should just be called what it is: lazy! and is not to be emulated. Good micros are too fragile, too ephemeral, and deserve to be preserved. That is what permanent labelling and mounting is all about.

How to do it

Here is an outline of the steps involved (many of which are links to essays and information on the topic of interest).

What about a microscope?

Yes, you will need one!
And a light to go with it.

You don't want a single tube biological microscope intended for use with transmitted light, but rather a stereo microscope (with two eyepieces). You want the kind of thing suited for looking at insects and flowers (and minerals!). The most useful magnification is the low powers (10 or 15), with the option to switch to higher power as needed. The scope I use the most is a zoom scope offering a range of powers from 10 to 30. Higher powers are handy on occasion, but require a really good light (and quality optics) to be useful.

A good illuminator is crucial and makes a huge difference. You can (and some people do, and rightly so) spend nearly as much on a good illuminator as you can on a microscope.

I like LED illuminators a lot. I am somewhat of a do it yourself person, and have been able to arrange an entirely suitable LED illuminator for a few dollars. It has two great advantages. One is that it is small and easily portable, the other is that it easily runs from batteries. I also have a large heavy and very bright fiber optic light source that is really helpful when using higher magnification.

Many people dislike LED illuminators, the usual objection being that they are "so blue". My rejoinder is that said people are just used to incandenscent tungsten filament illumination, which is "so yellow". In short, you can get used to either, but a sudden change to what you are not used to will definitely get your attention.

Closing words

Neal Yedlin always ended his columns with the following exhortation, which I will repeat:
Buy and use a good mineral book!
Here are a couple of good books to get started with:

The Complete Guide to Micromounts by Milton L. Speckels, 1965, Gembooks, 97 pages. --- This is the little pink book that got everything started (so to speak), now out of print, but you may get lucky and find a used copy.

The Complete Book of Micromounting by Quintin Wight, 1993, First Edition, Mineralogical Record Press, 283 pages --- This book was begun by Neal Yedlin (1908-1977), continued by Paul Desautels (1920-1991) and finished by Quintin Wight. It is by far the best and most up to date thing available in English, although books on micromounting are said to be available in German, French, and Italian.

Some links:

Supplies

Feedback? Questions? Drop me a line!

Uncle Tom's Mineralogy Info / tom@mmto.org