Driven by

Passion

Behind every crystal found there is a story of passion. It is the story of the crystal seeker, who searched for it and found it. Choose the stone and read what the finder wrote in the “Schweizer Strahler”…

Brookit – Peter Amacher

Peter Amacher has a passion for small, color-intensive minerals. In 1975, together with fellow crystal seekers, he found a fissure system with brookite crystals at the Chärstellenbach in Uri. In the years that followed, he was drawn there again and again: ‘I spent 62 days there, searching… and finding…’.

Anatase – Patrik Heule

It sounds like a fairy tale: under the uprooted roots of a fallen tree, Patrick Heule first found small rock crystals in Val Punteglias (Graubünden) in the summer of 2012. When he took a closer look at them, he saw: they were covered with beautiful dark Anatas.

Rauchquartz – Yves Donnet-Monay

Yves Donnet-Monay has been searching for minerals in the Upper Valais mountains for years. In August 2011, while walking with a colleague on an alpine pasture above Brig and searching the slopes with his eyes, he suddenly had a strange feeling in his stomach: ‘I knew there was something waiting for me up there on that ridge…’. And indeed…

Cölestin – Stefan Bättig

Stefan Bättig is a passionate Jura hiker. “These mountains are just closer to where I live and easier to reach.” When he heard about Cölestin finds in the Jura a few years ago, he couldn’t get it out of his mind. He searched the quarries in the area and found what he was looking for…

DIOPSIDE – HEINZ MOSER

Actually, Heinz Moser was a typical mountain climber. He wanted to conquer four-thousand-meter peaks. But when, years ago, while climbing the Rimpfischhorn near Zermatt, he found small, shiny black stones on the ground purely by chance, he was captivated. He had found black grenades and has been a passionate crystal seeker ever since….

Armenit – Martin Andres

Even as a boy, Martin Andres was out and about in the mountains with his father, looking for the beautiful stones. He also spent a lot of time in books. He wanted to know and understand what he was finding. Already on one of his first solo walks he succeeded in making a spectacular first find: Armenit on the Wasenhorn.

Beauty

HARMONY AND SYMMETRY

define the concept of beauty here. From the Stone Age to the present day, the crystals found in nature or brought out in painstaking work by crystal seeker have fascinated us. Terms like “frozen ice” originating from the Greeks to “Milanese ware” in the Middle Ages describe only a part of these unique natural beauties.

DURING MILLIONS OF YEARS

building stones have arranged themselves in a regular building structure. The formation of these different looking crystals, which however in the last consequence can always be traced back to a uniform structure, inspires the crystal seeker and teaches him the respect for nature and environment.

IN THE INTERPLAY

of much time, high pressure, and high temperatures in the earth’s interior with certain liquids, fissures could form and then in their hollow space the crystals. This art in nature is unique and inspires everyone who studies it.

BRILLIANCE AND CLARITY

Of the many minerals, rock crystal with its luster is probably the most fascinating. Luster and clarity often make it shine mysteriously. Therefore, it is also called ‘stone of light’. It is something mysterious and makes us search for words to name the intangible.

LAW AND BEAUTY

Even if each crystal looks unique, they are all built according to their inherent law, according to their crystal lattice. This law in combination with the changing environment gives the crystal its uniqueness and its beauty. In the crystal the law becomes visible in its beauty.

CHARM AND VARIETY

In spite of strict regularity, crystals are found again and again in new forms. The changing environmental conditions make this possible. In addition, there are about 4500 different minerals. The interaction of the minerals in a cleft makes the special charm of a stage and shows the diversity of the crystal world.

CRAFTSMANSHIP AND TRADITION

THE CRYSTAL SEEKER

“Strahler” are called the crystal and mineral seekers, especially in Switzerland. These crystal seekers have been known since Roman times. Through exhibited finds, the Strahlers also contributed significantly to the understanding of the Alps and their geology!

THE PASSION

The passion gives the power. Those who search for crystals often must walk long distances, must open the rock with hammer and chisel before they can recover the beautiful minerals from the crevice. Passion is the driving force behind this achievement.

THE KNOWLEDGE

Passion alone is not enough. The crystal seeker must be able to read the rock. He must know the signs that indicate a crevice. This knowledge is often guarded by the crystal seeker like the secret to success.

THE TOOL

To search for and recover the crystals, the crystal seeker has developed special tools. The blasting stick, to remove larger boulders; the dimple, to carefully pry the material out of the crevice. The equipment also includes hammer and chisel, mountain pick, magnifying glass and, above all, good footwear.

THE CAREFULNESS

If you use your tools too greedily, it is not uncommon for you to break what you are looking for, the crystals, already in the cleft. Therefore, patience, much care and love for nature also belong to the craft of the crystal seeker.

THE HONOUR CODE

The Code of Honor of the Swiss Association of crystal seeker, Mineral and Fossil Collectors (SVSMF) regulates the crystal seeking and obliges crystal seeker to behave correctly in nature. A crevice must be left clean after its exploitation. If a crevice is occupied by tools, other crystal seekers must keep their hands off it.

CRYSTAL SEEKERS TOOLS

STRAHLSTOCK

An iron about one metre long, bent at right angles on one side and forged as a flat or pointed chisel on the other side, used to loosen lumps of rock (pry bar).

MOUNTAIN PICKLE

Is a must on the glaciers, but mainly serves as a tool for removing debris from rock sets or digging under the turf.

GRÜBLER

Is a tool made of metal (often copper, because of its pliability). It is angled on one side and often fitted with a shovel on the other. This tool is used to carefully extract the crystals in the fissure.

HAMMER AND CHISEL

Hammer, chisel and point iron are the main tools of the crystal seekers . With this, rocks are split off, crystals are pointed out and crystal steps are formatted to their size.

MAGNIFIER

The magnifying glass is also part of the crystal seeker equipment. This makes it possible to determine already in the field whether valuable small minerals are present and whether it is worthwhile to carry the stones down into the valley.

CRAMPONS

crystal seekers often move in sloping and dangerous terrain. Good shoes and crampons are half the life insurance.