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Go To New Mineral Listings Added December 3 New Minerals are Added Every Tuesday at noon.
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Featured Galleries   Uncut Diamond Crystals Mineral Specimens Gem Minerals Connoisseur Minerals     Pedigreed Minerals Customer Favorites My Best Minerals Quartz Crystals Gold, Silver, Copper Classic Localities	Mineral of the Week #59988, Vesuvianite, Jeffrey Mine, Canada (SOLD)	Online order form Visit our other galleries with the links below: New Listings1A New Listings1B New Listins2 New Listings3 New Listings4 Featured Galleries My Best Minerals Classic Minerals Gem Minerals Natural Diamonds Historic & Pedigreed Crystal Oddities Overlooked Treasures Large Decorator-Sized Books & Magazines Mineral/Locality-Index Boxed Sets Gift Ideas Locality Galleries New England States New York & New Jersey Mid-Atlantic States Midwest States Arizona & New Mexico Rocky Mountain States Western States Canada Mexico Brazil & South America Britain & North Atlantic Europe Russia & former USSR India,_Pakistan_&_Afghanistan China, Japan & Pacific Rim Africa Tsumeb Mine, Namibia Minerals from Type Localities Mineral Categories Apatite & Phosphates Barite, Celestine & Sulfates Calcite Azurite, Malachite & Carbonates Fluorite & Halides Garnets Gold, Silver & Elements Magnetite, Hematite & Oxides Quartz Silicates Galena, Pyrite & Sulfides/Sulfosalts Tourmalines Zeolites and Associated Wulfenite & Molbdates, Arsenates, Vanadates Fluorescent Minerals Laguna Agates Liddicoatite Tourmaline Tanzanite Pseudomorphs Diamond Crystals Diamonds $1-$199 Diamonds $200-$399 Diamonds $400-$999 Diamonds $1000+ Diamonds under 1 carat Diamonds 1-2 carats Diamonds 2-5 carats Diamonds over 5 carats Diamond Crystal Clusters Gem-grade Diamonds Diamonds for Jewelry Sawn slices of zoned diamonds Sorted Lists of all Minerals on this site Sorted by Price Sorted by Size Sorted by Species Sorted by Number Best Minerals Minerals $100-$199 Minerals $200-$399 Minerals $400-$999 Minerals $1000 and up
Information Purchasing Information Feedback Your Comments Frequently Asked Questions Returning Items for Refund Damaged Packages Shipping Costs Quantity Discounts Security Sell Your Rock & Mineral Collection. Why should I sign your Guestbook? Quick Reference for Mineral Species, Formula, Class, and Type Locality List of Water Soluble Mineral Species Mineral List Available Upon Request Contact	News and Comments First a milestone for the week: I cataloged the 60,000th mineral specimen this week. Though I started in business in 1989, I did not begin cataloging in a database until 1993, and I did not begin photographing minerals until 1996 when I started this web site. As a result, only about 44,000 minerals have been photographed. But 60,000 is still a big number. The upcoming issues of several mineral magazines will feature diamonds because it is the theme at the January-February Tucson Gem & Mineral Show (a.k.a. TGMS). I have contributed to several articles and mentioned in one that the hardness of diamonds was harder on the octahedral face and included the fact that the octahedral face is 500 times harder. This is only part of the story. Here is the full story: Determining diamond hardness has always been problematic. Standard indentation tests like the Knoop, Rockwell, Vickers, Shore and Brinell failed because no indenter material had sufficient hardness to make an impression on a diamond crystal. The cubic face of a diamond is harder than all other known materials. But the octahedral face of diamond was known to be even harder. Because indentation tests were insufficient in determining the relative hardness of the diamond faces, researchers relied on comparing grinding resistance to determine relative hardness. Grinding/polishing a diamond using diamond abrasives indicated large differences in hardness between the cubic and octahedral faces with variations depending on grinding direction/orientation (what diamond cutters call cutting against the grain or with the grain). Denning reported measurable grinding hardness differences in excess of 500 times harder than the softest orientation of the cubic face using grinding the methodology. His upper limits of hardness were interpolated because the hardest face-orientations failed to ANY show satisfactory results during grinding (see figures 3 and 4 in American Mineralogist, 1953, vol. 38, page 108-117). However, the discovery of ultrahard fullerite (C60) provided a material that was harder than the hardest face of a diamond. Fullerite has a hardness of 310 gigapascals (GPa) on the Vickers Scale. Indentation tests using a fullerite indenter finally were able to yield hardness results for diamond cubic face of 137 ± 6 GPa and on the octahedral face of 167+5 GPa, a difference of approximately 20% (Journal of Materials Research, 1997, vol. 12, pages 3109-3114) This small difference in relative hardness makes a large difference when polishing diamonds. Diamond abrasives easily polishes cubic faces in the correct grinding direction, but slowly polishes octahedral even in the best grinding direction and no polish is possible in certain grinding directions. Until ultrahard fullerite abrasive becomes available, the 20% hardness difference between the faces will still result in large differences in polishing time. John Betts 12/3/2013 Click here to read past news and commentaries...
Click here to see other comments about this site by customers. Also add your feedback...	Customer Comments: "I spent a couple of evenings searching for these gifts and you have, far and away, the most professionally presented, easy to use web site." Gerard  M. "It was great to finally meet you today at the Springfield Show. I have been following and doing some minor purchasing from your site for years. I'm not a major collector by any means, but when I buy online, you and only one other are the dealers I trust (Geologic Desires). You actually price specimens at Earthly rates :). Thanks for the fair prices, keen insight and the time you took with me today. I will enjoy my pink elbaite for years to come and it will help brighten up my black ugly collection. Also, I purchased your dravite-uvite from Powers Farm (#44538) a while back and it's uniqueness, quality and historical value are tops. It's still my favorite specimen for these reasons. Hope your trip back to NYC wasn't too hectic." Sincerely, Bryan M. "Thank you for your information for mining in the New England area. We love to go to Ace of Diamonds in NY but cannot find a weekend available and these locations are perfect for us! One of these places will be a Birthday surprise for our daughter, who loves to find gems. Thank you again!" Sue, Ray, Cass and Jess "I Just recently purchased a lovely purple Fluorite on Sphalerite specimen and could not be happier. It was perfectly described in the photos and description, was very well priced and arrived at my home in Brisbane, Australia in perfect condition due to the care and time John Betts spent packaging the specimen. I would definitely recommend John Betts as one of the best sites to buy something special from. I will be purchasing again soon." Simon See more comments...
About the Owner Background Information Why I Collect Minerals Contact Information Mineral Show Schedule Links   See me next at: New York Gem & Mineral Show, March 1-2, 2014	Pledge to My Customers: Customer satisfaction is my primary goal. I pledge: New minerals will be added to this site every week. All minerals offered will be naturally crystallized specimens - no fakes, no dyes,  no irradiation, no crystals glued on matrix. Only the exact item pictured on the site will be shipped - no substitutes. Photographs will accurately represent each item - no exaggeration, enhancement or retouching flaws. Mineral species and localities will be accurately listed on labels with each specimen. All items will be shipped via US Postal Service, usually the next business day after the order is finalized. Each mineral will be individually wrapped and carefully packaged to prevent damage during shipping. All historic labeling, if available, will be included with each mineral. Returns are gladly accepted. No questions asked, no explanation necessary. All customer information will be kept confidential and never shared or sold. I will continue to freely share my knowledge with others and contribute to the study and appreciation of minerals. All mineral specimens have a lifetime guarantee: if the mineral specimen is ever tested, and I incorrectly identified the mineral species, I will refund the cost of the original purchase & shipping, the cost return shipping and the cost of the test.  John H. Betts, owner Mineral dealer since 1989
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John Betts - Fine Minerals, New York, NY
a division of allminerals.com, dealer of Fine Minerals and Natural Crystal Clusters since 1989.
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