Coffee cans and tins of gems

I have been working the past two days, while the gallery has been closed for Memorial Day weekend. Actually I have been working on this particular endeavor for over a year! I agreed to appraise a gem/mineral/rock collection that belongs to Dr. & Mrs. Gil Collings. The late Dr. Collings, was a resident of Fort Myers and along with his wife and family, collected gems, minerals and assorted rocks for over 40 years. He had a classroom business in New Jersey where he loved teaching gem-cutting, faceting and jewelry making. Mrs. Collings approached me over a year ago to see if I knew of someone who could assist her in appraising the collection so she could donate it to Stetson University. It seems that they wanted the collection but did not want to pay the approximate $20-30,000  appraisal fee that would be required. This type of collection is incredibly difficult to value as there are high-end faceted gems, unique mineral specimens, lapidary material in the rough and cabbed as well as assorted gem cutting and jewelry making equipment. Most appraisers do not have this depth of knowledge across so many areas. Many of the items are still in their packaging when purchased over 20 years ago!

Multiple trays of Various gems

I suggested to Anne (Mrs. Collings) that if she were to, instead, donate the collection to FGCU, I would be willing to do the appraisal for only a $2000 fee. I knew that the students at FGCU would be able to put the entire collection to use and it could be the foundation for an entirely new Gemology and Lapidary Department! Most universities would catalog the collection and store it in drawers down in a sub-basement. At FGCU, I could visualize students walking past showcases highlighting these amazing mineral specimens, while hopefully inspiring many to pursue the Indiana Jones adventures of mineral collecting, gem cutting or jewelry making. It has taken me far more time than I had first thought and in ways I hadn’t even imagined to complete this appraisal.  I have spent 1/3 of my time on the internet researching possible prices for material that hasn’t been mined in 20 years. I have researched specimens that I have never heard of and would call friends of mine that are agate lickers (passionate rock collectors) and email pictures of material back and forth. My staff thinks I’m a little crazy because I continually run into the darkened bathroom with a UV light to test rocks for fluorescence.

Even more trays of jewels to identify and price

The FGCU Foundation President and Anne Collings have been VERY patient with me as the process has taken five times longer than I anticipated. I have attached photos to illustrate how much there is and the variation of the material. Boxes, bins, coffee cans (I’m sure some of these are collectible), cigar boxes and cookie tins are part of the storage scheme. Luckily, Dr. Collings was an early user of computer databases and the entire collection is cataloged in a DOS system. The material has numbers on most pieces so it has been a process of identifying, weighing and pricing everything…A once in a lifetime opportunity and research experience. I have developed such an admiration for their collecting and cataloging abilities. My hope is that many future generations will be able to touch, examine, and explore this collection of a lifetime.