The collections of the Department of Mineralogy include specimens from a wide range of crystalline materials that come from the earth (rocks and minerals) and outer space (meteorites and one moon rock). They also include mineraloids such as amber, opal and coal; synthetic industrial minerals; economic ores; and Lapidary Arts of both natural and synthetic materials.
The majority of specimens were acquired or donated over the years—many from the teaching collections of Case Institute of Technology, and Western Reserve and Heidelberg colleges. In curating these specimens, the department not only provides public enjoyment of the natural beauty of these materials through exhibits, but also makes specimens available for non-destructive research and teaching, and preserves pieces of the geologic record of Earth’s history.
Specimens from some of the ore, mineral and petrology collections are made available for loan to qualified researchers and educators for non-commercial purposes. Specimens can be shipped or picked up from the department after loan approval. A detailed outline of the project, including methodology for examining specimens, is typically required.
Qualified researchers may also arrange to visit collections. A $200 bench fee includes access to a microscope, access to the Internet and support from the Collections Assistant.
Read the policies and guidelines for use of collections.
Contact the curator to discuss access to the collections.
Case Institute of Technology Collection
In 1960, Case Institute of Technology (C.I.T.) loaned over 6,100 mineral specimens to the Museum and placed them on permanent loan in 1977. This includes the original collection of Professor Frank R. Van Horn. Specimens come from at least 49 countries and 45 U.S. states. In 1969 the C.I.T. Economic Geology collection of approximately 6,000 specimens was also placed on permanent loan.
Wellington Decorative Stone Collection
The Wellington Collection, donated in 1988, consists of approximately 1,137 slices of stone such as marble, granite and slate from around the world. They were collected by Robert Wellington, a sales representative for several large marble and granite companies. Samples range in size from 3x5 to 12x12 inches, and have trade names and descriptions labeled on the back of each specimen.
Charles H. Jones Mineral Collection of Heidelberg College
The Charles H. Jones Mineral Collection of Heidelberg College was donated to the Museum in 1988. Many of its 5,000 specimens were collected by Charles H. Jones (1846-1920), a New York printer and amateur mineral collector. His son, Professor J. W. L. Jones, was instrumental in acquiring the collection and establishing the Heidelberg College Mineral Museum in 1920.
Davidson Collection
The Davidson Collection of 2,200 cabochons, lapidary eggs and other cut and polished rock, mineral and petrified remains, displays the vast array of colors and geometric patterns that naturally occur in Earth materials. It was donated to the Museum in 1997 by Dr. and Mrs. Richard Davidson of Chicago, and some of its specimens are displayed in the Jeptha Homer Wade II Gallery of Gems & Jewels.
Jeptha Homer Wade II Gem Collection
This historical collection of faceted gemstones from around the world was collected and owned by Jeptha Homer Wade II, grandson of the noted Cleveland industrialist and benefactor. It is one of the finest collections of gem materials in North America, and includes specimens such as a jade necklace, Mississippi River pearls, opals and a particularly fine group of colored diamonds. Samples from the collection are on display in the Museum's Visitor Hall.
Micromineral Collection
Micromineral specimens are typically less than 2 centimeters in size and contain crystals that are commonly less than 1 millimeter in size. At this scale all of the crystals are “euhedral,” or perfectly shaped, and provide a stunning image when viewed under the microscope.
Charles S. Watson Mineral Species Collection
This
Dana systematic collection was donated by the late Charles S. Watson of Carson City, Nevada. It includes 3,300 samples covering 2,400 individual mineral species arranged according to Dana’s chemical and structural classification system.
Watson collected his first specimen, crystals of actinolite, on a school field trip to Wrightwood, California in 1947. He studied mineralogy under H. Stanton Hill, a long-time professor at Pasadena City College, who encouraged Watson’s lifelong interest in rare minerals. Watson began organizing his collection using the Dana after purchasing one of his rarest specimens, a crystallized specimen of Thortveitite, on a field trip led by Prof. Hill. A Scandium mineral, it is still prized as one of the rarest in Watson’s collection. Not long after obtaining the Thortveitite, Watson acquired its paramorph, Befanamite.
When Watson easily passed his final exam at Pasadena City College, Prof. Hill presented him with a very rare B(OH) specimen from the Lagoone of Tuscany, Italy. “Never let a label be separated from the specimen,” Hill told him, stressing the immense importance of a specimen’s provenance. By the time Watson graduated from Pasadena City College in 1953, his Dana collection had grown to over 500 species. During this period Watson acquired two nuggets of so-called Josephinite from Josephine County, Oregon. These were later confirmed to be Awaruite and Orgeonite. The latter is a Ni-Fe arsenide, still considered an extreme rarity in any Dana’s systematic collection.
Watson’s collection was brought to the Museum in 1984. It is one of the largest species collections ever assembled by a single collector of modest means.
Van Horn Mineral and Petrology Collections
Fred M. Chase Ore Deposits Collection
The Van Horn and Chase collections represent parts of teaching collections from the geology departments of Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University. When those institutions merged in 1967 to form Case Western Reserve University, duplicate and extraneous specimens from the combined collections were given to the Museum.
Synthetic Earth Materials Collection
Cleveland’s industrial history includes a legacy of companies engaged in growing synthetic crystals, beginning in 1919 with Brush Labs and continuing to today with Sawyer Technical Materials. This collection contains many examples of synthetically grown minerals such as quartz, alum and corundum manufactured by more than 10 companies across North America, five of which were in Cleveland.
Sand Collection
This is the newest of the Mineralogy Department’s collections. Sand is not defined by its composition but by the size of its grains (1/256 mm to 2 mm). It is the basis for soils and eventually rocks like sandstones. These tiny minerals eventually break up and dissolve to yield their elements to the environment. In a stream these elements determine the chemistry of the water, which influences the aquatic life. In a forest these elements determine the soil nutrients, which influences the plant life.
Arenology (study of sand) is useful to geologists and biologists who study environments within the Earth’s and extraterrestrial biospheres.