Following Renovation, the Yale Peabody Museum’s Mineralogy Galleries Reopen with Selections from One of the World’s Most Important Private Mineral Collections

Following Renovation, the Yale Peabody Museum’s Mineralogy Galleries Reopen with Selections from One of the World’s Most Important Private Mineral Collections

Yale University Press Release
PRNewswire

The Yale Peabody Museum officially reopened its halls of Minerals, Earth, and Space to the public today, showcasing one of the world’s foremost collections of minerals. More than 170 specimens—some of them the largest and rarest of their kind—are now on view in the stunning and newly renovated galleries.

At the heart of these spaces is the hallmark gallery, David Friend Hall. Made possible by the generosity of Yale alumnus David Friend ’69, the Hall became one of the Peabody’s most popular attractions when it first opened in 2016. David Friend Hall draws on some of the most significant private mineral collections in the United States.  A 436-pound stibnite specimen donated by Robert Lavinsky, presented in a “frozen fireworks display,” greets visitors as they enter the Hall. Once inside, visitors immediately view a giant 1,900-lb quartz crystal from Namibia.

Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, Museum of Gems & Minerals, Now Open After Multi-million Dollar Renovations

Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report

In 1866, George Peabody donated $150,000 to Yale University to build a natural history museum. Construction of the museum was completed in 1876.

Peabody’s nephew, Charles Marsh (Yale graduate of 1862) returned from a couple of North American fossil expeditions with iconic Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and Brontosaurus skeletons for study, and later for display in the new museum.

50 years after the museum was built, it was torn down to make room for student dormitories. That same year, in 1925, a new museum was constructed in its current location, with the “Great Hall” featuring Marsh’s Brontosaurus. This was an important milestone in natural history museums around the world, greeting the public with an enormous and awe-inspiring display. The Peabody Museum was famous.

Fast forward to 2018, when the museum was gifted well-over $100 million for a complete renovation.

Gems & Minerals Galleries

The Yale Peabody Natural History Museum’s Gems & Minerals Galleries are now open! Their grand celebration, after a decade-long renovation, took place on Tuesday, September 24^th in the David Friend Hall. Those in attendance were University Museum directors, professors, staff, donors and friends of the gems and minerals community.

Founded in 1701, Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, is one of America’s prestigious and historic ivy-league schools. Yale was not unlike other ivy league schools in that its minerals collection began as a research tool, displayed in low wooden glass-topped cabinets, featuring numerous rocks and minerals with unfamiliar names from unfamiliar localities and unexciting chemical formulas. These collections were used mainly to teach mineralogy, and as a side note, on exhibit to inspire future mineralogists.

The notable change we see today are the stunning and welcoming showcases, featuring immense, rare, and important gems and minerals, many with familiar names and localities. Hundreds of important gems, minerals, jewelry, gems from space – it is all there in well-lit displays, now mainly used to inspire nature enthusiasts. (There are, of course, thousands of gem & mineral specimens in the downstairs research facilities for student and graduate study).

An Extraordinary Preview

Visiting the newly renovated museum just prior to the grand opening, our guided tour began on the ground floor to the natural history museum, standing in front of the California gold collection showcase (above). Dr. Stefan Nicolescu, Collections Manager for the Division of Mineralogy and Meteoritics, led the way to the Gem & Mineral Galleries.

“This renovated space has been a project now for almost a decade,” notes Dr. Nicolescu, “interrupted by the covid pandemic, of course.”

This new gem & mineral museum consists of 1.) important and historic gems and minerals from Yale’s own minerals collection, complete with rare and significant finds from well-known local and international mineral deposits, 2.) Yale’s important and extensive meteorite collection, including several rare finds on display, 3.) significant loans of loose gems and gem-set jewels, some along-side mineral specimens from which these gem materials originate, and 4.) currently residing in the new David Friend Minerals Gallery, gifted enormous mineral specimens that act as the Hall’s anchors for visiting mineral collections. The current visiting collection is the enormous and impressive Barry Yampol collection now on display.

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There’s History Here: Yale and Its Mineral Treasures

Yes, Yale has important, rare, and beautiful mineral specimens, but it also has an impressive short list of historically important professors of mineralogy, and memories of this history are on exhibit.

But important for its Division of Mineralogy and Meteoritics, Benjamin Silliman, a Yale Law graduate (1799) became the first Yale professor of chemistry. “He passed the Bar in 1802, before taking the chemistry teaching job,” says Nicolescu. “Silliman, who was the first professor of science at Yale – [and some would say in all of North America] – accepted the position in 1802,” one year after being asked to teach chemistry.

Why the delay? The chemistry teaching position was offered to Silliman in 1801. He was taken aback by the offer because he graduated with a degree in Law, not chemistry. It is said that Silliman didn’t know anything about the natural sciences they wanted him to teach, and so he asked for time to consider the offer. “In the meantime, he made sure that he got admitted to the BAR,” Nicolescu chuckled, “just in case this chemistry professorship did not work out.”

It All Worked Out Exceedingly Well
Silliman had a love for the natural sciences. He made important discoveries while studying meteorites, geology, and mineralogy. He discovered many of the constituent elements of numerous minerals.

Silliman was the first to distill petroleum [and some say was largely instrumental in initiating the world’s oil industry].

He founded the American Journal of Science in 1818… and then became so important in the field of mineralogy that a newly discovered aluminum silicate (AL₂SIO₅) was given his name (Sillimanite).

One of Silliman’s students, Edward Salisbury Dana, became famous as well, writing a number of books, including Dana’s Textbook of Mineralogy, which is considered by many still today to be the definitive textbook in both the fields of mineralogy and gemology.

Silliman was instrumental in bringing Yale its first important collection of mineral specimens, many of which are on display in the new exhibition.

Pointing to the display cases, “This is just a fraction of that collection,” says Nicolescu.

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Rapid Expansion of the Collection on Display
The Yale mineral and meteorite collections are quite sizeable and important. An enormous renovation and exhibition like the one you are about to experience would not have been possible if not for several generous donations. Two that we will mention right now are from mineral enthusiasts, Mr. David Friend (Yale ’69), famous for his development of the ARP music synthesizer, and Mr. Barry Yampol (1937–2023), extraordinary mineral specimen and gem collector, whose donations and loans make up a substantial portion of the new David Friend exhibition halls, annex, and collections.

Back to GOLD
Gold specimens will always attract attention. Its beauty, its color, its value – of course – are like a magnet to the eyes. There are shapes, and crystallizations that draw the attention of mineral enthusiasts. All fantastic to see. And a great way to be drawn in to the Yale Peabody museum.

“It was the late Barry Yampol who amassed this collection,” says Nicolescu, pointing to just one of the collection’s gold cases, this one in the entry hall of the natural history museum. [There’s yet another gold display upstairs in the new gem & mineral hall – we will get to that one later.]

This display contains over two dozen pieces. “These were at the American Museum of Natural History in New York for six or seven years,” noted Nicolescu, in case some of you believe you have seen these somewhere before. “And then in 2018, Barry moved the collection here, before the renovation.”

The Color of Money
“There is such a variety of Gold color,” says Nicolescu. Always the teacher, Nicolescu walks us through the case. “This allows me to talk to the visitors about how gold is always mixed with either silver – a lighter yellow, like that one over there – or with copper, like this one here – a darker yellow.” Nicolescu is also fond of crystal formations, especially the skeletal crystals. As he points, “That one there, the rocking chair, and also that one over there.”

Skeletal: “Due to crystallization energy, crystals start forming from the edges. And after the edges are formed, the faces start filling in. If something disrupts that crystallization process, either a change in thermodynamics or change in chemistry, then the process stops. And this is an intermediate stage of filling in the face.”

Nicolescu notes that through Yampol’s accounts, some of the gold specimens were collected in 1851. “If that is true,” gestures Nicolescu, “this means that in 1851, people were already paying attention to rare gold [as specimens], because usually, anything gold was being melted into ingots, coins, or jewelry.”

Gold Leaf
“Gold leaf is nothing but fluid conduits in the rock.” But in order to enjoy the leafy view, one must remove the surrounding rock with acid – hydrofluoric acid. You get rid of the feldspar, and you are left with the gold.

“Barry owned the Red Ledge Mine,” says Nicolescu. The Red Ledge Mine is located in what is called the Washington District, Nevada County, California. Red Ledge was famous for its gold-bearing quartz lode, with the gold occurring as leaves and plates in quartz. The best of the best are in Yampol’s collection. “He had an amazing gold collection,” says Nicolescu as we all stare into the case. “You will see only a fraction of that here on display.”

From the Entrance of the Peabody to the Newly Renovated Gem & Mineral Galleries
Taking the elevator up to the third floor and the newly renovated mineral halls, Nicolescu points out the vast improvement and expansion. Some parts of the exhibition galleries are in the old building, built in 1925, “but immediately to the left, the great central gallery that we came through, that was built and finished in 2024.”

Pandemic – Everything Placed on Hold
The museum was supposed to close for renovation in July 2020, “but then the pandemic put the kibosh on everything on March 13th, 2020,” recalls Nicolescu. Yale closed. However, this project was so important, Nicolescu was back in the department only a few weeks later, preparing minerals to eventually go on display.

With a Little Help from Friends
One of the names you will see on labels for loans and donations is C.R. “Cap” Beesley and his wife Joan. Cap is not a Yale graduate. But he has certainly left his mark on the new Gem & Mineral Galleries. Studying geology at Villanova, mineralogy at Columbia University, and gemology at the Gemological Institute of America, then opening his own gemological laboratory in New York City – the American Gemological Laboratories – Beesley has many colleagues and friends who collected gems and minerals. Some are Yale alumni. Through his associations, Beesley became involved with Yale’s historic Peabody Museum of Natural History and was brought on board by friend and well-known antique and estate gem and jewelry merchant, Benjamin Zucker (Yale graduate ’62).

It was during this time when the university reached out to philanthropist Ed Bass. Bass put up the first $160 million to renovate the entire museum.

It was then that Beesley was asked to chair Yale’s advisory board working on the major expansion of the gem and mineral galleries of the museum.

Beesley was, for many years, very close to Barry Yampol, minerals expert, dealer, and collector. Beesley persuaded Yampol to consider donations to the museum expansion.

Yampol’s original vision was to have his own museum. However, Yale offered several advantages, and so a small sampling of Yampol’s collection is now on long term loans… many of which you will see. [A “small sampling” is actually quite a large number of outstanding specimens, which makes you wonder just how big Yampol’s personal collection could be.]

Beesley also tapped Boston-based Yale graduate, entrepreneur and mineral collector, David Friend (‘69), who put millions as well as several important and enormous mineral specimens behind the project.

Beesley himself has contributed personal collections of gems to the exhibition.

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Third Floor and the Gems, Jewels, Meteorites, and Yale Minerals
Enter the Gem & Jewelry Exhibition of the Museum
“This was a Cora Miller bequest,” notes Nicolescu, directing us to the jewelry pieces on the wall to the right. “This was facilitated initially by Benjamin Zucker. He put us in touch with local jeweler Richard Wise. Richard made quite a few jewelry pieces in what we acquired through Cora Miller’s bequest. We actually met Cora Miller at Richard’s store, R. W. Wise Goldsmiths, in Lenox, Connecticut.”

Nicolescu was excited to point out the jewels on display. “These are Paula Crevoshay,” says Nicolescu, pointing to some of the more elaborate pieces. Crevoshay, a noted jewelry artist creates extraordinary works of jewelry. “This one is Richard Wise. And this too is Richard’s, as is that one,” pointing to many of the gem-set rings. The jewelry is beautiful, set with fine examples of important diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, opals, and other gems. “That brooch/pendant number one – that’s also Paula’s work.”

A Wall of Diamond and Colored Gemstone Rings
As gemologists, we are drawn to the wall of diamond and colored gemstone rings. One, an orange/brown diamond, was quite stunning, and a standout.

Corundum – Sapphires and Rubies
Turning to the back wall, we encounter an amazing display of bipyramidal sapphire crystals. Nine altogether, ranging from purplish pink to blue, from Sri Lanka.

Benjamin Zucker: The Wall of Natural Diamonds and Jewels
Antique and Estate Jeweler Benjamin Zucker loaned the exhibit dozens of old cut diamonds, fancy color diamonds, medieval diamond set jewels, and more.

Included in the exhibit are examples of early diamond cutting. There are two beautiful 16th century Renaissance rings where the uncut octahedral diamond is mounted into the setting. Because of Diamond’s hardness, diamond cutting was simply too difficult at this point in time, so the rough crystal, having beauty in its own right, remained intact.

The display continues with examples from the 1600s of “table cuts,” “rose cuts,” and early (1700s to early 1900s) “brilliant cuts.” to the right of the diamonds display, Zucker has two extremely rare mid-1800s Indian necklaces, a foil-backed quartz on gold accented by ruby beads, and a natural pearl and ruby necklace with matching earrings and ring. Benjamin Zucker’s outstanding antique jewels collection, several examples of each with jewels from the time periods will impress even the most seasoned professional jeweler.

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Details in the Presentation – Display Bases
Every piece on display has been placed with purpose, not only for its mineralogical importance, but for its beauty. They must be displayed with proper lighting and in the optimal viewing position. Gem & Mineral Museums are notoriously challenged by this, as much of the built-in lighting originates from very tall ceilings.

However, there is more control over just how the specimens are placed. “All of the little gemstone and mineral stands are made right here at Yale,” boasts Nicolescu. Some appear to have been molded to the shape of the rough. “We have very good preparatory.” He pauses. “You know, the role of the model maker is for the visitor not to see the model. But I think that, like you, I see all the little details.”

Labels without Colors or Chemistry
Upon close examination, we noticed that two curious labeling details were missing – color and chemistry. “Take for example that Sri Lankan sapphire. There’s no color listed.” The museum allows everybody to make their own color decision.

And there are no chemical formula notations either. “They were adamant that we are not putting out chemical formulas,” says Nicolescu. For Stefan, this was a blessing in disguise. As a mineralogist, he wants to see the formula displayed. But because the person in graphic design who writes the labels knows no chemistry, he would have been relegated to double [and triple] checking each and every label. He was spared the task by default.

But he is concerned about one thing. “Visitors can look up that information, but I prefer they are not on their phones when they are in here.” He smiles. From our experience, we believe you will be using your phone only for taking pictures. We shot hundreds of images, and not once did we look up a chemical formula. Experience saved.

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The Minerals Anteroom
“That’s probably the biggest in the world,” says Nicolescu as he points us to “the Rocket,” this enormously tall dark cranberry red tourmaline crystal. There it stands, just outside the David Friend Hall. Impressive! “This is from Brazil. It was found in 3 pieces.” The reconstruction was done by Wendell Wilson, editor in chief for the Mineralogical Record.

When Wendell was repairing the Rocket, David Yampol, Barry’s son, had the option of having those cracks filled in so the repair would be less obvious. “But Dave wanted it to be more true to how it was found in the pocket.” Even with the obvious separations, it looks really good from all directions!

Christopher Clark was in attendance at the opening of the Hall. Clark is the Texas and Eastern sales manager, for Collector’s Edge Minerals, one of the most highly regarded minerals specialists companies in the world.

“It was so gratifying to see the most anticipated display, ‘The Rocket!’”, says Clark. “Found in the Jonas mine in 1978, The Rocket, a three and a half foot, 273-pound elbaite tourmaline, is from one of, if not the most famous pockets of tourmaline ever discovered – and is important to mineral and gem enthusiasts alike. Getting to see such a storied but never displayed specimen such as this is the mineralogical equivalent of getting to meet a favorite artist for the first time! It’s an event!” exclaims Clark.

Nicolescu goes on to point out the rest of the large specimen. “As you can see, the quartz crystals at the bottom are undamaged.” He then points out the lepidolite and “a little bit of Clevelandite right there.”

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Haven’t we seen that somewhere before?
We had seen a very similar elbaite tourmaline just last year at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. “That’s only 84cm,” brags Nicolescu in fun. “This is 107cm!” We all laugh. We know they’re both amazing crystals!

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Meteorites (& Chocolate Chip Cookies?)
Because we are now at the beginning of the minerals displays, he directs us, as he would most visitors, towards the meteorites on display. It helps that Nicolescu’s specialty is in meteorites. “The vast majority of the meteorites are leftovers from the very beginning of the solar system, from the protoplanetary disk. So, in this one here,” as he directs our attention to the Allende meteorite, “those white splotches are the oldest objects in the solar system that a human can touch. These have been dated at 4.567 billion years. That’s the age of the solar system.”

Often times he will bring from his office, another piece of the Allende. “I let people touch the white splotch and the fusion crust on the outside. The fusion crust formed on February 8th, 1969, when it fell in Mexico. That’s when I can tell them, ‘you are holding between your thumb and your index finger the beginning and the present of the solar system.’”

Nicolescu talks about meteorites like chocolate chip cookies. “Chocolate chip cookies are made of flour and milk, butter and sugar, and chocolate chips. We put all those ingredients in the right ratio into a bowl. We then put them into the oven, and homogenize them, inducing physical and chemical change. And you end up with the chocolate chip cookies.”

“Meteorites are made up of all the ingredients of everything that’s in the solar system, in the protoplanetary disk, where these things come from. So that tourmaline [pointing to the Rocket], theoretically, is in that meteorite. It only took physics, time, and chemistry to make it happen.”

Only.

“And that’s why we can say that we are the chocolate chip cookies of the solar system.”

Back to the Meteorites in the Case
“That’s from Saint John, but that’s Krasnojarsk.” And that leads us into his next historically important story… the Krasnojarsk!

“That’s the very first Pallas,” as Nicolescu points to an obvious Pallasite, a backlit slice of meteorite showing the transparent olivine/forsterite gemmy crystals inside an iron meteorite. It was named pallasite after Peter Simon Pallas, an 18th German century scientist that Catherine the Great, who was of German descent, hired to explore the Russian Empire. While in Siberia, he came across a hunk of iron and something shiny in it, at a blacksmith’s shop in a small village in the Krasnojarsk Krai.

“They didn’t know what it was.” The blacksmith thought he could use it for the metal, but it was full of these little pieces of trouble – the olivine.

Nicolescu proceeded to tell us quite the story of how that meteorite, the very first Pallasite, was moved, studied, sliced into numerous pieces, and then somehow, one of those slices ended up in the mineral collection of a Newport, Rhode Island shipping merchant, George Gibbs. That is the collection that was offered to Yale – its first minerals collection. The real twist of this story is that Yale couldn’t afford the purchase, so Silliman raised the funds in order to buy the collection… for Yale.

(The main mass of the Krasnojarsk Pallasite is still in Saint Petersburg.)

Meteor(ite) Crater
Nicolescu pointed out a piece of Canyon Diablo from Meteor Crater, located in northern Arizona. “Meteor crater is a misnomer,” says Nicolescu, shaking his head in disappointment. “Meteors are what we see in the sky. When they fall to earth, they are meteorites. It should be called Meteorite Crater. But it is so ingrained, that there is no point in trying to change that…”

A piece of the moon. A piece of Mars
“That small slice there, the number one…. That’s a slice of the moon.”

He points to another. “Number eleven, the Nakhla, is a piece of Mars.”

The Father of Meteorites in North America
“Number 5 is the first meteorite witnessed by the white settlers in the New World that was analyzed and published by Silliman.”

Nicolescu has one of his own meteorite finds on display. Number three. Number three fell in 2013. It was found in Wolcott, Connecticut, not too far from Yale. This is one of those miracles where you know exactly where it fell and who found it. How do we know? “Well, it was found by the gentleman whose roof was pierced.” The odds of that happening are, of course, …. dare we say it? … ASTRONOMICAL.

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Jack Abraham – Jewels in the Anteroom
Just a few steps away from the Rocket and the meteorites are a series of gem displays, including rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. “And speaking of rubies,” says Clark, “Wow!” He’s referring to the “Royal Ruby Collection” on loan from Jack Abraham. That caught a lot of attention from gem and mineral collectors alike. “I got pulled over to that particular display a few times by folks wanting me to weigh in on my favorites. Which one, you ask? I believe the Mozambique ruby ring (#4 if you get to see the display) was my favorite, as it’s the finest Mozambique ruby I’ve ever seen.”

Jack Abraham & the Precious and Royal Ruby Collections
Looking for more gems to be on display, Beesley reached out to another friend and supporter, New York jeweler, Jack Abraham.

In a recent interview, Beesley notes that, “we have had important gem dealers like Jack Abraham of Precious Gem Resources become one of the Peabody’s most prolific and consistent supporters in the gem and jewelry sector. Recently, he provided one of the major highlights in the gem section called the ‘Royal Ruby Collection.’ It is a group of five gem rubies weighing a total of 53.53 carats. Each one of these Rubies is from a different geographic location. The multi-million dollar display is making its debut at the upcoming Grand opening of The Peabody’s Gem and Mineral Hall.”

The rarity and uniqueness of having a collection of such quality is amazing. With average weights of 10+ carats, unheated and from five different nations. No other collection of this importance exists anywhere in the world,” says Abraham.

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The YALE Collection
Inching closer to the main event, there’s the Yale historic minerals display. Historically important -yes. And what is on display is just a small portion of what the University has in its collection. If you can hold yourself back from going into the David Friend Hall, there are some terrific specimens from important sources to be seen here.

That emerald in the top left image is from Hiddenite North Carolina, … from William Earl Hidden!!

And there’s a pyromorphite from my neighborhood, in Chester County Pennsylvania! Apparently, this is one of the best pyromorphites coming out of Phoenixville. – gr

“Here we have some gemmy garnets from northern Massachusetts.” Almandine from Franklin County, Massachusetts. “That’s a gemmy willemite from Franklin [that’s in New Jersey]. That’s quite something as well. Not often found in such gemmy quality.”

Almost every specimen in every case has a story that Nicolescu can tell.

There is even one Yale collection display case that contains more history than minerals. There is the lock of hair from Silliman himself when he was 20 years old – when he had “ample hair.” There’s one of his first minerals collected, a yellow fluorite, from upstate New York, from the Musskellunge Lake deposit, including the label in Silliman’s own handwriting from 1805. There’s a compass and pick-hammer of Dana’s, Silliman’s first student (and soon to be son-in-law).

More Yale Collection – Local Finds
Nicolescu proudly directs our attention to the back wall. “These are Connecticut specimens.” Yale, of course, is located in New Haven, Connecticut. These are local specimens. “Here are some interesting tourmalines from the Gillette Quarry.” That’s about 30 minutes northeast of New Haven. “That purple fluorapatite was collected by the owner of the Strickland Quarry in the 1830s.” That’s just an hour north of New Haven. “And here is proof that there is gold in Connecticut,” says Nicolescu, pointing to a specimen off to the left. Yes, there it is, a very tiny speck of gold, so small that it is marked with the red circle on the host rock.

All kidding aside, there are some real treasures in the case. Very rare specimens.

But we are so close to the pieces on loan from Barry Yampol and David Friend that it’s hard to get too excited over the smaller – yet still important – mineral specimens here on display.

A Large Stibnite
“Much more value in my book is this stibnite here,” says Nicolescu, pointing to a silver metallic bundle of elongated crystals. “This comes from Ichinokawa in Japan.”

The one we are looking at is large, measuring 54.7cm. A larger specimen, 58.7cm, will go on display on the first floor.

“These are exceedingly rare,” says Nicolescu. The mine has been closed. And this one, this came out in 1883. “The young Dana, Edward Salisbury Dana, was so impressed by these two specimens, that he wrote a comprehensive crystallographic study, published in the in-house publication American Journal of Science.”

The Lavinsky Stibnite
“Look at that!” At the end of the local minerals display is this enormous piece of “frozen fireworks” as Nicolescu calls it – the Lavinsky Stibnite. It dwarfs almost everything in the room, weighing 436 pounds (198 Kilos).

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Prepare yourself for the main event….

David Friend
“When I was in grade school, they were building I-95 [the interstate freeway] through New Rochelle. On my way home from 4^th grade one day, I decided to crawl under the fence and take a shortcut through the construction site. They had been blasting to make a level roadbed.” Friend was into electricity at the time, making electromagnets and the like, and was delighted to find old blasting wire lying around all over the place. “I started cutting through every day. One day I looked up at this small cliff they had just blasted and saw something sparkling. I climbed up and there was a small pocket of quartz and mica crystals. I was dazzled.”

Friend told his father about the find. His father then introduced him to a neighbor who just happened to be a professor of mineralogy at NYU [New York University]. “This professor took me under his wing and showed me how to chip out the crystals. We found a few little beryl crystals as well.” Friend’s first mining experience ended abruptly as a watchman chased them off the freeway construction site. “That was the beginning of my collection.”

Friend stayed with electronics, and while at Yale University in New Haven Connecticut, developed Yale’s first electronic musical synthesizer lab in the cupola of Woolsey Hall, Yale’s 2,500 seat concert auditorium. He went on to become quite famous, co-founder of ARP, developing one of the first portable musical synthesizers for musicians such as Pete Townsend of the Who, George Harrison of the Beatles, Elton John, George Duke with Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Edgar Winter, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Page with Led Zeppelin, and even Steven Spielberg.

With success came philanthropy. Friend, gave generously to Berklee College of Music in Boston, to build the David Friend Recital Hall, a 150-seat semicircular performance space with a horseshoe-shaped balcony designed by architect Shizuo Harada.

And he gave generously to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, to build the David Friend Gem and Mineral Hall at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.

David Friend’s Vision
“A hundred years ago when the Yale Museum was built, the mineral collection served primarily as a scientific resource.” And most mineral collections look like a science experiment… sealed in wood and glass cabinets, a little dusty, lighting just a bit off, labels with chemical formulas and names of places one has never ever heard of.

“The role of natural history museums like Yale’s has changed,” notes Friend. “The research has all moved to the laboratories in the basement and other buildings, while the open part of the museum now serves the public, especially school kids.”

What do kids want to see?
“I want them to be inspired to learn. An 80-foot Brontosaurus does a pretty good job at inspiring!”

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So why not minerals? asked Friend “I had in mind a completely new approach to displaying minerals – they had to be jaw-droppingly spectacular. Lighting had to be dramatic. Signage had to be minimal. The instinct to teach had to be replaced with inspiring people to learn.”

BIGGER is Better!
This approach is a hard sell at an academic museum. In fact, Friend failed to convince another leading museum before eventually turning to his alma matter, Yale. “Luckily, Yale bought into my vision and gave me the freedom to develop this idea into what is now the David Friend Hall.”

The David Friend Hall of Minerals
Aladdin
“We are now entering Alibaba’s cave!” announces Dr. Nicolescu.

The David Friend Hall of Minerals has us awestruck. Upon entry, you are met by this enormous cluster of quartz crystals, begging for you to reach out and touch – which you are welcome to do. Remember, this is exactly what Friend wanted. Offer BIG minerals that would inspire.

As you walk past the quartz, there’s an incredible amethyst geode sitting on a pedestal. And not just “another geode,” but one that is large, and that you can see through, all the way to the back wall. We have a feeling the entire hall will be amazing.

“Only the big specimens in here are [gifts] from David Friend,” says Nicolescu. “Everything else is on loan from Barry Yampol.”

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The Big Fluorite!

“Dave wanted to have this area set up, not only as an exhibit area, but also as an auditorium for the museum.” The hall is a multi-purpose room, for social and educational events, and can seat up 125 people here in front of the fossil plate. “We have a screen, a projector, and the lectern goes over there,” says Nicolescu.

We Just Had to Ask
So, what is David’s favorite piece in the David Friend Hall and why?

“I have two,” says Friend. “First is the big Fontainebleau concretion.”

Let’s talk about that because it is spectacular!

The Gogottes (aka “Fontainebleau Sands”)

The “gogottes” of Fontainbleau are of extreme rarity by virtue of their very fine grain, their pure and homogenous composition, and the unique shapes sculpted by the natural geological forces. They are mostly white, or slightly grey, but with the occasional presence of red or brown colors from by iron oxides, or black spots from manganese oxides.

The Gogottes (aka “Fontainebleau Sands”) of the Parisian basin are a distinct class of concretion that are unique in both locality and aesthetics. Though technically a “sand concretion,” gogottes are of a special group of concretions that are only found within the Parisian basin, the “Fontainebleau Sands.” Fontainebleau Sands are a deposit of fine white sand in the Forest of Fontainebleau, France that were formed during the Oligocene age, approximately 35 million years ago). They also have layered, three-dimensional forms, as opposed to the spherical, discoid, and/or flattened sandstone concretions from other localities. While all concretions are appreciated for their geological significance, gogottes are unique in that they have gained recognition from art purveyors such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s because of their expressive, artistic aesthetics. Gogottes were loved by Surrealists and aristocrats, such as Louis XIV, and used to decorate the gardens at the Palace of Versailles and the Three Fountains. They are typically white to light gray, but can sometimes be red or brown due to iron oxide staining. To have uniform coloration throughout is extremely rare.

“My friend Richard Berger bought an entire find decades ago and brought them back to a secret warehouse on the West Coast. There’s a long story, but suffice it to say that there they sat – several hundreds of them – for many years, unseen. He gave one to the Smithsonian, and there is one in Paris, but as far as I know those were the only ones on public display at the time. Most are much smaller than the one at Yale.”

“Thanks to Richard, I was able to get into the warehouse and pick out the most mesmerizing, the most intricate, and the most perfect for Yale.

“It’s like a Rorschach test – you can stare at it for hours and see an infinite number of shapes, faces, objects, whatever. People have a hard time believing that it is not man-made sculpture. Constantin Brâncuși, the Romanian sculptor, had a small one in his studio, which, to my eye, clearly informed his work.”

We ALL Love It
Yes, one of David’s top choices happens to be in everyone else’s top choices. “We affectionately call it ‘the Marshmallow’,” chuckles Nicolescu. “… or the Michelin guy.” Yes, this magnificently large sand concretion does actually look like several melted marshmallows!

As Nicolescu explains, it’s basically a formation that happened about 30 meters below the surface in very pure white sand. “It’s just a combination of chemistry,” says Nicolescu. “Water percolates from the surface, going through the soil, gets enriched in organic acids that bring the silica and the sand into solution. Then, when modern water meets the water table (which is historic water), at a point of discharge into a valley, then the solution loses the capacity of keeping the silica in the dissolved state. It precipitates out, first as amorphous silica, which cements the sand grains, and then that silica also in time crystallizes.”

This behemoth is at least 97% quartz, but many times, these concretions are almost pure – 99% quartz. “And the marshmallowy shape is because the process is not continuous.”

“You don’t have weather and chemistry running uninterrupted,” explains Nicolescu. “So it’s a stop and go process, but nothing to do with temperature, which is why you get this build up.”

Getting the Marshmallow into the Case
Now THIS was a challenge for the case makers. It’s huge! And Heavy!

“When it’s lit, it’s beautiful. It’s snow-white!” Louis XIV had one of their fountains at Versailles constructed with numerous gogottes. [- incorporated into the Bousquet des Trois Fontaines (Grove of the Three Fountains) at Versailles, designed by the French landscape architect André Le Nôtre in 1677]

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#2 – The Amethyst Geode

“My other favorite piece is the spectacular amethyst geode with the dramatic, sparkly Calcite crystal.”

“When a friend of mine called me at the Tucson show 10 years ago to tell me that there was an unbelievable Uruguayan Amethyst geode in the back of a U-Haul truck a few miles out of town, I thought, ‘Yeah, we’ve all seen hundreds of these.’ But this was no ordinary geode.”

Nicolescu remembers this story well. He received a phone call from Friend, and from his recollection, this is exactly how it happened.

“It had to go in the Yale museum,” says Friend. “I bought it on the spot.” He then called Nicolescu. “I told Stefan that I had bought an amethyst geode. His reaction was, ‘Oh no, not another Amethyst geode!’”

When they opened the crate, they all knew immediately that there was nothing comparable on display at any museum. “This was something that set a new standard for beauty and rarity. It’s now one of the most popular pieces on display.”

Nicolescu talks about taking the perfect picture with the fossil wall covering the entire opening of the geode. [image here – This one’s for you, Stefan. – gr]

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From the Yampol Family and The Mineral Trust Collection – on Loan for the next Five Years
“My father was a consummate mineral collector,” says David Yampol, Barry Yampol’s son. David was in attendance and one of the guest speakers the evening of the grand opening ceremonies. “He loved all minerals, and no species was beneath his interest. Big gem minerals are flashy and beautiful, but to him, a nasty looking, but well-formed Franklinite was a thing to behold, especially if he collected it!”

While Barry had a soft spot for Azurite, David can’t imagine that his father favored any mineral in a display more than another. No specimen was unworthy of his attention once spotted. He could look at a table filled with specimens and pick out the very best few in seconds – he just needed a glance. It was really quite remarkable to see him in action. “There are others who have that skill and desire,” recalls David, “but I was fortunate to be by the side of one of the greatest.”

And now we take you through some of the many outstanding minerals on display. What is our favorite? Like Yampol said, they are all worthy of being seen and enjoyed!

Here is the other Gold Case
“What I like about this case,” says Nicolescu, “is that these three here are not completely clean. I can talk to people about how gold comes out of the ground like that with limonite and all sorts of crud on it.” [“Crud” – that’s the mineralogical term for “Schmutz.” – 😊 gr]

FYI – Hint from Nicolescu: “If you think there may be gold in that rock, heft it. Gold is three times more dense than iron – it’s heavy!”

“These specimens come mainly from Nevada, but there are also some from Brazil and California.” He points to a favorite in the case. “This one is skeletal. And the other interesting thing is that this is also alluvial. It’s tumbled. You see the edges are a little bit rounded.”

Every single piece of gold is worthy of a long stare.

The Phosphophyllite: The Two-headed Frog
Nicolescu walked over to the showcase with a green gemmy crystal mineral specimen that has the appearance of a frog on a rock. Or is it a green moth with its wings open?

“That is arguably one of the best mineral specimens in the world, period,” says Nicolescu. “It’s a twin. It’s just crazy. And it’s over 13cm in size.”

There were many mineral experts at the opening of the museum. They were all gathered around the phosphophyllite. Clark agrees wholeheartedly with Nicolescu. This mineral specimen is the one to look for.

“Number 1 on my list is the phosphophyllite,” says Clark. This is of course one of the many minerals on loan from the Yampol Family and The Mineral Trust. “It’s a very important specimen and the finest phosphophyllite in the world.” Clark notes that it’s not even close to anything in second place. “Phosphophyllite is prized for its color, clarity, and form, and this specimen is a fine, gem-quality, twinned crystal. And on matrix!” It is not uncommon to find just the mineral specimen itself in a showcase or mount, but to find something this large and gemmy, just the way mother nature created, and on its host rock the way man has uncovered it, now that is special. “A trip to the Yale Peabody is worth it to see this piece alone,” says Clark, “but there is so much more to see.”

Groupings and Displays
“This is the genius of our experienced designer, Laura Friedman,” says Nicolescu. “It just brings you into focus. She designed all this – all of the groupings you see here.” There were over 400 specimens to choose from, and Friedman designed everything while Barry Yampol was still alive.

The Mimetite
Even if you’re in the gem and jewelry industry, many of these minerals may still be unfamiliar. Take for example the Mimetite, a soft, pale yellow hexagonal crystal in the Apatite Group. Nicolescu points to the top of the display. “Those are two lead secondary minerals called mimetite. And those are among the best mimetites in the world.”

“Yes,” says Clark. “The mimetite is really that special!” looking at the top specimen. “Its size and clarity are exceptional! And the aesthetics of the specimen are altogether magnificent!” Clark points out that it does help to know the variety to better appreciate it for what it is. “In gem terms, it would be akin to viewing a display of stunning rubies and not knowing why everyone keeps getting distracted by a 5-carat eye clean, no oil, red beryl next to them.”

[You also have to know about the rarity of red beryl to understand that reference, too. – gr]

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The Tourmaline Collection

All Yampol
“This is exclusively from the Yampol collection and the Mineral Trust,” says Nicolescu as we enter into a separate display room.

He directs our attention to a wall of large thick beautiful gemmy red/deep pink tourmaline crystals. “These are Californian, Afghanistan, Brazilian, and Madagascan.” He points to one from California. He calmly says, “this has an interesting story if true. Apparently, this was acquired by George Kunz.” [George Kunz, the famous gemologist of Tiffany & Co. in the early 1900s.]

In fact, they do have specimens in the collection that Kunz donated to Yale. Tiffany & Co. made donations as well. “Apparently, they used these tourmaline crystals for many decades in their displays of jewelry,” notes Nicolescu. “They would have tourmaline jewels hanging on them.” He points to two others, from Brazil. “These two came from the Jonas mine, the exact same pocket that the big elbaite log came from!” [the Rocket]

Everywhere we turn, there’s yet another extraordinary mineral specimen with another amazing story.

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Silver
How to Appreciate Silver
Gem and Mineral museums often include the metals in their collections: silver, gold, copper, hematite, pyrite, galena, and so on. It’s easy for us to understand the beauty of gold, even if it’s only for its color. The crystalized pieces are favorites, and we see some here.

Silver, on the other hand, is usually displayed as a twisted mess of grey wire. And to most, not easily recognized as important, or for that matter, beautiful.

“The gold and silver specimens were outstanding,” notes Clark, “with the silvers being my actual favorite.” And here is why. “The most subjective aspect of a mineral’s value is its aesthetic. The aesthetics of previous specimens I’ve detailed – gorgeous, gemmy, euhedral crystals, well-centered on matrix, have a very wide appeal. The aesthetics of silver, and especially silver wire specimens, can be much more subjective.”

“Looking through the fascinating forms of Barry’s silver collection left me with a better and broader appreciation of Barry’s palate as a collector. Seeing specimens like these in a collection are like seeing the results of a Rorschach test given for style. And Barry Yampol had style!”

The BIG Amethyst See-through Geode
As we circle back around to the entry, we stop once more at the Amethyst Geode. Looking closely, we see that there are five generations of minerals in here.

“So first, there’s the amethyst that coated the geode, and it’s open at both ends. That makes it very special. And then under the amethyst there are rock crystal quartz crystals … you see the hexagonal prism under the amethyst here.”

There is the big quartz crystal, and then two more, all covered by the second generation of amethyst. “Then the calcite scalenohedron came on it. Under the calcite, you see a little bit of amethyst. So that means that the calcite is after. And then the last generation is the goethite. Maybe it’s epitactic on the calcite. So it grew after crystallographic directions on the host.”

Everything is Written in the Rocks. You Just Have to Know the Language
“Dave Friend got it literally off the pickup truck that was bringing it into the Tucson show from the airport,” recalls Nicolescu. “He grabbed me by the shoulder and he said, ‘Stefan, you have to see this Amethyst geode that I just purchased’.”

“And in my mind I was thinking, ‘what is the big fuss? I’ve seen SO many Amethyst geodes. What is he excited about?’

“And when I saw this, I said, ‘I get it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.’ It’s esthetically stunning.”

THE END

Names who Helped Make this all Possible
Cap Beesley: Chair of the Yale Advisory Board
Stefan Nicolescu, PhD.: Our tour guide and Yale University Collections Manager, Division of Mineralogy and Meteoritics
David Friend: Yale graduate (‘69), Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
Barry and David Yampol: Mineral collectors
Laura Friedman: Exhibit Designer Peabody Museum
Benjamin Zucker: Antique and Estate Jeweler
Jack Abraham: Bespoke Jeweler
Christopher Clark: Minerals Specialist with Collector’s Edge
Dave Skelly: Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University and Director, Peabody Museum of Natural History, whose steady leadership would make the entire Yale Peabody Museum project possible
Ed Bass: Philanthropist whose generous donation of $160 million started the whole thing off
Jay Ague: Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Yale University, and Curator-in-Charge of Mineralogy and Meteoritics, Yale Peabody Museum