This year's trip to Sainte Marie was one of the most eventful. It started with a four hour delay at the ferry waiting for the previous night's unseasonal storm in the English Channel to die down. Eventually, when the backlog of cars, busses and lorries had been cleared it was our turn to drive on board ship for the 90 minute crossing to France. On the other side we were greeted by glorious sunshine and after a five hour drive on the Autoroute we arrived at the town. Or at least we thought we had. Just before arriving at our destination we found the tunnel leading through into Sainte Marie from our side of the mountains shut by roadworks. It later transpired that these will be in place until 2007, but in the meantime we spent an hour and a half being lost, trying to find an alternative route over the top. After several wrong turns we eventually made it, staying at the picturesque village of Tannenkirch, 5 miles past Sainte Marie in the beautiful Vosges mountains. Time from when we left home was a round fifteen hours. Arrival time 10.30pm.

The following morning, after getting over England's defeat at the hands of the Portuguese football team, we drove into Sainte Marie and were immediately faced with a parking problem. The town, typically mediaeval in layout, is characterised by narrow cobbled streets and small grassy squares. Even though it was 9am cars lined the streets, other traffic snaking past, everyone looking for somewhere to park. Although the organisers provide car parks during the show, most of these are on the outskirts of town and thus quite a long walk away from the centre. When buying a large number of minerals, making the trek to and from one of these car parks exceedingly tedious. So we were amazed when we saw a space outside of a building site, less than 100m from the show entrance. Perhaps other drivers were too cautious about leaving their car besides a lot of scaffolding, but no such worries for us. But its enough to say that if you want to leave your car in the town's centre you have to get there early.

The first thing different about this year's show was the fact that it has grown significantly since last year. In addition to the main site centred around the theatre, a satellite show had been erected approximately 250m down the high street. This would have to wait until later, as for the time being we wanted to have a good look around the main show. This year, as usual, the show is open for four days, starting on a Thursday and ending on the Sunday. The entry price was €30 for a four day ticket, or €20 per day. Unfortunately, we couldn't attend the first day yesterday, so our arrival was on the second of the dealer-only days, Friday. The first two days are billed as "dealer days" reserved for "professionals", and you are supposed to download an entry form from the show's website. We had diligently filled ours in, but on arriving at the gate no one asked to see it and we were duly issued with a four day pass. The Saturday and Sunday are public days, but we didn't see anyone enforcing the trade as opposed to public days. To be honest we don't think the organisers wish to restrict access in order to keep numbers of visitors up and thus turn a blind eye to any entry conditions.

Our Hotel in Thannenkirch	Sainte Marie High Street

On passing the ticket office we were immediately faced by the challenge of what to see first. White marquees stretched in every direction and it is easy to get lost. However the office distributes maps so it became much easier to find your way around. Also, having been to the show before helped us get our bearings. Starting along Rue Kroeber we noticed an eclectic mix of Moroccan, Russian and Romanian dealers. On display were quite spectacular gemmy Vanadinites from Morocco, Quartzes associated with various Sulphides from Herja in Romania, and various highly coloured silicates from Kola in Russia. Sadly there was nothing new here, although the quality was high, and it immediately struck us that prices were much higher then the same material in Munich last year. However it was still early days and we felt certain prices would fall if sales proved slow.

Interspersed between the specimen dealers were several stands selling polished stones and wholesalers of long strings of beads. Also common in this part of the show were sellers of stone carvings and fossilised wood which had been cut into larges slabs polished into extremely ornate table-tops. Very beautiful, but with prices starting at €1500, also very expensive. Fossils also featured amongst these stands, several vendors selling vast amounts of trilobites, shells and corals.

The Main Show Layout	Looking down Rue vers le Parc

Walking deeper into the show brought us to a side street almost exclusively occupied by Chinese dealers. Our immediate observation was that as with the other nationalities their specimens were almost identical between one stall and another, each tent being host to green Fluorites and white Calcites of almost every description, Pyrite from Hunan and Quartz from Sichuan. Two things grabbed our attention. There was almost no Realgar which was so common a year of so back, and the presence of some quite amazing honey-coloured Scheelite crystals on matrix. The prices were amazing to match, one dealer offering a 2cm crystal for €300. Perhaps the most interesting find were thin plates of fused octahedral Fluorite crystals, highly transparent green with purple edges when lit from behind. We later discovered that the Chinese dealers work as a cooperative. In other words, there are teams of resident sellers in Europe who travel between shows and miners back in China who dig the minerals and prepare them for the market. These are then shipped over to Europe or USA by the container load, and the dealer teams bid for specimens as they arrive. The teams then sell the specimens keeping the profits, if any, for themselves. This explains both why prices vary so much between dealers and why they almost all sell the same material. We suspect that the Moroccan and most likely the Pakistani dealers operate in the same way.

And so onto the rest of the show. By now we had worked our way to the centre surrounding the impressive 19th century theatre. This is the venue for the best specimens and as usual we were not disappointed. First on our list of dealers to see was Jordi Fabre. His stock of Spanish Fluorites from La Colada is legendary. This year his selection was slightly less than before, but nevertheless the dark blues were stunning. Next came Sami Makki of Matrix Minerals who had brought the wonderful Apophyllite clusters to market three years ago. As usual he also had a first class selection of Indian zeolites, several of which, after tough negotiation found their way into our bags. Our favourite is a Stilbite slab hosting no less than seven Apophyllite clusters, all with the classic flat termination.

Inside the Theatre	Looking down from the Balcony

One fact that struck us was the presence of four high quality Italian dealers. Some of the specimens on show included some of the best Rhodochrosite crystals we had ever seen from the Sweetwater mine, bright green clusters of Spessartine Garnets from Piedmont, as well as truly amazing Emeralds from Colombia. Remarkably a few years ago the Italian market was almost non-existent, so it is really impressive the way in which it has rapidly grown and encouraged the start up of these firms. We suspect that this is largely due to the organisers of the Bologna show. They have worked extremely hard at popularising the show into one of the best in Europe. They did this by travelling around the other shows like Munich and Sainte Marie, inviting foreign dealers to come to their venue. This worked and now the quality Italian market is one of the most vibrant, local collectors growing in number by the hundreds.

In contrast the French contingent was rather muted, which is surprising considering that the Sainte Marie show is hosted in France. Apart from some pale blue Fluorites from Le Puy, there was relatively little material on show and far fewer French dealers in the theatre than we would have expected. A very similar picture is pained for the British mineral scene. Only one dealer was represented here, namely Crystal Classics, run by Ian Bruce. He was positioned by the stage in the theatre, his specimens displayed in his now trademark tall cabinets. A very impressive selection, if on the expensive side. Ian did however have one irresistible piece which was a 10cm cube of deep blue Boltsburn Fluorite. Priced at over €4000 we fought our conscience for a while, before finally succumbing to the temptation.

By now it was getting late, so it was back to the hotel, to rest and drink a few beers after a very long day. And of course watch the match between France and Greece. In the event France joined England on the plane home as Greece stole the show with a 1-0 win. Se la vie.

Stunning Apophyllites from a classic find	Bournonite from St Laurent

The following day, Saturday, dawned with a clear blue sky. After a quick breakfast it was back down the mountain to Sainte Marie. Parking again was an issue, as Saturday is always the busiest day of the show. But again, luck came our way and we left the car less than 200m from the main entrance. Today, however, we would start at the satellite show. First impressions were that there were almost no people about, even though it was now 10am. We had heard about this situation the previous day as word got round that dealers here were complaining at the scarcity of customers. So much so, that the organisers kept announcing the existence of the satellite show over the public address system at the main site. Today, it turned out, they even provided busses to ferry people the 500m from one site to the other. Nevertheless the impact seemed fairly minimal as few people seemed to be milling around the 140 or so stalls.

Walking around it seemed that there were relatively few new or interesting minerals to be seen here. The outside tents were again home to thousands of Chinese specimens, masses of them, but all the same groups of species. Also there was a strong presence from east European amber dealers. These were mostly stones set into jewellery or alternatively slices containing various inclusions and insects. Some entertainment was provided by two sellers at one stand having a passionate row about something, unfortunately we weren't able to understand what this was about. The large sports hall adjacent to the square was busy with Romanian dealers selling wonderful Calcites, Quartzes and Pyrite from Herja and Baja Sprie. Lots of very beautiful specimens but again all on the same theme.

By this time we noticed that heavy discounting was beginning to set in. Whether this was limited just to the satellite show we didn't know for the time being, but it was clearly in response to the low visitor numbers. Suddenly, walking past stalls we were being invited to enter and make offers for pieces which had caught our attention. In this way we managed to obtain quite a few bargains, but still not as cheap as we thought they ought to be. But now it was certain that prices would continue to fall further.

Calcite from China	Yellow Fluorite from Morocco

Having spent a very enjoyable morning here, we dropped off our purchases at the car and proceeded up the high street to the main show. By now there was a healthy queue at the entrance and the street beyond looked a lot busier than yesterday. The sun was out in full force now, so our first stop was the refreshment tent for a cool beer. Next on the agenda was the large marquee TE4 besides the theatre. This was home to several rows of tables whose dealers were selling some of the more interesting minerals at the show. Rather than specialising in showy museum quality pieces, these dealers were mainly selling specimens appealing to collectors dedicated to mineral classes, micromounts and systematic collections.

Without realising it, we spent the next two hours browsing the 50 odd tables. Even though the heat was becoming unbearable in the enclosed space we managed to survive by periodically diving outside for some fresh air drinking vast amounts of ice-cold beer. The first table to catch our attention was Pavel Koudelka, selling some old-timer specimens of rare sulphides including Jalpaite and Seligmannite from Pribram in the Czech Republic. Several of these found their way into our bag. Next was Jacques Caule, whose table was graced by magnificent bright green Torbernites from the Le Limouzat mine. Not a new find, but nevertheless a very welcome addition to our collection. Nearby was our good friend Sara Giller of Crystal Vine, selling a particularly nice suite of old Cornish specimens. Down the centre of the hall ware stands of two German dealers, Matthias Jurgeit and Peter Kolesar, both of whom we know well, and who were offering some classics from the Erzgebirge mining region in southeast Germany. Amongst the finds were Goethite and Pyrrhotite, together with some first class specimens of Bohemian Fluorite and pink Topaz from Altenberg. Lastly, against the back wall were a number of Polish dealers selling that country's beautiful Agates, Halite and Selenite. The Halite deserves a special mention, one matrix specimen being over 1m long. Filling the remainder of the hall were a mix of other dealers selling mostly common species, a couple of meteorite specialists and a small contingent from Pakistan selling Aquamarines and other locally produced gemstone rough.

Moving onto another of the tents, this time TE3, we encountered a number of other interesting species. Amongst those from France were a new find of botryoidal green Pyromorphyte from Asperies. We saw also saw large cog-wheel crystals of Bournonite from St. Laurent in association with Sphalerite. Once upon a time specimens like these used to come out of Herodsfoot mine in Cornwall, but alas no more. Germany has produced a number of green Boracites in an Anydrite matrix and very nice Manganite crystals from Ilfeld. We saw some stunning crystals of native Bismuth and some equally nice Fluorites from the Annaberg mine. Manfred Grimmel had a first class display of Namibian Fluorites. These continue to emerge from the country, but the number of good quality specimens is decreasing. The same can be said for Tsumeb, where almost no new specimens are coming onto the market. Otherwise there is little sign of new finds from other African counties, with the exception of some very nice Poldevardite and Sturmantite from the Kalahari manganese mines in South Africa. From Zaire we saw a good range of ever-popular Dioptase crystals up to 1,5 cm.

Lots of Rhodochrosite from the Sweeteater Mine made its way to the show	Jalpaite from Pribram

Talking to many of the dealers the emerging theme was the shortage of good quality specimens and particularly of new finds. One of the few new discoveries we uncovered were some stunning Rutile and Hematite combos from Bahia in Brazil. Another interesting new find from this big country are golden Sagenite crystal on Ematite blades in different size and very aesthetic. Most of these consist of a silver metallic Hematite matrix covered by slender needles of brass-coloured Rutile. An incredibly aesthetic fusion of species with prices to match. Even small 2x2 specimens were selling in excess of €50. More Brazilian species included green crystalline Titanites up to 10 cm in size, Vesuviante crystals encrusted with Garnets and lastly classic Tourmalines from Pederneira.

The other major complaint was that business was much slower than expected and that fewer people seemed to be attending the show than in previous years. This was certainly something we had noted as well. Although today was quite crowded, the previous day the show was only modestly busy. However the fact that visitors were not spending as much is probably down to the dealers themselves for setting such high prices. We had seen exactly the same in Munich last year, and this year too, the Saturday afternoon started to see huge discounting. To give an example, we tried to buy a particular specimen on Friday for which the dealer wanted €500. Nice enough piece, but we didn't think it was worth that much. After protracted haggling the price dropped to €300. Still a bit too much for us, so we let it be. Imagine our surprise when walking past on Saturday, the same specimen was marked at €200. A bit more haggling and the piece was ours for €140. Now if the dealer had asked for a reasonable price first he may have sold more specimens quickly rather than trying to panic sell on the Saturday. And there was still one more day to go!

Brazilian Rutile Clusters	Star Rutile

By now it was early afternoon and something we wanted to do for a long time was to see one of the old silver mines here in Sainte Marie. Asking at the information point we were told that the show had actually organised a number of such visits and if we came back in 15 minutes the next tour would be starting. Sure enough, a group of people gathered at 2pm and we all followed the guide down narrow streets to a coach waiting to take us there. Alighting at the entrance we were asked to put on oilskins, rubber boots and helmets with lights. Descending into the mine was a relief from the searing heat which was now bearing down on the town. The tour winds through narrow tunnels and adits until it reaches a huge cavity from which the lode had been extracted. Lit only by the lamps on our helmets we experienced the conditions under which the old miners would have worked. Everywhere was dripping wet with a stream of water constantly flowing past our feet. In the dim darkness it was only possible to see a few metres in front and certainly we did not get the impression of the cavernous size of the mine until illuminated by the powerful spot lamp of the tour guide. Standing on a steel-mesh walkway it was impossible to see either the ceiling above our heads, nor the unfathomable depths below. A very humbling experience. The only downside of the entire visit was the fact that the guide spoke no English, so although he explained a lot in French, we did not understand a single word of it. Both of us agreed that maybe we should have spent more time at school attending to the efforts of our respective French teachers.

After the tour we headed back for the show, for a last look around. There wasn't really anything else that we hadn't seen except for another large marquee, this time occupied by fossil dealers. Since this is only of limited interest, we had a quick look inside but didn't linger for long. Otherwise the last remaining street we hadn't seen was home to yet more Moroccan dealers, a few wholesalers selling carvings and polished stones, and a rather interesting Russian dealer with a large selection of specimens from Dalnegorsk. Our conversation turned to why the number of new specimens seemed to be drying up. We agreed its mostly down to two factors. The first is that most of the old mines have been worked out and closed. Occasionally specimens turn up but it takes brave people to go down disused and often flooded mines. The second is that new methods of mining do not lend themselves to finding specimens. In the old days when digging was done by hand miners would often find interesting specimens which they brought back to the surface. These days, when mining is done on a huge scale by remotely operated machines, everything gets pulverised before it has ever been examined by anyone. Who knows how many stunning crystal ensembles have gone this way.

Silver Mine	Mine trucks like these are scattered all over town

So, at last, after two hectic days it was time to leave Sainte Marie for another year. What are the key take outs of the show? The first is that we strongly recommend that you go. It's a wonderful experience, especially as it takes place in a beautiful mountain town under a hot Vosges sun. Second, that although prices are expensive and rising there are plenty opportunities to haggle if your nerves can stand it. However the high starting prices might have the undesirable effect of putting of many people just starting out in this hobby. Third, that the show has now possibly grown too big and there are not enough visitors to spread around the main and satellite locations. In other words, more dealers competing for the same amount of customer spend. Maybe next year the organisers will go back to the single site configuration. Fourth, that mineral collecting is slowly becoming like antique collecting, especially after many of the classic and not so old mining locations have closed. And finally, that we need a show of similar quality and breadth of quality specimens and dealers to kick start the hobby in the UK. Unless something is done, the UK scene is unlikely to attract new collectors and will instead descend into the world of carvings, metaphysical crystals and polished beads and stones. Au Revoir. We hope to see you at Sainte Marie next year.