Every year, a “tent village” rises in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines in France to host a major international mineral, gem, jewelry, fossil and meteorite exhibition: the Mineral & Gem fair. More than 1,000 exhibitors from 56 countries gather in a unique and eclectic atmosphere, offering thousands of extraordinary minerals, cut stones and fossils to enthusiastic collectors, enthusiasts and visitors.
From June 26 to 30, 2024, people can participate in the fair’s technical exhibits and attend expert lectures. The fair is divided into two main zones: the MINERAL zone, where the participants can find raw minerals, fossils, shells, meteorites, lithotherapy, specialized bookshops and equipment such as mining tools and polishing machines, and the GEM zone, where the attendees can discover cut gems, jewelry, gemstones, jewelers and costume jewelry. Each crystal and gem tells a fascinating story of formation and transformation, making the geology of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines a privileged field of study for geologists and mineralogists, with the exceptional variety of crystals extracted from its soils making it a world reference for mineralogy enthusiasts.
The theme of the 2024 edition— the 59th — is the “Mineral Paragenesis”, the set of minerals that form simultaneously in a rock under the same conditions. This exceptional exhibition combines beauty and scientific knowledge to shed light on the fascinating phenomenon of mineral formation, exploring how host rocks, whether sedimentary, magmatic, volcanic or metamorphic, play a crucial role in the creation of unique minerals and mineral associations.
The exhibition is an opportunity for collectors, geology enthusiasts and anyone interested in the world of minerals, offering a journey through the history of minerals and the passion behind the collections, crossing continents to see the diversity of the mineral world: China, Brazil, the U.S., Canada, Congo, Mali, Morocco, Germany, Kosovo, France and more.
The fair will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Opening days will vary by type of visitors: for professionals, June 26 to 28; for the public, June 29 to 30.
History of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines and its exhibition
Located in the heart of the Vosges Mountains in Alsace, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines evokes a rich geological history intertwined with human development. This small town retains traces of a mining past that began in the Middle Ages, when veins of silver were discovered in the bowels of the earth. This discovery radically transformed the fate of what was then a modest village.
In the following centuries, the town became an important mining center, attracting treasure seekers, scientists and workers from all over Europe. Silver, lead, copper and iron mines contributed to the region’s prosperity, shaping its architecture, economy and society. Today, although the mines are closed, the town’s geological heritage continues to influence it, with old mining tunnels, miners’ houses and mineral processing workshops telling the story of a time when land and man were intimately linked.
The Local Public Society Événementiel en Val d’Argent (EVA), created in 2015, has the mission to promote the area by organizing various events in the area, including the Mineral & Gem fair. Eager to share all the cultural richness and heritage of the Val d’Argent community of communes, SPL EVA works year-round to plan events of international scope in Alsace, building all its projects hand in hand with locally available actors and resources, pursuing the goal of promoting and preserving the area’s historical heritage and passion for mineralogy internationally.
