Sparkle

If you haven’t visited the Amethyst Gallery of Minerals lately, stop by and add a little sparkle to your life.

AMETHYST GALLERY OF MINERALS

The gallery of beautifully glittering minerals is centered around one of the tallest amethyst towers on public display in the world: “The Amethyst,” a 10-foot-tall, 1,900-pound tower from Uruguay, acquired in 2022 in celebration of the Peoria Riverfront Museum’s 10th anniversary. 

TUCSON MINERAL SHOW

In 2026, the Peoria Riverfront Museum had an opportunity to bring back something special from the Tucson Mineral Show, the world’s largest gem and mineral show. I attended the annual event, where the museum also exhibited specimens from its collection as part of an educational display.

Each February, the mineral show transforms Tucson into a destination for collectors, dealers, and gem and mineral enthusiasts from around the world. Minerals, fossils, and gemstones fill storefronts, tents, and vacant buildings throughout the city as satellite shows spread far beyond the main exhibition spaces. Dealers bring remarkable specimens to attract visitors, offering a chance to see the incredible variety of treasures mined from the Earth.

THE EMERALD

With support from the Schmitt Mineral Fund, the museum acquired a sparkling rough emerald for display in the Amethyst Gallery of Minerals. Emerald is the green variety of beryl, a mineral that forms six-sided, or hexagonal, crystals. Pure beryl is colorless, while trace amounts of elements such as chromium and vanadium give emeralds their distinctive green color. Aquamarine, another well-known variety of beryl, gets its pale blue color from different trace elements.

The emerald was mined at the Garam Chashma Mine in Chitral, Pakistan, known for its gemstones. Unlike a finished gemstone, this specimen has not been cut and polished. Instead, it reveals the emerald in its natural state, offering a glimpse of what a jeweler sees before transforming a rough stone into a finished gem.

To help tell that story, owner and president and CEO of Jones Brothers Jewelry, Bob Woolsey, and his company partnered with the museum to bring together the rough emerald, a beautiful emerald ring, and cut emerald stones.

Displayed side by side, these objects reveal the journey from a mineral formed in the Earth to a gemstone shaped by human skill and artistry. Visitors can appreciate both the natural beauty of the original crystal and the craftsmanship that transforms it into wearable art.

The emerald’s place in the museum also reflects a legacy of generosity and a lifelong love of minerals. Established in 2017, the Schmitt Mineral Fund honors Ann Schmitt, who worked for 18 years at Lakeview Museum and the Peoria Riverfront Museum. Although she served the museum in several capacities, Ann was best known as its director of education. Her father was a mining engineer, and she inherited a lasting fascination with minerals. When Ann left the museum in 2017, the fund was established in her honor to support mineral collection.

This emerald offers more than a glimpse of a beautiful mineral: it connects the natural processes that create gemstones with the artistry of jewelers and the generosity of those who help the museum share these wonders with its visitors.