The Tonglushan chalcopyrite spheres have puzzled collectors for years, with testing confirming genuine chalcopyrite while unusual chemistry continues to raise questions about how they formed.
Mineralogue: A Collection Catalogue App
Keep your mineral collection organised with Mineralogue, a private catalogue app for specimens, provenance, values, labels, invoices, photographs and more.
Built by Collectors, for Collectors
Keep your collection records, photographs, history and purchase information together, while keeping control of your own data.
Mineralogue is a mineral collection catalogue app designed to give collectors a practical way to document what they own, where it came from, what they paid for it, and all of the other information that tends to accumulate around a collection over time.
It's now available for iPhone and iPad through the Apple App Store, with Android to follow in the coming weeks.
Launch price: AU$29.99
Full price AU$59.99
Why we created Mineralogue
When we first started thinking about Mineralogue, we asked collectors through our Instagram stories how they kept track of their collections.
An extraordinary number told us that they didn't catalogue them at all.
Among those who did, Excel spreadsheets were common. Others used notebooks, photographs or different apps for different parts of their collection. One collector told us that he was using several apps at once because no single system did everything he wanted.
We thought there was room for something built specifically around the way mineral collectors actually collect.
There's also a more personal reason why we knew the potential value of documenting a collection.
Dean's grandfather, Dick Haslem, was a lifelong Australian fossicker who had built his own collection over many decades, including over 13,000 micromount specimens. When he passed away, the family didn't really understand what they had inherited or what should be done with everything. Managing such a large collection was extremely difficult, and it was eventually taken over by the Ballarat Gem Club, where Dick had previously been a member.
We've since heard similar stories from many people in our community, with years of collecting knowledge and important information about individual specimens can be lost once the original collector isn't around to explain it anymore.
Mineralogue was inspired by the idea that all information about a specimen should be kept together in one place and remain accessible, regardless of whether you're looking at your collection today, having it appraised in ten years, or leaving it to somebody else much further into the future.
What can you do with Mineralogue?
Record Every Detail
Keep as much or as little information as you want for each specimen. You can include:
- mineral and locality
- acquisition date
- dealer or previous owner
- price paid and current valuation
- dimensions and weight
- photographs
- provenance
- previous collections
- invoices, receipts and website listings
- original and historical labels
- your own personal notes, research, conversations and anecdotes
Scan labels, invoices and listings
Add existing information without typing it all again.
Photograph a specimen label, invoice or online listing and Mineralogue can extract the information and populate the relevant fields automatically.
Already have a spreadsheet? Import your existing catalogue and continue from there.
Upgrading your catalogue shouldn't mean starting again.
Keep Everything With the Specimen
Attach multiple records to the same specimen, including:
- old collection labels
- dealer labels
- business cards
- invoices
- certificates
- screenshots of original listings
- other provenance documents
If the physical paperwork is ever damaged, faded or separated from the specimen, you still have the record.
Learn more about your collection
Collection Insights can show you information like:
- the minerals most represented in your collection
- the localities you collect from most often
- the dealers you've purchased from most frequently
- your highest and lowest purchase prices
- how your collection has developed over time
- how complete your catalogue records are
- the total value of your collection
You can also explore your collection geographically using the map and see where your specimens originate around the world.
Generate your own collection reports
Turn your digital catalogue into a customised written or printable collection report, using the information you choose to include.
Reports can be customised depending on what information you want to include, making them useful for:
- personal records
- insurance
- appraisal
- estate planning
- sharing with another collector
- keeping a physical copy of your catalogue
Share only what you choose
Your private catalogue can stay private, but you can share information when it's useful.
You can share:
- selected specimens
- parts of your collection
- wish lists
- dealer information
- collection reports
You can also control which information is included, so you can show a specimen without necessarily sharing what you paid for it or where you purchased it.
Set Mineralogue up your way
You can:
- choose your preferred currency
- name your collection
- choose how much detail you record
- customise the information included in reports
- manage your own backups
- show collection memories with On This Day
- feature a random specimen each day with Today's Specimen
Your collection stays with you
Your main Mineralogue catalogue is stored locally on your device, much like saving a document directly to your computer.
There is no central Mineralogue account holding your complete collection data, and you remain in control of your own backups.
You can keep private information such as purchase prices, dealer relationships and collection values on your own device, while still choosing to share specific information when you want to.
Start cataloguing your collection
Mineralogue can be as detailed as you want it to be.
You can begin with the next specimen you acquire, import an existing spreadsheet, or gradually work through the collection you already own.
Launch price: AU$29.99
Mineralogue will later move to its full price of AU$59.99
Android coming soon.
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