Bearing in mind that this site is meant to be a local interest site as well as having a strong mystical and spiritual content, my advice on sources of Rocks and Crystals is based on the viewpoint of somebody living in the East Midlands of England. However, the advice about the type of shop to look for, and about buying by mail order, should be applicable anywhere.
In all fairness, I should also say that I have only included shops of which I have had personal experience; if a shop is not included here, it may simply be that it has not been drawn to my attention.
Unless you are very adventurous and willing to travel into remote parts of the World to collect your Rocks and Crystals "from the wild", you will need to purchase many of the items in your collection. The main outlets are:
| Specialist New Age and Esoteric Shops |
| Mind, Body & Spirit or Healing Fairs |
| Rock Collectors' Shops |
| Rock and Mineral Fairs |
| Jewellers and Lapidaries |
| Internet |
Specialist New Age and Esoteric Shops
New Age and Esoteric Shops that carry Rocks and Crystals as a major part of their stock, and moreover properly understand their stock from a metaphysical point of view, are few and far between.
A few examples in our own area are
- Dakini Crystals
- A good range of rocks and crystals of outstanding quality.
Dakini Crystals at Alternatives, 170 Derby Road, Nottingham NG7 1LR. Close to Canning Circus and the Ropewalk. - The Dragon's Lair
- An tiny shop that nevertheless has a good selection, mainly of the more
familiar rocks and crystals, at reasonable prices.
The Dragon's Lair, Market Hall, Derby DE1 2DB. A stall in Derby's Old Market Hall, immediately behind the Guild Hall entrance on the Market Place. - Mystical Crystals
- An excellent selection of high quality rocks and crystals, including
rare and unusual items.
Mystical Crystals, Market Place, Cromford, Matlock DE4 3QE. Turn off the main A6 at the traffic lights in Cromford, heading towards Wirksworth. The Market Place is on the right, set a little back from the main road. - Spectra
- A good selection of basic items along with some more unusual ones,
including a wide range of decorative items.
Spectra, 2 High Street, Tutbury, Burton-on-Trent DE13 9LP. Easy short term parking on High Street near the shop, except at very busy times.
We are always on the lookout for other sources. Please let me know if you have been fortunate enough to find any good ones in our local area.
Mind, Body & Spirit or Healing Fairs
Such fairs are now fairly common and although they are very variable in size and content, they frequently include a stall or two selling gemstones and crystals.
Rock Collectors' Shops
The kind of shop that is frequented by the amateur mineralogist or the person who just likes collecting interesting rocks is a little easier to find than the esoteric specialist. Of course, if you go into one of these shops and start asking about metaphysical properties, you may get some strange looks.
On the other hand, if you know you want a piece of a specific material for some purpose or other, it is far less likely that you will be sold a piece that has been erroneously identified at one of these outlets.
The distribution of such shops is patchy, but again Derbyshire is fortunate: probably because it has a number of interesting rocks of its own. I can recommend any of the following:
- The Tideswell Dale Rock Shop
- A magnificent array of specimen quality Rocks, Minerals, Crystals and
Fossils.
The Tideswell Dale Rock Shop, Commercial Road, Tideswell, Buxton SK17 8NU. On the main street of Tideswell, opposite The George pub. - The National Stone Centre
- The shop at the National Stone Centre (near Wirksworth) has a very good selection of
Rocks and Minerals, all at reasonable prices.
The National Stone Centre, Porter Lane, Middleton, Matlock DE4 4LS. Follow the brown signs from Wirksworth or Cromford. - Peak District Mining Museum
- The museum shop has a good selection of the more common rocks and
minerals, many local in origin, of good quality and at reasonable
prices. The Peak District Mines Historical Society, who operate the
museum, also have a small shop at the Wakebridge tram stop of the
Crich Tramway
Village.
Peak District Mining Museum, The Pavilion, South Parade, Matlock Bath, Matlock DE4 3NR. A prominent building at the southern end of the village, opposite the Fishpond pub. Parking is available in the neighbouring short stay car park, or the long stay car park near Gulliver's Kingdom.
Treak Cliff Cavern, Castleton, Derbyshire. About a mile to the west of the village on the former main road past Mam Tor.
Rock and Mineral Fairs
Similar in category and coverage to the Rock Collector's shops, although these days you will find a few stands that do consider rocks from a mystical point of view.
We are fortunate in having a particularly large fair, one of the country's major events for the amateur mineralogist, held locally. It is organized by the Peak Lapidary & Mineral Society:
- The Rock Exchange
- The next Rock Exchange will be held on 10th-11th October, 2009
Lady Manners School, Shutts Lane, Bakewell DE45 1JA. Take the Monyash road from Bakewell town centre and follow the signs to the event.
Jewellers and Lapidaries
For most purposes, a rough or polished sample of the rock you are interested in is all you will need. But there are times when only a nice piece of jewellery, or a household ornament, will do. Perhaps you want to wear a particular stone and would prefer to have it in the form of something that looks elegant. Perhaps you want to give a stone as a gift and, naturally, you want it to be in as nice a setting as possible.
Almost all the outlets listed on this page have some jewellery and ornaments on offer. However, it is also worth looking in the specialist Jewellers and Lapidaries.
All Jewellers and Jewellery retailers in our High Streets and Shopping Malls will sell you Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds and Sapphires, Gold, Silver and Platinum, albeit at a price. But a few shops have a good range of less well known, and often less expensive, stones on offer; some of which can be quite strikingly beautiful. In Derbyshire, look out for them in Ashbourne, Bakewell, Castleton, Chesterfield, Matlock, Matlock Bath, and probably quite a few other towns and villages.
Internet
I tend to resist buying Rocks and Crystals by mail order. When you are choosing an item that you really want to use in a positive way, there is no substitute for holding it in your hand to see if it will suit your purpose. However, the Internet is a often useful first point of contact for suppliers in the surrounding area, some of whom prefer to deal with potential customers by appointment only. Some examples are:
- North Star Crystals (Eastwood, NG16 3RU)
- The Tideswell Dale Rock Shop (Tideswell, SK17 8NU)
- The Crystal Library (Stapleford, NG9 7EP)
On the other hand, if you are looking for a particularly rare or unusual item, you may have no alternative but to shop further afield. There are many mail order firms on the Internet (try a search using the name of the rock, crystal or mineral that you are interested in) - but a word of warning! If you live in the United Kingdom - or for that matter anywhere else in Europe - you will find that purchasing from the United States can be verrry expensive indeed. Onto the catalogue price you will have to add import duty, value added tax and probably a rather hefty carriage charge. Jewellery items in particular tend to be quite highly priced to start with - in many instances it will be cheaper to have something similar specially made for you by a local jeweller! If you have bought books from the United States, you will have found it relatively painless these days. If you are thinking of buying rocks, think twice!
On the other hand, buying from other countries in Europe is fine. Just be sure to use your credit or debit card to avoid excessive commission charges on the currency conversion.
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