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A hobby turned into a profession

Our holiday luggage has always included a rock pick and a chisel. Be it quartz, calcite or mineral ore, the Pfundt family began collecting minerals more than 50 years ago. There were deposits in Germany on slag heaps and in surface mines in the Harz region, in the Bavarian Fichtelgebirge, in the Black Forest, in the Hunsrück region. But other destinations like the islands of Elba, Sardinia and Corsica also provided natural treasures of stone. Amethyst, rock crystal, agate and rose quartz – our collection grew such that we almost had a little “mine”. Besides our own collecting activity, we also started attending mineral shows outside of Berlin.

The idea to set up such a sales exhibition / trade fair in Berlin was put into operation in 1975; what was then the Congress Hall in Berlin-Tiergarten was rented. After its collapse in 1980, the Berlin Minerals, Fossils and Jewellery Show switched to the exhibition halls under the Berlin Radio Tower. The exhibition is organised by Doris Pfundt with the support of all her family members.