Sourcing & Provenance

“Origin” and “provenance” are not interchangeable. A supplier may identify a mineral as coming from a country or region without providing a documented chain back to a particular mine. Our specimen records are designed to show that difference.

Source-confidence scale

High: the source is direct or supported by strong documentation. Medium: the locality information comes from a supplier we consider credible, but the complete chain cannot be independently verified. Low: a locality has been reported, but documentation is limited.

Treatment disclosure

Where a treatment is known—such as heating, dyeing, coating, stabilisation or irradiation—we record it. “Unknown” is preferable to pretending certainty.

Permanent specimen records

Each registered specimen can retain a Piece ID, measurements, locality, material status, treatment, source confidence, source reference, acquisition date and curator notes. Sold pieces may remain publicly archived so the provenance record does not disappear.