The annual gem show is back in full swing, but this year there is a new and permanent installation just down from Fourth Avenue. The Crystal Cave is a new gem and mineral shop here in Tucson that is part of a larger company based in India.
The twist is that this gem shop is sharing its indoor space with the D2 Dispensary. Co-owner Mohit Asnani wanted a gem shop because he felt there was an overlap between D2’s customers and hobbyist gem collectors. They soft-opened in mid-January.
“Tucson is the capital of the world when it comes to gems and minerals,” Asnani said.
According to Asnani, it’s a co-branding operation between him and his friend Sami Makki. Makki is the owner of the Crystal Cave Private Ltd, and his family has been running the operation at the gem and mineral show since the 1950’s.
Sami Makki, 43, is a crystal miner himself. “I am a third generation miner. My forte is mining and extracting these beautiful minerals without damaging them.” Sami Makki said. He and his 15 full-time employees make up the bulk of his business, specializing in mining crystals from India’s Maharashtra region.
The crystal type he specializes in is known as Zeolites—hydrated aluminosilicates of alkaline-earth metals that form into natural geodes. The nature of Zeolites makes them impossible to mine in bulk. They form in small geode pockets and are soft minerals. Large industrial machinery would damage the nodes, so miners must carefully extract the crystals using hand tools. “It is an art form,” Sami Makki said.
The regional government of Maharashtra recognizes the importance of preserving these Zeolites. According to Sami Makki, similar to the archaeological preservation done in the United States, city or private construction operations will be halted if a Zeolite is found on site and an extraction company will be called to handle it.
“It is sporadic,” Sami Makki said. “We have to keep moving from place to place as we get news of them being found.”
His father, Muhammad F. Makki, helped publish Berthold Ottens’ India: The Secondary Minerals from the Deccan Volcanic Province. Sami Makki and his father produced many of the images and crystals featured in the publication. Crystal Cave Ltd has also donated Zeolite samples to universities and museums across the world for research and exhibitions. The rarity of Zeolites makes them valuable and a prime research opportunity. Sami Makki and his father have donated Zeolite samples to museums and research institutes across the globe, including the University of Arizona.
With the advancement of technology, mining for minerals and crystals with hand tools has become relatively obsolete. The exception is rare and soft elements like Zeolites. It’s hard to imagine going into a 100-foot well in search of crystals, but that is exactly what Sami Makki does.
“Back in 2017, we were called to a site about 200 kilometers from my hometown,” Sami Makki said. A farmer had punctured a crystal formation while trying to dig a well.
“For him, he was not happy because he wanted to go deeper. But the local runners, who knew that a phone call could make them money, stopped him until we arrived,” Sami Makki said.
Sami Makki and his team descended into the well, where they found an amazing sight. “To my surprise, it was a beautiful, pristine cavity of scolecite with stilbite,” Sami Makki said. “Untouched by a single speck of dirt.”
He described it as if he were standing in a crystal cave, which is where he says he got the idea for Crystal Cave Ptv. Ltd. Keep in mind, these Zeolites form in small, sometimes microscopic pockets. So to be standing inside a complete geode of Zeolite like it was a cave is more than remarkable. It’s an extraordinary find.
Visit crystalcaveindia.com for more information.
