Company
History
Crystal
World and Prehistoric Journeys is owned by Tom Kapitany. After
completing a Bachelor of Science degree at the University
of Melbourne, majoring in Botany and Geology, Tom went to
work with his brothers and set up a retail nursery called
Collectors corner (http://www.collectorscorner.com.au
). This nursery specialized in rare Plants from around the
world such Cacti, Orchids, Bonsai, Carnivorous Plants and
Bromeliads. It was in this shop that he started to deal with
Fossils, Minerals and Meteorites, eventually Opening Crystal
World in 1999. As well as an interest in Plant Molecular Biology,
primarily genetic engineering, Tom loved to travel. In the
past 20 years he has traveled extensively throughout Asia,
Europe, North and South America, collecting rare items of
Natural History. From these travels, Tom picked up important
phrases and words in various languages including: German,
Mandarin, Vietnamese, Spanish, and Japanese. Many of his travels
have been "off the beaten track", including a trip
into the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan (Western Himalayas)
with armed police escorts to the Khyber pass. Tom also went
into the jungles of North Vietnam, as well as underground
in Antimony mines in China, where even the Chinese guide had
trouble with the language. Tom has been Canoeing with the
family to Paskihan falls in the Philippines, Dinosaur hunting
in the North Dakota badlands, Meteorite hunting in Arizona,
into the Sierra Madres Mountains of Mexico where he played
with tarantula spiders, and to the amethyst mines of Rio Grande
de Sul Brazil. Tom travels extensively in Australia visiting
his mining projects in all Australian states and many of the
commercial mines. Tom also owns Australia's largest Bonsai
Nursery with his brother Jeno.
Where
we are today
Crystal
World is the largest importer and exporter of gems, crystals,
minerals, fossils, meteorites, carvings and unique specimens
in Australia. Our two showrooms are always fully stocked with
new items arriving regularly. We stock a massive inventory
and as such, only a small part of our range is available on
display at any time. Retail customers can either purchase
from this site or from our specialized retail facility at
Collectors Corner, Garden World, Braeside Vic 3195 Australia
03 97985845 .Wholesale customers can visit our warehouse on
1672 Princess Hwy Oakleigh East 3166, Vic, Australia, phone:
61 (0)3 9544 5444 by appointment only. Both locations are only
1 km apart. We have a third property devoted to cutting polishing
and processing Australian rough stone for export and the local
market.
Crystal
World is prominent in the field of mining for gems, minerals
and fossils and holds 20 mining tenements and exploration licenses Australia-wide.
We mine crystals, quartz, molybdenite, atlantisite (a new
gemstone), amethyst, fossils, hematite and other commercial
and high grade mineral and fossil specimens. We also manufacture
a wide range of products for the gift, souvenir, gemstone,
jewellery and retail industry in Australia and overseas. We
import fine quality crystals, minerals, gems and fossils from
many countries.
Exports
Crystal
World is a major exporter of minerals and fossils world wide
with agents and suppliers in many countries. We attend the
worlds larger mineral and Fossils shows including Tucson,
Denver, Tokyo and Munich. We export raw Australian minerals
from our mining leases to Asian countries were it is prepared
into carved products and jewellery. Our latest export additions
have been the Atlantisite and Prehnite, both are exceptionally
popular new products.
Imports
Always
expect something new when you visit Crystal World. Our modern
warehouse is stocked to the brim with tonnes and tonnes of material
from abroad and locally. New shipments arrive weekly and can
be anything from a small parcel to a 20 ft sea container.
Its all in a days work.
Collections
Purchased
In
order to continue to expand our range of products we are constantly
searching for new mineral localities. Mining locations generally
operate for a few years only and once closed, minerals from
these mines can become scarce as new localities will generally
offer minerals with variations. For this reason older collections
are an excellent source of these once common materials. Crystal
World is constantly searching for new minerals, if you know
of a collection please contact us for an appraisal of its
value. We are particularly interested in older Australian
Collections. Tom is also an Approved valuer for the Taxation
Incentive for the Arts program .
To
keep up to date with our products and services, we suggest
that you check our site regularly
As
this site builds we will present to you a complete range of
rare and unique items from our immense range of products sourced
world wide.
Crystal
World is a wholesale and retail supplier to Gift and Jewellery retailers
around the world. Through our retail outlets, Collectors Corner,and The Earth Gallery
we offer an extensive range of material to our retail customers.
We now offer our range to the world through this site.
Our
aim is to give you speed, service and satisfaction when purchasing
by mail order, phone, FAX or over the Internet.
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