Rock collector: Rob Lavinsky

Robert Matthew "Rob" Lavinsky, proprietor of The Arkenstone mineral dealership, was born December 13, 1972 in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Richard Lavinsky, an attorney, and Marilyn Rosen, a dental hygienist. He began collecting calcite at age 13, with the support of many mentors in the Columbus Rock and Mineral Society, including Carlton Davis , field collectors John Medici and Henry Fisher, and dealers Neal and Chris Pfaff, among others. He competed with his calcites (which he still owns) for the first time at age 18 in the Berea, Ohio show. He eventually expanded his scope to collecting United Kingdom classics, Sweet Home mine rhodochrosite, and worldwide classics. As a field-collector he dug for minerals in the dolostone quarries and roadcuts throughout Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky (Halls Gap millerite), Ontario (Bancroft), and various other localities.

Rob received his BA degree in Biochemistry and History from Rice University in Houston, Texas (1995), and went on to earn his PhD in Molecular Genetics at the University of California San Diego (2000). The first time he formally sold minerals as a dealer at a show was in 1986 (at the age of 14) at the Columbus Show. During the years from 1986 to 2001 he gradually bought and sold more specimens, becoming a part-time mineral dealer by degrees, and finally becoming a full-time dealer after graduation, in 2001. His first business name was simply "Rob Lavinsky Minerals," until 1994 when he changed it to "The Arkenstone" (the name of a fabulous gem in Tolkein's Lord of the Rings trilogy).

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Posted by andrew, Marzo 26, 2010. Post has 0 comments.
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M.D. and collecting hobby

M.D. House Doctor Petrenko has rare hobby. Over the years, he collects the last words of his patients.

Posted by serge, Decembre 16, 2009. Post has 0 comments.
collector funny

Collectors?

If you see these guys you should know - they are not collectors, they are not interested in bonistics in any of its kind. Do not ask me why!

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Posted by serge, Novembre 26, 2009. Post has 0 comments.
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Hobby of the king George V

George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I (1914–1918) until his death in 1936.

King George V. Portrait

George V who ruled the British Empire more than 25 years, made philately by one of the most popular hobbies in the Great Britain. He took a great interest in a collecting of stamps when he was only 13 years old. He did his first purchases at Pembertone and Charles Phillips. By 1890 George had already have enough serious collection. George's father , Edward, helped the son with a rare material for the collection which usual philatelists had no possibility to get. George was the first who received angular quartblocks of all stamps which were issuing in British Empire. Also his father bought the collection of stamps of his brother Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and gave it to his son.

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Posted by serge, Ottobre 8, 2009. Post has 0 comments.
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Matchboxes from the Subcontinent

English expat Matt Lee shares his extensive collection of matchboxes from India where he coordinates the Foundation Art & Design program and lectures in the Visual Communication program at the Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology in Bangalore.

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Posted by serge, Aprile 21, 2009. Post has 0 comments.
Bangalore collector design India matchbox