Collector Spotlight: Jip Van der Haak

How many years have you been collecting and what started your passion?

I started collecting when I was in my fourth year of High school (here in the Netherlands the average person is 16 then). A good friend gifted me 3 Quartz pieces; a small Amethyst, a Citrine (heated Amethyst in this case) and a clear Quartz. I spend that entire day and several days after just looking at each crystal, absolutely mesmerized by them. Some days later I told my geography teacher about the minerals and he told me some amazing stories. He used to be a captain on a ship that carried ore. He had been to mines where you could pick up pieces of Malachite weighing several kilo’s and take them home, etc. He gave me some books to read and I started becoming more and more interested. The year after that I bought my very first piece: a Spessartine smoky Quartz combo from the Wushan mine. After the first piece I just couldn’t stop and still haven’t and won’t ever stop. I came across more and more people that collect too. All of them I am still very good Friends with. They said I had a keen eye for quality and gave me the chance to see their personal collections. Seeing those pieces and displays fueled the passion even more.

Eventually I decided to go study Earth Sciences to get to know more about minerals and the unique places they are found in. On our very first big fieldtrip, to Spain in this case, I spend hours looking for red quartz points from the Triassic and finding some gave me adrenaline for days! That year I also managed to convince my parents that the Habachtal was one of the most beautiful places in Europe, Little did they know. While driving up the valley with the bus I told my father about Emeralds and how strahlers would climb the highest peaks of the Alps to find crystals. “madmen” he said. I remember the biggest smile on his face when we found an aquamarine that day (I ended up losing it, because some kid tipped over my treasure box). Seeing me there, they realised I was falling in love with the hobby and ever since they have been a major support, frequently asking updates on my new pieces. Being in the Habachtal and visiting several strahler families, I realised I wanted to focus on collecting Alpine minerals, especially Austrian minerals.

In april 2018 I was offered to do my bachelors graduation research on the island of Syros. I got the chance to research Aragonite pseudomorphs there and write a research paper about it. That was one of my favorite mineral related events so far. To this day I am very grateful for having the chance to combine my awesome hobby with the study I love. The passion goes on.

What's the focus of your collection and has that changed through time? Why?

I might have spoiled this a Little … Austrian/Alpine minerals it is for me! As mentioned earlier it hasn’t always been my focus. I started my collection with buying what I thought was beautiful, not minding the species or localities. In 2014 I visited the first mineral show I have ever been to. A local show in my hometown. Here, I bought a piece of dioptase, which is still my favorite mineral to this day. So there was a time when I just collected only Dioptase (still have 17 dioptase pieces, my collection is roughly 300 specimens, oops). At some point I realised I let so many good non-alpine specimens go because it wasn’t ‘my focus’. I felt really stupid because of this and eventually decided to go back to my basics: collecting what I think is beautiful, only this time preferring a piece from an Alpine/Austrian locality. This would also be my advice to any other collector: don’t lose yourself in the beauty of having a collection focus; focus on the beauty of your collection.

What do you like to do outside of mineral collecting? (hobbies, job, music taste, etc)?

There are several things I love to do besides collecting. Both mineral- and non-mineral related. For the mineral related part I love checking E-rocks daily and seeing the wide range of specimens, as well as the Facebook group and Instagram posts. I can spend days rearranging my collection or putting new minerals on their bases, making labels, cataloguing, etc. But I also like to think I have quite an active life besides the hobby.

For starters I have been playing drums for 13 years now and still play everyday. It is a nice way to let go of any negativity and clean my chakras. Just kidding. But it does take my mind off of things. I have been playing in several bands and am currently working on putting together another one. As for genres I have played in anything from pop to deathcore (yes, heavy shizzle) bands. Besides drumming I am also learning how to play the guitar and record a rapsong with friends on a late night every once in a while (@max burgi will know). To me not a day goes by without listening to music. For my genres, ask me for my favorite playlist. But here are my current favorite songs: Keep going – the revivalists, Montage – Andy Hull and Robert McDowell, Young blood – The naked and famous, pull my finger – Dog eat dog (enjoy!).

For sports, I used to (before corona shut us down) swim twice each week, went to the gym 3 times a week and go for a run occasionaly. All not on a profesional level, but just to stay healthy. I love to cook and would say I am a decent cook, but would love to meet you all and cook for you! I work in a boardgame café, as a bartender and game-guru. During the summer I also work on festivals baking world’s best fries, occassionaly visiting a festival myself.

I am currently in my masters, track Geology and Geochemistry at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Working on mostly metamorphism and geochemical researches. Researching the Sapphire occurence on the island of Naxos the coming years. When I am not working or studying I like to go out longboarding or skateboarding with Friends and spend time together. When I prefer to be alone, I like Reading Lapis magazines, watch netflix or play games, both on playstation and mobile phone. Or occasionaly do a card-/boardgame with Friends or family.

Have you been to any shows? If so, what's your favorite part of them? If not, are there any particular ones you would want to experience one day?

I have been to several shows in the Netherlands and visited the Bramberg mineral show twice. The best about shows is the amazing range of specimens they offer and the new contacts you can make. It is cool to see many different people all enjoying the same thing, setting all those differences aside. One of the coolest moments was last summer when I walked into the Margraf family at the Bramberg show. To me it was amazing to be able to talk with these ‘famous’ people and discuss our favorite specimens. Overall in my opinión shows are the best place to learn. Both hearing new facts from sellers as well as seeing all these different kinds of minerals. In the Netherlands there is quite a small group of really active collectors and we try to meet up every big show, so far I have only been able to meet once unfortunately, but this does add another social dimension to collecting. I am planning on visiting Both the SMAM show as well as the Munich show, probably not this year, but next year and hope to meet lots of you there. Also, the dream ofcourse is to be able to visit the Tucson show and/or Dallas symposium.

What is your favorite/dream specimen outside of your collection? Why?

My favorite specimen outside my collection has got to be the Emerald Madonna, displayed at the Bramberg mineral museum. It hosts some of the best Austrian Emeralds ever found and is an absolute beauty. As for my dream specimen, I’d say a piece of Austrian Epidote from the Knappenwand combined with Byssolite and Apatites is on top of my list. there are many much more valuable minerals than Epidotes, but I see the ones from this locality as the mineral underdog. Composition and esthetics wise most of the Knappenwand pieces are absolute top notch specimens. Also from a geological perspective the area where they are found is very cool and interesting!

What specific aspect of the hobby would you like to learn more about?

This is a very cool question! There is a lot I would like to know more about regarding the hobby. Several of the things I feel I dont know enough about are for example: morphologies (twinning, etc), type localities and I’d also like to know more chemical compositions by hard. I am thinking about making some mineralcards with the type-localities so I can learn them by hard, because I like the provenance aspect of type localities. Currently Reading a lot of Lapis is how I learn more and more, since shows and gatherings are cancelled. Overall though, I think what I would love to know a lot more about is the geological setting where the minerals are formed. Their (de)formation histories, common mineral-associations and geological units they occur in. As a geologist this is the perfect combination of the hobby and the profession.

Is there a piece/pieces in your collection you’ll never let go off, which and why?

I believe everyone in the group has them. I have a lot of specimens I know I will keep always, but will mention only the most special ones. I remember my first auction aquisition was a Muzo Emerald. I still can’t believe how lucky I was to obtain it and it is a very cherished piece in my collection. I also have the Tsumeb Dioptase you can see in the pictures. I think the color combination here is absolutely gorgeous and haven’t seen a piece like it before. Another picture seen here is a Golden Calcite on perfect white Quartz matrix from Madagascar. It perfectly shows my favorite composition-, sizewise preference for pieces. Perfect single crystal(s) on a balanced amount of matrix. Also to me this piece looks like a fried egg. And I’d much rather have my piece resemble an egg, than for example, a snail… Last but not least I added my holy Austrian Trinity: The Titanite, the Emerald and the Epidote. Some of my favorite Austrian/Alpine pieces that will never leave my possession!