Colorado Gems Presentation by Brian Kosnar

FMVA August Meeting! Description: While his home state is well-known for its various mineral deposits, Colorado rarely gets much attention for the variety of gems found within its borders. From pegmatites to kimberlites, there is a lot to see and share about faceted stones from the Centennial State. Brian Kosnar is the owner of Mineral Classics, a Colorado-based mineral and gemstone business which has been operating for 50 years. The company was founded by Brian’s father, Richard Kosnar (the namesake for the species Kosnarite) in 1971, and Brian has been running the business full-time since the age of 17. You can find Brian at major mineral shows around the world, including Tucson, Denver, Munich, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines and Tokyo. Brian is an avid mineral collector and world traveler, visiting many countries over several continents searching for specimens and gems. Brian has a deep mining lineage on his mother’s side of the family, going back to his great-great-grandfather, who was a tin miner in Cornwall, England, and every subsequent generation was involved in either hard rock mining or gold mining in Colorado.