About us

Anton Watzl Minerals, located in the city of Freistadt, Austria, specializes in buying and selling fine mineral specimens from all localities over the world that have yielded top quality minerals for the advanced collector. Based on his 25+ years experience as an avid mineral collector and his 6 years experience as partner of Watzl Minerals, Anton established his own company in January 2013. The newly launched website awminerals.com is dedicated to share the thrill of mineral collecting with all real mineral freaks, and all those beginners who are going to become fully hooked on minerals, too.

Anton standing right in front of the portal to the Kongens Mine, Kongsberg, Norway

Petra at Munich Show

Anton started assembling his first mineral collection at the age of 6. His father, also Anton, had already been an experienced collector at that time, and he proved to be a very helpful teacher and mentor in early years of collecting. Still being a child, Anton regularly attended several mineral shows every year, and he has missed no “Mineralientage München” show since 1984. Today Anton puts his main focus on highly aesthetic samples of colourful and scarce mineral species in miniature and small cabinet size range. In 2003 Anton graduated with a degree in architectural engineering at the Technical University of Vienna.

Looking at a freshly collected specimen with Hofer brothers.

Living in Austria has of course led to a special knowledge and appreciation of alpine mineral species. Over the last decades Anton made many field-collecting trips to remote areas in the Austrian Alps. Anton`s most important find is a 12 cm gem grade diopside crystal from the Rotkopf mountain in the Zillertal Alps, which is considered to be one of the best of its kind. In 2004 he found beautiful ironroses at the nearby Mörchnerkar area, and a few years later nice specimens of sphene, feldspar and etched quartz in the famous Habach valley.

Anton on the way to famous mineral localities in Zillertal, Tyrol

A self-collected 12 cm tall diopside from Rotkopf mountain, Zillertal

Collecting minerals has become our life-long passion, and we look forward to hunting and handling many more amazing crystal treasures. Finally we want to say thanks to all our friends who share the thrill of collecting and discovering the next latent wonder of mother nature.