Pete and Wendy at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show

     Photo by Gail Spann

The Crystal Circle LLC. was established in 1997 by Jack and Pete Heckscher, a father and son team known for fine worldwide minerals at reasonable prices. The Crystal Circle is based out of Cincinnati, Ohio and currently exhibits at 12 US mineral shows per year, ranging from Massachusetts to Arizona. 

Jack and Pete began rock hunting together when Pete was very young, searching local creeks for fossils. Throughout the 1980's they expanded their range into Indiana for geodes, North Carolina for Corundum, New Hampshire for Beryl, Maine for Tourmaline, among others. In 1991, Jack, Pete and his best friend Bill Elliston embarked on a nationwide, summer-long trip throughout the lower 48 states prospecting at 12 sites from Arkansas to California. The overall success of this trip fanned the flame for Pete. Pete and Jack attended the Tucson Gem and Mineral show in 1989, and have made it an annual tradition, ever since. 

Pete Graduated from college at the end of 1996, and shortly thereafter he and Jack created The Crystal Circle together. They started small, working with crystals they'd mined at Peterson Mountain, Nevada. Pete married Wendy Heckscher in 2000, who had recently earned a degree in geology at NKU. Wendy joined the company and has worked ever since. In the early 2000's, The Crystal Circle specialized primarily in Quartz and Tourmaline. Pete first traveled to Brazil in 2003, bringing back hundreds of fine specimens. 

Jack and his newly found 8 inch Quartz Sceptre, Petersen Mountain, Nevada,10/2008

In 2007, The Crystal Circle purchased all the inventory owned by Hawthorneden Inc., based in Bancroft, Canada and owned by Frank and Wendy Melanson. These prestigious dealers traveled the world buying hundreds of species of minerals in places like Brazil, Romania, Italy, Germany, Canada, and the U.S., for over 40 years. This 500  flat deal included their entire store, show stock, 1000's of spheres and eggs, 10,000 thumbnail specimens,  and wholesale materials, as well as "unprepped," minerals dating back to the early 1970's. We continue to "raid," the stockpiles of this amazing accumulation of fine minerals.

 Since 2007, The Crystal Circle has continued to expand its offering of diverse fine minerals at affordable prices. In 2008, they purchased Les Tolonen's Fluorite Collection comprising 100 flats of top Cave-in-rock fluorites he had accumulated over 40 years as a mineral dealer. Overall, Good material from numerous mineral collections, and new production have garnered the attention of fine collectors and storeowners world wide.

Pete pulls a Smoky Quartz crystal out of a cotton field in South Carolina in 1991.

The "next generation," proudly displays a 5 pound blue Sapphire from Canton, North Carolina.  (sold in 2008)