Nicolas Meisser
His fascination with crystals dates back to his earliest childhood. His grandfather owned a few amethyst geodes he had brought back from Morocco; later, in the mountains of Val d’Illiez, he discovered his first calcite and quartz crystals. To his child’s eyes, they were already wonders.
He was fortunate to grow up with parents who loved nature. From Alpine valleys to African volcanoes, their walks nurtured his perspective and his love of observation. Among the animal, plant, and mineral kingdoms, he chose the latter—undoubtedly the most mysterious.
Why? For its enduring nature on a human scale, for the perfection of its forms—only crystals offer natural straight lines—and for their colors, which are vibrant and long-lasting.
Driven by this fascination, he pursued studies in geology, then in mineralogy, chemistry, and crystallography, culminating in a doctoral dissertation in 2003, while continuing to serve as a curator.
Science demands extreme rigor: in this context, the mineral becomes a formula and a structure. Yet it remains an essential witness to the history of the Earth. To forget its beauty would be to lose our connection to reality. A mineral is, by its very nature, a master of time.