Welcome to the page of Karin and Wolfgang Wendel. For over 40 years mineral collecting has been our passion.
We both started collecting minerals—independently of each other—at a very early age. The first collecting was done in the nearby Black Forest, where an impressive collection was assembled.
Beginning in 1982, both of us but independently of each other could be found at local mineral shows as exhibitor. It does not come as surprise that we met at a mineral show in 1995 and got married almost two years later. Since that time, our mineral business has evolved dramatically and more and more took over our lives.
We went to Lavrion several times per year. We descended into almost every historic mines to recover wonderful minerals.
Numerous publications in German and American magazines on Lavrion and the mineral localities of the Black Forest followed. Furthermore, the mineral business expanded and we attended the shows in St-Marie-aux-Mines, France and Munich, Germany.
Minerals took an increasing portion of Wolfgang’s professional live and in 2006, he successfully ventured a step from a master craftsman to professional mineral dealer.
The next step was to approach the US market and within a short period of time, Wendell Minerals setup its presentation as individual dealer at the three most important satellite shows in Tucson. Tucson City Center Hotel (formerly Inn Suites Hotel), Westward Look and the Main Show of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society®.
In 2012, Karin quit her day job and joined the business; too much work for Wolfgang to handle it alone.
In 2013 we added the Denver Gem and Mineral Show® (Main Show), organized by members of the eight mineral, lapidary and fossil clubs of the Greater Denver Area Gem and Mineral Council to our busy schedule.
In 1997 we started to organize a regional mineral show in Wolfgang’s hometown Heitersheim. This show evolved, over a decade under our management, into €UROMIN in Lörrach, one of the largest shows in Germany. In 2011 we handed it over to a new team of organizers.