Musée de Minéralogie

This Museum of Mineralogy offers visitors a collection (architecture, furniture, paintings) that has been carefully preserved since the mid-19th century. More than 4,000 samples of minerals, rocks, meteorites and precious and semi-precious stones are on display, a small part of a collection of 100,000 pieces that specialists classify as one of the world's foremost. A descendant of the cabinets of curiosities and private collections of the 18th century, the collection has been enriched over the years by donations and purchases, as well as by the results of prospecting campaigns and inventories of mineral resources in France and throughout the world. As a result of collections spread over nearly 250 years, the collection of the Musée de Minéralogie has considerable heritage, historical and scientific value. The MINES ParisTech Mineralogy Museum is a source of wonder in terms of the beauty and diversity of the mineral world but it is also an opportunity to reflect on the industrial, political, economic, and environmental implications of mineral exploitation. The collections include the Cut Stones of the French Crown Jewels.