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| Bill Larson, the Collector’s owner,
travels the world in search of fine gems and minerals. |
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Bill
Larson, a native of San Diego County, is President and CEO of Pala
International and The Collector Fine Jewelry. A renowned gemstone mining
expert, Larson
has a stunning private mineral collection as well as some of the rarest
mineral-related books. He has supplied many of the most respected museums
with some of the finest mineral specimens in the world.
Larson
began rock hunting and collecting minerals at a very young age. Being
raised in Fallbrook, he collected materials
from the
gem mine dumps of Pala.
At the age of 10, Larson was helping
well-known mineral collector Josie Scripps gather local gem specimens and
was known as one of her monsters. Graduating with honors from the Colorado
School
of Mines in 1967, he put his education into use and became involved in mineral
and gemstone mining in Southern California and soon began Pala International
in 1968.
A world traveler, Larson frequents the remote ruby
and sapphire mines of Burma, the fascinating mining areas of Russia and many
other exciting localities
of the world. He has traveled to Mogok more than 20 times. One never knows
what odd and amazing things Burma Bill will bring back from his travels.
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| Bill Larson in his element, chasing fine
gems in Burma’s Mogok Stone Tract. |
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| Pala International’s Wimon Manorotkul holds
“Big Mama.” This
extraordinary 10,000-ct. Mogok (Burma) ruby crystal is among
the finest specimens
ever unearthed and was brought back alive by Bill Larson. Photo:
R.W. Hughes/Pala International |
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Further reading
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