Specializing in aesthetic and historic mineral specimens in the thumbnail to cabinet size range, with a focus on copper and lead minerals from Arizona and Africa, alongside classic material from Cornwall (UK) and Freiberg (Germany) and a suite of fine Mexican minerals. Active in the mineral community through society involvement, show production and participation, mining and publication projects, and educational outreach, always seeking new ways to help others explore a world most people never knew existed.

A fourth-generation Arizona native, I was born in the copper mining town of Morenci, at the foot of the Coronado Trail. I credit my remarkable mother for nurturing, at an early age, my curiosity in the beauties of art and earth science. I often reflect that if Arizona is the Holy Land for minerals and mineral lovers, then Greenlee County was, for me, the Holy Grail.

A serendipitous visit to a rock shop in Glenwood, New Mexico, in the summer of 1985 sparked what would become my lifelong passion for gemstones and minerals. It was there that a lustrous Red Cloud wulfenite became the lens that forever changed how I viewed the rock and mineral universe.

After college and serving in the U.S. Navy, I settled in Phoenix and joined the Mineralogical Society of Arizona (MSA).

In partnership with Dr. Alexander Schauss and a grassroots movement spanning Arizona that included junior and adult members of the Mineralogical Society of Arizona, we spearheaded the successful "Wulfenite Is Love" campaign in support of House Bill 2092, which designated wulfenite as Arizona's official state mineral. Governor Doug Ducey signed HB 2092 into law on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, making it official: Wulfenite is Loved!


“Dedicated to all who are inspired by the beauties and mysteries of the mineral kingdom.”
- Arthur L. Flagg, Founder & First President, Mineralogical Society of Arizona


“The search for beauty is its own reward.”
- Chris Whitney-Smith


"We live in a golden age of exploration, with clubs like MSA to educate us and lead us into the field and resources like Mindat.org and Google Earth to chart the way. Here's to the adventure of the hunt, the thrill of a new discovery, and the friends we meet along the way."
- Chris Whitney-Smith


Life Member Mineralogical Society of Arizona (2007-Present) serving as Membership Chair (2010-2013), Board Governor (2012-Present), Curator MSA Mineral Collection (2012-Present), Vice President (2013), President (2014-Present), Editor The Rockhound Record (2015-2020), American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Bulletin Editors Hall of Fame (2021), MSA Hall of Fame (2022), MSA Rockhound of the Year (2022), American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Rockhound of the Year (2022), A Founder and Show Chairman MSA's Phoenix Heritage Mineral Show (July & November 2022, June 2023 and Co-Chairman with Les Presmyk June 2024); Founding Member Earth Science Museum (2012-Present) serving as Board Trustee (2012-Present); Member Flagg Mineral Foundation (2012-Present) serving as Board Trustee (2014-Present); Sponsoring Member Mindat.org (2012-Present); Member Tucson Gem & Mineral Society (2012-Present); Member Fluorescent Mineral Society (2012-2015 and 2020-Present); Member Arizona Mineral Minions (2013-Present) serving as Treasurer (2017-2018) and Coordinator (2018-2019); Advisory Board Member LGF Foundation for Natural History Museum (2017-Present); Member Bay Area Mineralogists (2017-Present); Member New York Mineralogical Club (2019-Present); Member National Friends of Mineralogy (2015-Present) serving as National Board Director (2016 and 2018-2021) and Chairman American Club Rockhound of the Year (ACROY) Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies (2023-Present).