OBG
International
Gems and Minerals
|
|
|
|
OBG Gems and Minerals Company Profile
OBG Gems & Minerals is owned and operated by Thomas W. Corson, an avid mineral collector for over 45 years. Tom's interest in mineralogy began as a young boy in New Jersey, at about the age of 10, when a relative gave him a rock and mineral collection for Christmas. This gift began a wonderful odyssey which continues to this day. Tom was fortunate enough to live near some very famous collecting localities. These included Franklin and Sterling Hill, NJ - one of the most renowned mineral localities on earth and famous for its fluorescent minerals; and the trap rock quarries at Patterson, NJ - famous for their zeolite minerals. As a young man he also collected at many of the famous pegmatite localities in New England, including the Strickland Quarry, igniting a love of pegmatite minerals, which continues to this day. The "mineral bug" did not stop with geology but caused him to develop a love of learning and of the sciences in general, especially chemistry and physics. He build a laboratory in his basement and taught himself qualitative analysis at the age of 14! As a result, Mr. Corson pursued scientific studies, attending the University of Colorado under two academic scholarships, where he majored in geology with a distributed minor in chemistry, physics, and anthropology. Ironically, he did not pursue a career in geology, but spent his entire career in high-tech, having taught himself software programming as a student while at the university. During his career, he founded/co-founded three successful Silicon Valley software companies. The software from one of those companies powers this web site! Tom is also a licensed pilot. Through all this, his underlying love of minerals never left him. Wanting to turn his high-tech talents toward mineralogy, Tom created the Internet "Rockhounds List" in 1993, which remains one of the largest online resources for mineral and lapidary professionals and hobbyists to this day. Tom is an active member of:
Here is what he has to say today: "I moved from the Bay Area to the Tucson area in 2005, when I 'semi-retired' from high tech. I say this with a smile, as having 'retired', I now have two businesses - a software consulting company and my mineral dealership! I guess I'll never really retire...." "I have more interests than I possibly have time for (which is a good thing!). Living just south of Tucson, I am in mineralogical heaven! I have the TGMS; the largest gem and mineral show in the world each year; fantastic collecting localities all around; great friends in the field, both amateur and professional; and an exciting new business which combines my high-tech skills with my love of minerals! I am truly blessed." "I have always considered mineralogy to be my 'roots'. Having returned to those roots, I hope you find what I have created for you here to be worthwhile." |
|
Send mail to
webmaster@infodyn.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
