Dear Lapis readers!
The 500th issue of Lapis

It has been almost half a century since Lapis was founded by a handful of idealistic enthusiasts: Maximilian Glas, the first editor-in-chief; Dr. Werner Lieber, who exemplified the art of collecting for an entire generation; Dr. Karl Ludwig Weiner, a crystallographer who made crystal forms understandable; Prof. Dr. Max Weibel, who introduced us to the crystal treasures of Switzerland; Dr. Heinz Weninger from the University of Mining and Metallurgy Leoben, a scientist and enthusiastic collector; Prof. Simone Huber and her husband Prof. Peter Huber, who even opened the Iron Curtain a little for us and allowed us to experience informative articles from the classic mining regions of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy; Dr. Eduard Gübelin, the renowned Swiss gemologist, whose initial publications on the gemstone and mineral deposits in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Burma in the 1970s and 1980s provided a crucial impetus for the development of these deposits; Dr. Hans-Jürgen Wilke, a Germanist and very dedicated mineral collector, specialist for Scandinavia and many other European regions, supported the magazine with his immense knowledge.
When Maximilian Glas joined the hippie movement two years after the founding of our magazine, it was a stroke of luck that the then mineralogy student Dr. Rupert Hochleitner stepped in and shaped Lapis for more than a decade.
I myself sacrificed my scientific career as a geophysicist and devoted myself with great enthusiasm to the Lapis project – and I have never regretted it to this day!
A huge thank you goes to all the readers and subscribers who offered us support and not only financially supported our work, but also encouraged us with their appreciation and convinced us that we were – and still are – on the right track.
But there is another very important group without whom the features of our Lapis booklets would have been much more modest: the advertisers, who very quickly realized that Lapis is the ideal and most cost-effective advertising medium for their businesses and events.
Last but not least: no magazine can exist without authors and photographers! They were the ones who often provided well-kept sources for interesting articles and, with their insightful images, laid the foundation for the Lapis project.

Collector's portrait
To mark our anniversary, this issue features a tribute to collector Fabian Wildfang and his collection. A long-time Lapis subscriber himself, he has amassed one of the finest collections in Europe. The collection contains numerous aesthetic treasures and unique pieces. It is certainly not a given that someone would offer a glimpse into their private collection to a wider audience. Therefore, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Fabian, naturally also on behalf of the entire team!

We received several positive reactions to the anniversary announcement beforehand. I've picked out one in particular: Congratulations on the 500th issue of Lapis! I have a complete collection of them at home. I'm sure they contain some insightful reflections. Lapis has had a profound impact on all of us and significantly raised the bar for mineralogical knowledge. Keep up the good work and may your mineralogical skills always be fine!
Regards, Dieter Gräf, (former board member of the VFMG and the magazine "Der Aufschluss")

Enjoy reading and best of luck!
Christian Weise