Meet the ‘Crystal King of Canada’ who has turned his hobby into an empire

Fergus is home to the country’s largest crystal wholesaler. CTV’s Spencer Turcotte learns how a childhood hobby led to a career.

A passion for rock collecting is now a crystal empire based in Fergus, Ont.

Ken Dardano is the man behind Gneiss Guy Minerals and Fossils.

What began as a childhood hobby later became a business in the ‘90s. Since then, hundreds of thousands of minerals, crystals and fossils have passed through the company’s 5,000 square-foot warehouse. They also have another 10,000 sq. ft. of storage offsite.

“We’re the largest wholesaler in Canada,” said Dardano. “Once we got over 90,000 kilos a year, I stopped calculating.”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the ‘Crystal King of Canada,’ which some customers do.

Not only does he wholesale to stores, gift shops and museums, his team goes out in the field to collect the goods themselves.

“We train locals in all sorts of countries like India, Madagascar, Morocco,” he said. “Kind of like Indiana Jones, but no whip.”

A large part of being a ‘rock’ star is the travelling that comes with it. He puts on shows and exhibits around the world every year and loyal customers follow.

“Tucson is the biggest. It’s overwhelming,” said customer Peter Wozniak.

Wozniak keeps coming back partly because the business opens to the public a few weeks a year since the operation is usually wholesale.

The reasonable prices, Wozniak said, are also a draw.

“Ken is a unique individual in that because his markup is very minimal and he’s not in the business of the 120 per cent, 200 per cent markup that you get to see with some of the others. His markup is very realistic,” said Wozniak.

That’s because of how many crystals, minerals and fossils they have. Also, because they collect a large portion themselves. The wide range of price points allows the average person to get in on the hobby.

“We have items from $5 all the way up to thousands of dollars,” said Dardano. “We have some folks that believe in the healing properties of minerals, and that’s really grown. When we started in 1990, maybe about 10 per cent of our customers believed in the healing properties, and now it’s more like 80 per cent.”

It’s a winning business plan that shows not all gneiss guys finish last.