For more than 30 years, Crystal River Gems has proudly operated as a locally rooted, family-run business in downtown Pittsburgh. Founded by James Schuster in the mid 1990s, we began as a humble storefront and have steadily grown into a well-known, trusted name in crystals and minerals, serving both individual collectors and retailers across the U.S. and beyond.
How It Started James's path to founding CRG wasn't traditional. After experiencing a tough upbringing, he managed restaurants and sold at local art shows to support his young family in his adult years. After many years of restaurant management James took a leap of faith and purchased a rock shop from a family friend located in Station Square. Around the same time, he taught himself how to build a website and learned search optimization skills that helped Crystal River Gems land the #1 rank for rock shops on search engines at the time, gaining visibility in the very early days of e-commerce.
( photo by Mark Palmer )
Over the years, James built lasting relationships with international suppliers, many of whom operate small, family-run mining and carving businesses. Today, our inventory is shaped by those partnerships and includes everything from raw minerals to carvings and jewelry. Our customer base includes independent shops, nature and museum gift stores, artisans, collectors, and large retailers. A few of our pieces have even made their way onto famous movie sets.
You’ll also find our products in hotel gift shops, including framed agate slices displayed as décor, and in organizations like The Caring Place, which showcases our Butterfly line in their lobbies. We were recently featured in the Redfin blog and many other news articles throughout the years. More recently, we’ve expanded into live show selling on TikTok, which allows us to interact with a broader audience in real time.
( CRG storefront once located in Fifth Avenue Place )
From Station Square to Market Square After several years at Station Square and nearly two decades in the Highmark Building's Fifth Avenue Place ( once known as Jenkin's Arcade ), we relocated to the historic Diamond Building in 2022. Built in 1902 and located in the heart of downtown neighboring Market Square, it now houses our showroom and warehouse.
( google image of the historic Diamond Building where CRG is currently located )
Resilience Through Change Like many businesses, we faced serious challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. While experiencing rapid growth during this time, we had to rebuild our team from the ground up. Online business surged as people stayed home and explored new interests. Through adaptability, new technology, and the support of our community, we’ve continued moving forward.
Even as we’ve grown, CRG has remained a family business at heart. James set the foundation, and now family members have taken on leadership roles, ensuring we continue to build on everything he started. But we couldn’t do any of this alone.
Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of working with an incredible team—hardworking, creative, and passionate individuals who have been the backbone of CRG. Many of our employees came from restaurant backgrounds, college programs, or creative industries, and their dedication has been a huge part of our success. From helping customers find the perfect crystal to packing online orders with care, our team makes this business what it is.
( CRG showroom in current location of the Diamond Building )
Looking Ahead We continue to evolve — offering online shopping, retail showroom and warehouse, live sales on TikTok, and wholesale partnerships across North America. But at our core, we’re still the same Pittsburgh-based shop with a passion for quality, affordable, gemstones and crystals.
Whether you're sourcing for your store, building your own collection, or just curious, we invite you to visit and see what Crystal River Gems has to offer.
We’re deeply grateful to Pittsburgh and to our global community of customers for more than three decades of support.
