"Sadly" (not for me back then) a crystal 1 mm on a side is more than plenty for structural elucidation. They were only ever pretty to me because
A) you sometimes spend weeks working on the materials that go into the solution, seeing them feels like a "my god finally" kinda thing
B) under a microscope crystals are especially beautiful, even small crystals. We had a microscope set up in an inert atmosphere for sensitive compounds, see eg.
About timing: this could take anywhere from days to months... really dependent on how fast you can go without making ugly intergrown xtals, on how well you select solvents, etc. Experimental science can be cruel.
A) you sometimes spend weeks working on the materials that go into the solution, seeing them feels like a "my god finally" kinda thing
B) under a microscope crystals are especially beautiful, even small crystals. We had a microscope set up in an inert atmosphere for sensitive compounds, see eg.
https://www.jacomex.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/microscop...
About timing: this could take anywhere from days to months... really dependent on how fast you can go without making ugly intergrown xtals, on how well you select solvents, etc. Experimental science can be cruel.