The Wigner crystal (WC) is a prototypical quantum phase that emerges in the strong-coupling limit of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). In this talk, I will explore the quantum properties of the WC and related phases using an asymptotically exact semiclassical expansion. I will first show how an applied magnetic field and intrinsic band Berry curvature modify the WC's magnetism: the relevant exchange processes arise from multi-particle tunneling along complex trajectories, which constitute complex-instanton solutions of the phase-space path integral. The resulting exchange amplitudes acquire Aharonov–Bohm and Berry phases, generating chiral spin interactions that can stabilize a chiral spin liquid. I will then revisit the long-standing question of intermediate phases between the WC and the Fermi liquid from a strong-coupling perspective, emphasizing the potentially important role of dynamical point defects (vacancies and interstitials) in the phase diagram. In particular, we propose a “metallic electron crystal” at intermediate densities between a low-density WC and a high-density Fermi liquid.