We could not describe this Tucson Show experience better than xpopress does on their website, so we will give them credit for this apt description:
Every year for about 2.5 weeks in January and February — the rock, gem, mineral and jewelry worlds cosmically align in Tucson. Researchers, gemologists, authors, artists, miners and nearly 4,000 trade companies gather here from every continent to share their treasures, knowledge and expertise with the show’s tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of attendees. Earth’s gem and mineral riches are on display at over 40 venues unfurled all over town, for sale in huge circus tents, expo halls, hotels, warehouses, and in the city’s fine Convention Center. Every type of polished and rough rock and fossil specimen and every kind of faceted jewel that you can imagine is being peddled everywhere — on blankets on sidewalks or in sophisticated exhibits brought in by the world’s finest museums and collectors. All of the shows are free except the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show® held at the Convention Center. Indeed, Tucson hosts the Giant of all Gem Shows, the largest of its kind in the universe.
Every year for about 2.5 weeks in January and February — the rock, gem, mineral and jewelry worlds cosmically align in Tucson. Researchers, gemologists, authors, artists, miners and nearly 4,000 trade companies gather here from every continent to share their treasures, knowledge and expertise with the show’s tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of attendees. Earth’s gem and mineral riches are on display at over 40 venues unfurled all over town, for sale in huge circus tents, expo halls, hotels, warehouses, and in the city’s fine Convention Center. Every type of polished and rough rock and fossil specimen and every kind of faceted jewel that you can imagine is being peddled everywhere — on blankets on sidewalks or in sophisticated exhibits brought in by the world’s finest museums and collectors. All of the shows are free except the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show® held at the Convention Center. Indeed, Tucson hosts the Giant of all Gem Shows, the largest of its kind in the universe.
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The Oracle Wholesale Show ... about 15 dealers in a "light industrial" complex. We had never seen these curious creatures carved from Burmese petrified wood. The nearby Top Gem Wholesale on Oracle draws a huge crowd, many of whom are dealers and shop owners purchasing flats of minerals for resale. They are wholesale only and sell only natural minerals and fossils. |
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One of the vanguard shows at Tucson for many, many years is the Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show at the Hotel Tucson City Center. Known to us all for many years as The Inn Suites show, formerly promoted by Marty Zinn, this hotel-room and ballroom-based show is home to 249 dealers and (we find) is impossible to cover with just one visit. Top row: Lobby display of fossil fish offered primarily to the decorator trade; more fish and some wood being sold in the Ballroom Middle row; Beth getting Jim to laugh with our buddy Mike Murray from Australia; Australian Springsure wood Bottom row: The plaza area at the "seen better days" Hotel Tucson; and large stromatolite slabs |
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The Arizona Independent Warehouse Show is what we would call a "pocket show" because it is out of the main traffic loop for the central shows, but one of our dealer/lapidary friends, Joe Cota, displays some wood here. Jim sees Joe and Lucy at Quartzsite when he visits there in early January, so we usually can't add any new specimens from Tucson, but that does not keep us from checking it out! |
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JOGS Tucson Gem and Jewelry Show is mainly that ... gems and jewelry. But in years past, we have found some fascinating art here, even occasional wood and agates. Whether we find anything or not (which we did not this year), it is an enriching experience to view the hundreds of dealers while exploring the trends in the lapidary arts. So, while Beth's credentials indicated that she is a "buyer," she was in fact just a "viewer"! This year we noticed that retail buyers are allowed entry with the payment of a $20 fee. It has traditionally been a wholesale-only show. That (and the fact that we are traveling around in our large truck camper) may explain the parking issues we experienced in 2019. A rather large rain event moved into Tucson on February 3rd, redirecting visitors to the indoor shows! That included us ... This city in the Sonoran Desert does receive rain year-round, but the largest accumulations are generally in the summer monsoons. Even the bathtub cut from Madagascar wood (seen in the photo right) -- a different smaller version than years past -- began to fill with water! Amber dealers (from Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Columbia, Mexico and the US and Canada) numbered 32 at JOGS, clustered into one pavilion area of the massive indoor facility. We always learn something new. For instance, we did not know that the the oldest amber dates back to 320 million years ago. |
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Kino Gem and Mineral Show at the Kino Sports Complex might be a bit misnamed because this show has more rough rock than many others. Most of the 200 dealers are located outside in tents, so when the Tucson wind and rain kicked in, they were forced to cover with tarps and close! But when the sun returned, people were back to selling and shopping. Items of all ilk are found here from Bison skulls to handmade inlaid tables and lampshades to lapidary slabs to finished jewelry, and some unusual carvings (a couple of which are shown right). But there is a lot of rough rock on pallets and on the ground ... |
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AND, there is wood at this show, too: Top row, left to right: Our good friends, Sally and Spike Andruss of Rimrock Gems, who always have quality rocks and specimens Jim with Dean Delahaut of Barranca Diamond Bottom row: Madagascar wood sellers are ever-abundant and this year had a few surprises |
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