Another year has gone by and here we are at Tucson again. In some ways, it feels like we were just here and it all looks eerily familiar. Mostly the same venues, mostly the same inventories for many dealers, and mostly the same crowds. Dealers occasionally do shift around from venue to venue and new ones take the place of those who retire. But everyone here is on the same mission: find the very best, most unusual, lowest cost, exceptionally beautiful and scientifically interesting rocks they can find. It matters not whether they are seeking fossils, minerals, lapidary material, rock shop inventory, interior decorator pieces, finished jewelry, beads, cut stones and cabochons awaiting to be set into adorning jewelry, lapidary and rock tools of all kinds, meteorites or archeological artifacts – it is ALL HERE IN TUCSON again this year. The weather is mild, the shoppers are expecting to fill their bags, wagons, rolling luggage or specially constructed containers to ensure safe passage home. Visiting the Tucson Show should be on every rock lover’s bucket list – even if it only happens once in a lifetime.
But, a small warning here – once you come to Tucson for your first show, it will be a siren call every year drawing you back to its spectacular array of beautiful specimens and products. Take it from us, we know. This is our 42nd year in attendance and we are still excited to be here! January 17 – February 18, 2025 |
The 22nd Street Mineral, Fossil, Gem & Jewelry Show
January 30 - February 16 (10 to 6 daily) At a show where once we visited many dealers of petrified wood, we now find all of them dispersed to other venues around town or, in many cases, no longer exhibiting at any of the Tucson venues. Nevertheless, there is a parade of endlessly amazing other rock and gem treasures to look at and marvel at even if we are only “lookie- loos” who just browse and do not purchase at this show. Not to say there is no petrified wood – just check out the massive log available at one of the outdoor dealers – 8 tons of petrified wood! Perhaps difficult to get into your living room or hobby center (forget the possibility of a cabinet) but perhaps quite spectacular out in the garden! Otherwise the offerings as shown in our photos are just colorful and “different.” |
One of the benefits of visiting the Tucson show is the opportunity to meet-up with friends from other countries with whom our interests are mutually shared. So, after a hiatus of several years, we were delighted to meet up with Johann Zenz for dinner – a tradition that we shared with Johann and his late brother Franz every year here in Tucson on Superbowl Sunday when we talked rocks while the rest of the city was intent on watching the game. His latest project is a website called Agates.click that should appeal to silicified wood collectors as well as agate collectors. In the site’s own words it is “... a private, international, non-profit online medium project with the aim of promoting and deepening interest in agates, jaspers, silicified woods and other formerly organic agate materials (cryptocrystalline quartz) on a popular scientific basis.” We have taken a quick look at it and are supremely impressed with the contents and the potential. The list of editorial and advisory group members consists of some of the most ardent collectors in the world today and the fruits of their efforts are definitely on display in the numerous web pages they have developed. We recommend anyone reading this paragraph go to the website www.agates.click and see for yourself. The more interest you have in silicification, whether the result is a banded agate, a beautiful jasper or an impressive specimen of petrified wood, the better you will like this site. |
RMGM Show
1920 N. Oracle Road January 15 - February 15 No wood here but we ran into a mineral dealer friend, Dennis Beals, selling under the name Xtal. We have acquired quite a few quartz and other silicate mineral specimens from Dennis. He makes regular trips to Mexico, knows the miners and knows the territory. And, he always has great stories, reasonable mineral prices in this crazy mineral market and excellent specimens which have not traveled through a half dozen middlemen before getting to the display shelves in Tucson. Great to catch up with him! |
Coop Mineral and Fossil Galleries
1635 N. Oracle Rd January 31 - February 16 If you are shopping for a major museum or if you have a 10,000 square foot house with 18-foot ceilings this is the place to find your favorite specimens. There are 11 galleries here, all with eye-popping specimens and phenomenal displays. As non-buyers, we felt comfortable photographing only a few that welcomed the free advertising, but you will get the feel of this extraordinary show. Just check out the massive petrified wood rounds at Russell-Zuhl. Table tops? Conference room décor? Major museum pieces? Or, perhaps just an end table of gorgeous, colorful petrified wood that will fit in your own living room without blocking all the exits. The polish is lustrous and you wonder just how big a flat lap must be to polish a full round over 7 feet in diameter. Hint: it takes special machinery and Russell-Zuhl has it. Also note the enormous fossils across the hall from the petrified wood. One of our favorites this year was a partially prepared dinosaur fossil cast in plaster and original matrix that was displayed under a video of the dig itself. A first thought when seeing this partially prepped fossil is “Hmmm, are they selling DIY (do-it-yourself) specimens this year?” Nope – like all fossils and minerals, it is the information learned about excavation, provenance, and significance that is the most important part of any purchase. Perhaps one of the most unusual things we will see this year is a gold? Plated T-rex skull. I’m not sure what kind of buyer they are trying to attract but it is definitely unusual. |
Russell-Zuhl ----- all wood all the time
GeoDecor
Nature and Art
Sahara Sea