My first blog when I started at National Jeweler last fall was about going to see the American Gem Trade Association’s Spectrum award pieces and how it was a great first experience to expose myself to gems.
I still stand by that but, in terms of exposure to colored stones, this trip was incomparable.
I spent a lot of time while I was in Tucson at the AGTA’s GemFair, attending seminars, walking the show floor and taking a look at the booths. Most were offering loose stones, and exhibitors were more than happy to talk to me and answer my questions about their selections. There were also a few finished jewelry collections showcasing and I went to visit some of the brands.
But slowly throughout my three days there, I began venturing further and further outside the convention center, ready to explore the tents. I had no idea what to expect, but I was not disappointed.
Right across the street was the Gem & Jewelry Exchange (GJX) show. There were gems for days. My eyes were glazing over as I looked through booth after booth of gems. I had the opportunity to see pretty much any gem or stone I could think of there, including many I hadn’t seen in person before like Australian boulder opals and tourmaline (quickly becoming one of my favorite gems) in various colors I didn’t yet know about.
On left, an inside shot of the booths under the tent of the GJX show. I also saw this Paraiba tourmaline, pictured right, inside GJX and couldn’t walk away without snapping a photo.
Eventually, I roamed even further down the road, to a few more tents and on to the Pueblo gem show, which was inside a hotel. They had managed to set up some tents in an inner courtyard, while some had set up their wares inside the hotel rooms and left their doors wide open.
I was able get some quartz crystals and aragonite for my own collection there (I knew if I came back to my roommate empty-handed, I’d be in trouble.)
And I actually did get lost inside--someone else I knew that was there at the same time asked me where I was, and I couldn’t give an answer.
that it was going to be a battle to find my way back to the hotel lobby. On the bright side, there are much worse places to get lost than at a gem and jewelry show.
Crystals, crystals and more crystals … I found these during one of many circles through the show inside the hotel. The right shot is what the Pueblo show looked like in the courtyard of the hotel.
It wasn’t until my last full day in Tucson that I managed to get my hands on a map of all the gem shows in the area, which confirmed my suspicions that I hadn’t even come close to scratching the surface of all that the city had to offer.
Now that I better know what a trip to Tucson includes, I’ll be able to form a solid plan for next year. All in all, though, I think it was a pretty successful trip-- I learned a lot about gemstones, met some wonderful people and had a great time seeing the city and the shows.
I went to this one, another part of the Pueblo show, in search of geodes.
Who else was there this year? I want to hear your experiences and recommendations as well.
Thanks for a great time, Tucson. Until next year...
Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.
