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The 2020 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® Displays Part 1

This post about the 2020 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® focuses on some of the amazing displays at the show. Private collectors, dealers, museums, and mineral clubs set up public display exhibits that showcase some of the most exceptional minerals that are out there. 

This show, the most prominent mineral event in the world, features over one hundred displays with a wide variety of specimens that rival the displays of the best museums in the world. It would be difficult to cover these displays our post, so we chose some of the most prominent and photogenic samples and divided the display exhibits into two posts, this being the first one.

This year's theme was "World Class Minerals." This is a loosely defined terminology and this is a more encompassing theme than in previous years. The website of the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society devoted a page to explain the theme - visit their website to read more about the theme at http://www.tgms.org/news-archive/2019/10/20/world-class-minerals.


The Mineral Wines Collection - Brett Keller
The Mineral Wines Collection
Brett Keller

A Love Affair with Prehnite - Steve Blyskal
A Love Affair with Prehnite
Steve Blyskal

Herkimer Diamonds: World Class Treasures from the Mountains of New York State - Rocko Rosenblatt
Herkimer Diamonds: World Class Treasures from the Mountains of New York State
Rocko Rosenblatt

Made in America - USA Gemstones
Made in America - USA Gemstones


Display Case Devoted to Sulfur
Display Case Devoted to Sulfur


Colorado World Class Minerals Mines Museum of Earth Science
Colorado World Class Minerals
Mines Museum of Earth Science

Significant Color Varieties of Calcite Cincinnati Museum Center
Significant Color Varieties of Calcite
Cincinnati Museum Center

Sample of World Class Minerals - New Mexico Tech Bureau of Geology Mineral Museum
Sample of World Class Minerals
New Mexico Tech Bureau of Geology Mineral Museum

Large Impressive Chinese Minerals - Perot Museum of Nature and Science
Large Impressive Chinese Minerals
Perot Museum of Nature and Science

Arizona's World Class Minerals  - Les & Paula Presmyk Collection
Arizona's World Class Minerals
Les & Paula Presmyk Collection

An Amazing Case of Exceptional Minerals - Walt Donovan
An Amazing Case of Exceptional Minerals
Walt Donovan

Arizona's Best - AZ Mining, Mineral and Natural Resources Education Museum
Arizona's Best
AZ Mining, Mineral and Natural Resources Education Museum

Some Classic Mineral Examples - Yale University Peabody Museum of Natural History
Some Classic Mineral Examples
Yale University Peabody Museum of Natural History

Treasures from the AMNH'S Bement Collection - American Museum of Natural History
Treasures from the AMNH'S Bement Collection
American Museum of Natural History

Large Interesting Gem Minerals Mineral - The Meieran Collection
Large Interesting Gem Minerals Mineral
The Meieran Collection

What Makes a World Class Mineral? - Rice Museum of Rocks and Minerals
What Makes a World Class Mineral?
Rice Museum of Rocks and Minerals

The 2020 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® Displays Part 2

This is our second post on the display exhibits of the The 2020 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®. We divided the photos of the displays into two posts to keep it from being too long. We didn't put these photos in any particular order -- the order is the sequence of our photographs.


In past years, we separated our posts on the display cases into separate posts for theme-related and non-theme related. However, with this year's more ambiguous theme of "World Class Minerals," every case seemed to have been filled with "World Class Minerals" so it was hard to separate the theme from the non-themed. We therefore included them all together and did not designate separate posts for this.

Please stay tuned for our next post which will include some of the exceptional minerals within these display cases.

Footballs and Snowballs: The Mines of Carthage, Smith Co., Tennessee - Tellus Science Museum
Footballs and Snowballs: The Mines of Carthage, Smith Co., Tennessee
Tellus Science Museum

Golden Calcite from Malmberget, Sweden - Peter Lykberg
Golden Calcite from Malmberget, Sweden
Peter Lykberg

In Memoriam of Tom Hales: February 19, 1943 - April 4, 2019 - Gregg and Glenn Hales
In Memoriam of Tom Hales: February 19, 1943 - April 4, 2019
Gregg and Glenn Hales

Beautiful Mineral Examples from the Harvard Collection - Harvard Mineralogical Museum
Beautiful Mineral Examples from the Harvard Collection
Harvard Mineralogical Museum

The Science Behind World Class Diamonds - GIA - Gemological Institute of America
The Science Behind World Class Diamonds
GIA - Gemological Institute of America

Mineralogical Record Covers of Minerals in the Museum Collection - Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Mineralogical Record Covers of Minerals in the Museum Collection
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

From the Mineral Museum Collection: World-Wide Minerals - The University of Arizona Mineral Collection
From the Mineral Museum Collection: World-Wide Minerals
The University of Arizona Mineral Collection

Marquis Pieces from the Spann Collection - Jim & Gail Spann, Rockwall, TX
Marquis Pieces from the Spann Collection
Jim & Gail Spann, Rockwall, TX

Classic Collection Pieces from the Frederick A. Canfield & Washington A. Roebling Collecton - Smithsonian Institution National Museum on Natural History
Classic Collection Pieces from the Frederick A. Canfield & Washington A. Roebling Collecton
Smithsonian Institution National Museum on Natural History

Colorful Gemstone Minerals - JTV Internal Collection
Colorful Gemstone Minerals
JTV Internal Collection

Favorites from the Collection of Gary and Rosemary White - Gary and Rosemary White
Favorites from the Collection of Gary and Rosemary White
Gary and Rosemary White

Exceptional Mineral Display - Bruce Carter: Board Member of Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals
Exceptional Mineral Display
Bruce Carter: Board Member of Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals

Russian Treasures - Robert Lavinsky
Russian Treasures
Robert Lavinsky

MAD Treasure Honoring the Mineralogical Record - MAD - Mineralogical Association of Dallas
MAD Treasure Honoring the Mineralogical Record
MAD - Mineralogical Association of Dallas

The Mineralogical Record: Celebrating 50 years of Excellence - Arizona Mineral Minions
The Mineralogical Record: Celebrating 50 years of Excellence
Arizona Mineral Minions

Sliced and polished Malachite and Azurite Pieces - Will Larson Collection
Sliced and polished Malachite and Azurite Pieces
Will Larson Collection

The 2020 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® Display Minerals Part 1

This post shares some of the individual minerals on display in the exhibits at the The 2020 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®. As always, the minerals were outstanding, with an abundance of old classics, new finds, amazing aesthetics, and great rarities.


Of the hundreds of great minerals we photographed in the exhibits, this selection is a condensed version narrowing down our top picks. This decision of which minerals to include in the post is always a difficult one, and proved even harder this year than in previous years because we didn't separate the posts by theme vs. non-theme minerals. This year's theme of "World Class Minerals" really left all the exhibit minerals liable to fit under the theme definition, so we didn't differentiate between the themed minerals and non-themed minerals as was done in our show reports from previous years.


This is the first of two posts on the individual show minerals. Stay tuned for our next posts on the individual minerals which we will be posting shortly.


New Find of Orange-Red tourmaline dravite from New Mexico, Discovered April 2019
New Find of Orange-Red Tourmaline (Dravite) from New Mexico, Discovered April 2019
Collected by Orlando and Nicole Haworth

Large Herkimer Diamond Quartz Crystals from the Benchmark Quarry, St. Johnsville, NY
Large "Herkimer Diamond" (Quartz) Crystals from the Benchmark Quarry, St. Johnsville, NY
Rocko Minerals

Pink Rhodochrosite Rhombs from Mina Remedios, Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico - META (Mineral Enthusiasts of the Tucson Area)
Pink Rhodochrosite Rhombs from Mina Remedios, Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico
META (Mineral Enthusiasts of the Tucson Area)

Rhodochrosite Embedded in Selenite from the Sunnyside Mine, San Juan Co., CO - META (Mineral Enthusiasts of the Tucson Area)
Rhodochrosite embedded in Selenite from the Sunnyside Mine, San Juan Co., CO
META (Mineral Enthusiasts of the Tucson Area)

Large Gold Nugget from the Huachuca Mountains, Cochise Co., Arizona - Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum
Large Gold Nugget from the Huachuca Mountains, Cochise Co., Arizona
Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum

Protruding Aquamarine Crystals and Quartz from Mt. Antero, Chaffee Co., CO - Colorado School of Mines Museum
Protruding Aquamarine Crystals and Quartz from Mt. Antero, Chaffee Co., CO
Colorado School of Mines Museum

Amazonite Baveno Twin from Pikes Peak, Teller Co., CO - Colorado School of Mines Museum
Large Single Amazonite Baveno Twin from Pikes Peak, Teller Co., CO
Colorado School of Mines Museum

Diamond Crystal from the Kelsey Lake Diamond Pipe, Larimer Co., CO - Colorado School of Mines Museum
Diamond Crystal from the Kelsey Lake Diamond Pipe, Larimer Co., CO
Colorado School of Mines Museum

Penetrating Green Calcite Rhombs, Colored by Vanadium, from the Coscuez Mine, Muzo, Boyaca, Colombia - Cincinnati Museum Center
Penetrating Green Calcite Rhombs, Colored by Vanadium,
from the Coscuez Mine, Muzo, Boyaca, Colombia
Cincinnati Museum Center

Green Dogtooth Calcite, Colored by Vanadium, on Petrified Wood, from Garfield Co., Utah - Cincinnati Museum Center
Green Dogtooth Calcite Rhombs, Colored by Vanadium,
on Petrified Wood, from Garfield Co., Utah
Cincinnati Museum Center

Calcite Colored by Iron with Galena from the Second Soviet Mine, Dal'negorsk, Russia - Cincinnati Museum Center
Calcite Colored by Iron with Galena from the Second Soviet Mine, Dal'negorsk, Russia
Cincinnati Museum Center

Calcite Faceted Gem, 1,030.5 carats with Intense Dispersion, from Mato Grosso, Brazil - Cincinnati Museum Center
Calcite Faceted Gem, 1,030.5 carats with Intense Dispersion, from Mato Grosso, Brazil
Cincinnati Museum Center

Large Rhodochrosite Crystals the Wutong Princess from the Wutong Mine, Wuzhou Prefecture, China - Perot Museum of Nature & Science: Collection of Gail & Jim Spann
Large Rhodochrosite Crystals - "the Wutong Princess"
from the Wutong Mine, Wuzhou Prefecture, China
Perot Museum of Nature & Science: Collection of Gail & Jim Spann

Large Fluorite Ball on Matrix from Chaohu Prefecture, Anhui Province, China - Perot Museum of Nature & Science: Collection of Lyda Hill
Large Fluorite Ball on Matrix from Chaohu Prefecture, Anhui Province, China
Perot Museum of Nature & Science: Collection of Lyda Hill

Happy Feet Azurite & Malachite from the Liufengshan Mine, Anhui Province, China - Perot Museum of Nature & Science:  Collection of Dr. Robert Lavinsky
"Happy Feet" Azurite and Malachite from the Liufengshan Mine, Anhui Province, China
Perot Museum of Nature & Science: Collection of Dr. Robert Lavinsky

Large Plate of Barite Crystals on Matrix from the Magma Mine, Superior, Arizona - Les and Paula Presmyk Collection
Large Plate of Barite Crystals on Matrix from the Magma Mine, Superior, Arizona
Les and Paula Presmyk Collection

Calcite Colored Green from Malachite from the Southwest Mine, Bisbee, Arizona - Les and Paula Presmyk Collection
Calcite Colored Green from Malachite from the Southwest Mine, Bisbee, Arizona
Les and Paula Presmyk Collection

The 2020 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® Display Minerals Part 2

This is our second post on the individual minerals of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® display Minerals. A continuation of our previous post, this post shares some of the remarkable minerals on display in the exhibits at the show.

There were so many good minerals on display, and it was difficult having to choose the best ones. However, we are posting many of the other great display minerals we photographed at the show on our Instagram page at instagram.com/mineralsnet, so please check there as well for additional show minerals.

Our order of the pictures does not follow any system. We simply posted in the order of how we photographed them at at the show. We hope you enjoy!


Beryl var Morganite on Elbaite Tourmaline, from the Tourmaline Queen Mine, San Diego Co., CA - Walt Donovan Collection
Morganite on Elbaite Tourmaline from the Tourmaline Queen Mine, San Diego Co., CA
Walt Donovan Collection

Backlit Red Cuprite Crystal with Malachite and Chrysocolla from the Mashamba West Mine, Kolwezi, DR Congo - Walt Donovan Collection
Backlit Red Cuprite Crystal with Malachite on Chrysocolla
from the Mashamba West Mine, Kolwezi, DR Congo
Walt Donovan Collection

Gold on Quartz from the Big Bug Placer Mine, Yavapai Co., Arizona - Arizona Mining, Mineral & Natural Resources Education Museum
Gold on Quartz from the Big Bug Placer Mine, Yavapai Co., Arizona
Arizona Mining, Mineral & Natural Resources Education Museum

Stacked Galena Crystals on Matrix from Rossie, St. Lawrence Co., NY - American Museum of Natural History - Treasure of the Bement Collection
Stacked Galena Crystals on Matrix from Rossie, St. Lawrence Co., NY
American Museum of Natural History - Treasure of the Bement Collection

Giant Blue Fluorite from the Denton Mine, Harris Creek Dist, Hardin Co., IL - Saga Minerals
Giant Blue Fluorite from the Denton Mine, Harris Creek Dist, Hardin Co., IL
Saga Minerals

Purple Octahedral Fluorite on Quartz from the T&G Prospect, Grant Co., NM - Gregg and Glenn Hales, in Memoriam of Tom Hales
Purple Octahedral Fluorite on Quartz from the T&G Prospect, Grant Co., NM
Gregg and Glenn Hales, in Memoriam of Tom Hales

Giant Rhodochrosite Crystal from the Santa Isabella Vein, Huayallapon Mine, Pasto Bueno, Ancash, Peru - Mineralogical & Geological Museum of Harvard University
Giant Rhodochrosite Crystal from the Santa Isabella Vein,
Huayallapon Mine, Pasto Bueno, Ancash, Peru
Mineralogical & Geological Museum of Harvard University

Famous Benitoite Crystal Cluster from the Dallas Gem Mine, San Benito Co., CA - Mineralogical Record Cover Specimen Jan-Feb 2008 - Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Famous Benitoite Crystal Cluster from the Dallas Gem Mine, San Benito Co., CA
Mineralogical Record Cover Specimen Jan-Feb 2008
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Rhodochrosite, Fluorite, and Kutnohorite from the Wutong Mine, Wuzhou, China - Marquis Pieces from the Spann Collection
Rhodochrosite, Fluorite, and Kutnohorite from the Wutong Mine, Wuzhou, China
Marquis Pieces from the Spann Collection

Rhodochrosite with Pyrite The Worm from Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico - Marquis Pieces from the Spann Collection
Rhodochrosite with Pyrite "The Worm" from Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico
Marquis Pieces from the Spann Collection

Euclase with Fluorapatite from the La Marina Mine, Pauna, Boyaca Dept, Colombia - Marquis Pieces from the Spann Collection
Euclase with Fluorapatite from the La Marina Mine, Pauna, Boyaca Dept, Colombia
Marquis Pieces from the Spann Collection

Amazonite with Smoky Quartz from the Tree Root Pocket, Two Point Claim, Teller Co., CO - Smithsonian Institute National Museum of Natural History - Gift of Washington A. Roebling
Amazonite with Smoky Quartz from the Tree Root Pocket, Two Point Claim, Teller Co., CO
Smithsonian Institute National Museum of Natural History - Gift of Washington A. Roebling

Aegirine on Albite from Mount Malosa, Zomba, Malawi - Smithsonian Institute National Museum of Natural History - Bruce Carter, Board Member of the Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals
Aegirine on Albite from Mount Malosa, Zomba, Malawi
Bruce Carter, Board Member of the Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals

Large Chalcanthite Hairs from the Planet Mine, La Paz Co., AZ - Arizona Mineral Minions Tribute to Mineralogical Record - Michael Shannon Collection
Large Chalcanthite "Hairs" from the Planet Mine, La Paz Co., AZ
Arizona Mineral Minions Tribute to Mineralogical Record - Michael Shannon Collection

The Butterfly - Polished Azurite and Malachite from Bisbee, Arizona - Bill Larson Collection
"The Butterfly" Polished Azurite and Malachite from Bisbee, Arizona
Bill Larson Collection

Iridescent Goethite from Pahang, Malaysia - Young Mineral Collectors World Class Minerals: Clifford Wong Collection
Iridescent Goethite from Pahang, Malaysia
Young Mineral Collectors World Class Minerals: Clifford Wong Collection

Calcite on Cavansite from the Wagholi Quarries, Pune, Maharashtra, India - The Iconic Mineral of Spirifer Minerals - Young Mineral Collectors World Class Minerals: Joanna Gajowniczek-Praszkier Collection
Calcite on Cavansite from the Wagholi Quarries, Pune, Maharashtra, India
The Iconic Mineral of Spirifer Minerals
Young Mineral Collectors World Class Minerals: Joanna Gajowniczek-Praszkier Collection

East Coast Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show: Springfield 2019 Exhibit Cases

The East Coast Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show, takes place every year in August in the Eastern States Exposition Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. This show, more commonly known as the Springfield Show, is the most significant mineral show in the Eastern USA.


Many important dealers are present at Springfield, bringing some of their best specimens to their booths. Much of the material from Tucson earlier in the year can be seen here, as well as some new material released since the summer and by local dealers who weren't able to travel to Tucson.


The show also puts together an exceptional public display exhibit. This year, the New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources Mineral Museum exhibited, with many cases featuring the best of New Mexico's minerals, as well as their worldwide collection featured. 

This first post of the 2019 Springfield Show highlights some of the outstanding and memorable cases of New Mexico minerals. Although all the cases were exceptional, this article highlights our selection of the photos that came out best.


Additional posts of the show will include the following:


An Incredibly Large Smithsonite and Memorabilia from the Kelly Mine
An Incredibly Large Smithsonite and Memorabilia from the Kelly Mine

Gemstones of New Mexico
Gemstones of New Mexico

Nice Assortment of New Mexico Minerals
Nice Assortment of Unusual New Mexico Minerals

Assortment of Large Fluorite Specimens and Quartz/Barite from the Clarence Barett Workings, Hansonburg District
Large Fluorite and Quartz/Barite from Clarence Barett Workings, Hansonburg District

Fine Fluorite Assortment from New Mexico
Fine Fluorite Assortment from New Mexico

Another Nice New Mexico Mineral Assortment
Another Nice New Mexico Mineral Assortment

Case of Smithsonite from New Mexico Localities
Case of Smithsonite from New Mexico Localities

Outstanding Fluorite from the Cookes Peak District, Luna Co.
Outstanding Fluorite from the Cookes Peak District, Luna Co.

Polished Ricolite Serpentine from Ash Creek, Grant County
Polished "Ricolite" Serpentine from from Ash Creek, Grant County

New Mexico Turquoise
New Mexico Turquoise

Pecos Diamonds: Doubly Terminated Quartz Crystals from the Pecos River Valley
"Pecos Diamonds": Doubly Terminated Quartz Crystals from the Pecos River Valley

Fine Copper Crystals from the Chino Mine, Santa Rita District, Grant Co.
Fine Copper Crystals from the Chino Mine, Santa Rita District, Grant Co.

Meteorites from New Mexico
Meteorites from New Mexico