I have a tremendous amount of footage from the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show TM, which is also known as the "Main Show" and the "Convention Center Show." This is the largest and most important show in Tucson, and was the original show that started all the buzz in Tucson. Aside from having almost all the import dealers set up at this show, it is also famous for world-class public displays and exhibits. I will be dividing the show reports for the Main Show into several sections in order to have it better organized:
- General Show Scenes
- Individual Dealers Minerals
- Mineral Dealer Displays
- Public Exhibits Individual Minerals
- Public Exhibits Case Displays
Our show reports are unique in that we were able to get footage of most of the public displays, and present them as hi-resolution photos for incredible viewing detail. This year's show theme was "60 Years of Diamond, Gems, Silver and Gold" in honor of the 60th anniversary of the show. Our first report of this show brings you general scenes around the show. Stay tuned for additional reports on the show in the coming days!
Click any picture below for a larger pop-up, and use the zoom key to enlarge:
Dealers Setting Up the Day Before the Show
At the Very Beginning of the Show, Looking Down from the Main Floor
Our Ad in the Information Table in the Official Show Guide
Lounge Area with new Benches, as the Volume of People Picks Up
Rocks and Minerals Magazine Both with Marie Huizing
Page in the Jan-Feb Edition Showing Our Ad
Bruce Wood of Bruce Wood Minerals Showing Off his Display
Jeff Scovil Presenting a Workshop on Mineral Photography
TV Crew Interviewing Margi Jenks of the Crater of Diamonds State Park
in Arkansas, in Front of the Exhibit of Arkansas Diamonds
Busy Show Scene
I have a tremendous amount of footage from the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show TM, which is also known as the "Main Show" and the "Convention Center Show." This is the largest and most important show in Tucson, and was the original show that started all the buzz in Tucson. Aside from having almost all the import dealers set up at this show, it is also famous for world-class public displays and exhibits. I will be dividing the show reports for the Main Show into several sections in order to have it better organized:
- General Show Scenes
- Individual Dealers Minerals
- Mineral Dealer Displays
- Public Exhibits Individual Minerals
- Public Exhibits Case Displays
Our show reports are unique in that we were able to get footage of most of the public displays, and present them as hi-resolution photos for incredible viewing detail. This year's show theme was "60 Years of Diamond, Gems, Silver and Gold" in honor of the 60th anniversary of the show. Our first report of this show brings you general scenes around the show. Stay tuned for additional reports on the show in the coming days!
Click any picture below for a larger pop-up, and use the zoom key to enlarge:
Dealers Setting Up the Day Before the Show
At the Very Beginning of the Show, Looking Down from the Main Floor
Our Ad in the Information Table in the Official Show Guide
Lounge Area with new Benches, as the Volume of People Picks Up
Rocks and Minerals Magazine Both with Marie Huizing
Page in the Jan-Feb Edition Showing Our Ad
Bruce Wood of Bruce Wood Minerals Showing Off his Display
Jeff Scovil Presenting a Workshop on Mineral Photography
TV Crew Interviewing Margi Jenks of the Crater of Diamonds State Park
in Arkansas, in Front of the Exhibit of Arkansas Diamonds
Busy Show Scene
I had decided to return to the InnSuites show the following day to visit a few more dealers that I missed the first day. I also went to the outside tents surrounding the hotel, as well as the two satellite shows, the Granada Ave. Mineral Show and the Fine Minerals International Show. The Granada Ave. Mineral Show is a large tent adjacent to the InnSuites with many fairly priced minerals, especially for bulk items. Some of the best deals on Indian Zeolites can be picked up here. The Fine Minerals International Show is a house next to the Hotel Tucson property that becomes a showcase of some of the most high-end minerals. Run by Daniel Trinchillo of Fine Minerals International (www.finemineral.com), this finely decorated house contains some of the most expensive minerals to be found in Tucson. There are few if any labels under $1,000, with several in the six-figure range. It is an absolute must when visiting Tucson for the shows to visit this house and see the amazing minerals and colors contained within.
Click any picture for a larger pop-up, and use the zoom key to enlarge:
Beautiful Display Case at Green Mountain Minerals (Nick & Dylan Stolowitz)
(www.greenmountainminerals.com)
Group of Very Large and Beautiful Topaz Crystals on Albite from Gilgit, Pakistan
Green Mountain Minerals Specimen (This Topaz is on the Top Left in the Above Picture)
Very Large Mass of Prehnite with Babingtonite from the Lane Quarry in Mass
Adjacent to a Huge Cluster of Fluorite from the Elmwood Mine in Tennessee
Green Mountain Minerals Specimen
A Close-Up of the Dinos Roaming the InnSuites
Large Slabs and Lamps of Onyx in One of the Large Tents Outside the Hotel.
I Found the Colors of this Photo Incredible.
Entrance to the Granada Ave. Mineral Show Tent
Fine Minerals International House Back Door Entrance.
Note the Large Smoky Quartz with a Custom Base.
Case of Exquisite Minerals in the Fine Minerals International House.
The Dark Red Rubellite Tourmaline on the left in the center row
is Featured on their Website About Page
Another Case of Exquisite Minerals in the Fine Minerals International House.
And Another Case of Exquisite Minerals in the Fine Minerals International House.
The cluster of motels along the Interstate 10 Corridor stretching from downtown southward are abuzz and full of excitement from the end of January through mid-February. There are literally thousands of dealers from all over the world that take up hotel rooms, tent booths, and outdoor exhibits all over the area. This activity is mainly on the western side of the highway and includes the Days Inn, the Riverpark Inn, the Traveloge, the Howard Johnson, and the La Quinta. These shows have mostly foreign dealers and many also many beads and gemstone rough, but can they can still be really fun to walk through. Some of the most amazing sights at these shows are the giant Brazilian crystals, especially Quartz and Amethyst that can be seen at numerous locations.
Click any picture below for a larger pop-up, and use the zoom key to enlarge:
Giant Quartz crystal clusters with backlighting at the entrance to the Riverpark Inn
(The Pueblo Show)
Courtyard of the Riverpark Inn with many Advertisements on the Grounds
Shannon and Sons Mineral Crew in the Riverside Inn.
These guys are staples at this show, with an exceptional inventory of rare minerals.
www.shannonsminerals.com
Giant Quartz's Inside and Outside ot Steven Bookbinder's Booth.
The Amethyst Geode Next to the Tent Must be the Largest I Have Ever Seen!
Gypsum Desert Roses at a Tent near the Riverpark Inn
The Dense Courtyard at the Howard Johnson
More Brazilian Crystal Giants, in a Tent Near the Howard Johnson
And Yet Some More Giant Crystals at the Howard Johnson
And Some Amazing South American Amethyst and Milky Quartzs
Parking Lot Between the Howard Johnson and La Quinta.
Note Sentinel Peak in the Background with its Iconic "A".
Tents Outside the La Qunita, with Mostly Brazilian Dealers.
The Same Mountain Stands Behind.
Herkimer Diamond Tent with Some Large Herkimer Singles
From the Ace of Diamonds Mine in New York
(Ted Smith)
The 22nd Street Show is one of the largest single shows along the I-10 corridor, and features a mammoth indoor tent with hundreds of dealers inside. This show has free spacious parking, and is in a giant heated tent. There are all different types of dealers at this show, including mineral, gemstone, jewelry, and fossil dealers, and the show is interesting to walk around. My friend Lowell Carhart is the organizer of the show and he also runs the NY/NJ Gem & Mineral Show as well as the Denver Coliseum Show. Click here to visit the 22nd Street Show website.
Click any picture below for a larger pop-up, and use the zoom key to enlarge:
Outside view of the Mammoth, Fully Enclosed Tent
Early Morning Visit to the Show
Nice Lot of Indian Zeolites and Associates from the Deccan Traps
New Find of Calcite from Colorado at the Show
Flats of Morrocan Minerals, Especially Vanadinites, Barites, and Calcite Geodes.
I Noticed Less Morrocan Dealers in Tucson then in Previous Years
Show Scene
Massive Ground Sloth Fossil Mold From Alabama at the Center of the Show
Information Table with our Minerals.net Brochure
More Show Scenes
Cheerful Young Ladies at the Show
One Thing About this Show: Everyone Seems to be Enjoying Themselves
Brian Brusse of the Weather Channel's Prospector Series on TV
