Minerals.net

One of the themes of the 2022 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® was fluorescent minerals. In order to see the glow of fluorescent minerals, they need to be lit with an ultraviolet light in a dark room. This was accomplished in a side room off the main show floor with many displays filled with brightly glowing minerals shining under ultraviolet lamps.

The number of minerals and displays was impressive, and we were able to get photographs of some of the minerals and displays exhibiting the bright fluorescent colors. (Photographing ultraviolet minerals under a UV light is complex without a tripod, and we are glad these came out well.)

Fluorescent Minerals from Sweden
Douglas & Justin Bank

Esperite & Friends from Franklin, NJ
Richard Bostwick & Tema Hecht

Fluorescent Minerals from the Land of Enchantment
New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources

Green Willemite and Red Calcite from the Sterling Hill Mine, Ogdensburg, NJ
Collection of Robert Fendrich

Fluorescent Minerals of the Southwest US & Mexico
Collection of Paul Gilliam, Albuquerque, NM

Fluorescent Green Chalcedony from the Green Fire Prospect, Cochise Co., Arizona
Collection of Collection of Erin Delventhal & Philip Simmons

Fluorescence Zoning in Apatite
Collection of John Rakovan

Esperite, from the Franklin Mine, Franklin NJ
George V. Polman Collection

Various Fluorescent Minerals
Mines Museum of Earth Science, Colorado School of Mines

Various Fluorescent Minerals
Kevin Witts Collection

Various Fluorescent Minerals
Unknown

This year's Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® featured an outstanding public display of minerals of Bisbee, Arizona, dedicated to the memory of Richard W. "Dick" Graeme III, who passed away in June. Bisbee is known as one of the most famous and prolific mineral localities, with a rich history in copper mining and a producer of some of the finest azurite, malachite, and a myriad of other mineral specimens. Dick was a foremost authority on Bisbee mineralogy and history, and the show featured many cases filled with outstanding Bisbee minerals dedicated to the memory of Dick.

These displays filled an entire section of the show floor, and were professionally organized, had good lighting, and nice informational backgrounds. And they were filled with some of the very best Bisbee minerals ever to be seen. This was a show highlight, perhaps equal in prominence to the main show themes of the Apatite group and fluorescent minerals.

This post features some of the remarkable individual minerals in the display exhibits at the 2022 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®. The show theme was the Apatite group of minerals, which includes Fluorapatite, Pyromorphite, Mimetite, and Vanadinite.

There were several outstanding minerals within this category on display, but there were many other non-themed minerals on display that were exceptional. This post features many of the themed minerals as well as others that I found noteworthy, including the remarkable Bisbee minerals of the Graeme tribute displays.

Our next post of the 2022 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® features some of the public display exhibits. There were numerous display cases at the show that impressed show viewers, and this post shares our best choice of interesting case photos.

The theme of the show was the Apatite group of minerals and fluorescent minerals. This post focuses on the Apatite cases as well as some other nice cases. The fluorescent minerals and the Bisbee minerals of the Graeme collection showcase of Bisbee minerals will receive their own dedicated post.

Our annual show reports at Tucson start with the 2022 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®. After a one-year hiatus due to Coronavirus, the activity and events in Tucson resumed in full this year.

The landscape of the Tucson mineral activity has entirely changed this year. The sprawling InnSuites show, which had been a center of activity in Tucson, was empty. Much of the hustle and bustle shifted north to the Mineral City Show, which housed an impressive number of buildings with modern rooms and the majority of well-known mineral dealers, as well as some satellite tents with additional dealers.

At the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®, traffic was strong on the day of my attendance. There were once again many fabulous exhibits and a great variety of dealers and their minerals. However, many of the prominent dealers were noticeably missing from this show, including Collectors Edge, the Arkenstone, and Kristalle. Each of these dealers had set up in other locations, and this did leave a significant void at the main show.

This first post introduces the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®. The theme of the show was the Apatite group of minerals, which includes not only Apatite but also Mimetite, Pyromorphite, and Vanadinite. There was an additional theme of fluorescent minerals, with a dark room on the side of the convention center full of glowing fluorescent minerals under ultraviolet light.

Another unexpected highlight of the show was the multiple exhibits dedicated to Richard W. “Dick” Graeme, a consummate Bisbee collector and foremost authority on Bisbee mineralogy and history. Dick passed away in 2021, and there were several exhibits dedicated to him, with the finest assembly of Bisbee minerals I have ever seen under one roof.

In addition to the main show, we will also create feature posts of the other Tucson shows. For the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®, my posts will include exhibit cases, individual minerals, the Graeme Bisbee exhibits, fluorescent exhibits and minerals, and dealer minerals.

This page will also be an index for the posts created as I organize and publish my Tucson show reports. Stay tuned and check back for additional links added to this page.