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This year's theme at the 2016 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® was "Shades of Blue." An astounding array of blue minerals was organized by top collectors and museums and placed into exceptional public exhibits. This show has more public display exhibits than any other show, with over a hundred different themed cases. While most of the displays were related to the theme, there were many other cases as well, which we'll show in a separate post.

Our coverage of the the display cases is very comprehensive, with the most details photos on more cases than anywhere else online. We try covering all the cases at the show, though we do occasionally miss a few, or there may be several where the photos did not come out up to par.

This is the first of two postings on the blue-themed public display cases. The order is not specific; its the same order of the photos we took at the show. Click the pictures below for larger pop-ups.

"Colorado Blue" - Blue Minerals from Colorado
Denver Museum of Nature & Science

"Shades of Blue" - Worldwide Blue Minerals
Cincinnati Museum Center

Miscellaneous Worldwide Blue Minerals
The Sherman Dugan Museum of Geology at San Juan College

Exhibit of Kyanite, as well as Blue Minerals from Germany & Austria
Mineral Museum of Bonn, Germany, Poppelsdorfer Schloss

Azurite Suns from Malbunka Copper Mine in Central Australia
Dehne & Maureen McLaughlin, Tasmania, Australia

Azurite from Russia
Fersman Mineralogical Museum in Moscow

"Blue Hues from Arizona"
TGMS Members John Callahan & Stephan Koch

"Blue Minerals of the World"
The Thomas Hales Collection

"Colorado Blues"
Jeff Self & Donna Ware

Azurite from the Apex Mine and La Sal Mine in Utah
Martin Zinn Collection

"Beyond the Blue"
Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals

"Maine's got the Blues"
Maine Mineral & Gem Museum

"Arizona Type Blues" - Type species for Gerhardtite & Spangolite
Yale University

"Are we Blue?"
California Academy of Sciences

"The Birth of the Blues"
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

"Causes of Blue Minerals"
University of Arizona Mineral Museum

Bisbee Azurite from Princeton University
University of Arizona Mineral Museum

Worldwide Blue Minerals
American Museum of Natural History

Blue Celestine from Pennsylvania
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

"Mother Nature Sings the Blues"
GIA Museum

French Blue Fluorites #1
Alain Martaud Collection

French Blue Fluorites #2
Alain Martaud Collection

"Smithsonian Blue: A Selection of Blue Minerals from the National Gem & Mineral Collections"
Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History

Our next post on the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® features photos of dealer items containing 2 or more minerals in groupings or cases, as well as other show photos of interest. The pictures below can be clicked for larger pop-ups.

I find new and interesting things every year at the dealer booths of the The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®. Many dealers and collectors choose the Tucson show to introduce their new finds to the market. Some well-known dealers are now accustomed to my visit, and show me their new or interesting material when I come by to visit their booth. Below are some individual photos of these new or interesting minerals that I was able to get a good photo of.

After posting on the satellite shows in the Tucson area, we'll now focus on the The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®, also commonly known as "The Main Show." This show started all the activity in Tucson, and takes place on the spacious floor of the Tucson Convention Center in downtown Tucson. The world's best and biggest dealers come here to sell their material and new finds, with an astounding amount of quality minerals available for sale here.

One of the highlights of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® is the public display exhibits that are organized by various private collectors, dealers, and museums. The sheer quantity and quality of these public displays are unrivaled anywhere. There are over one hundred display cases filled with some of the most amazing and iconic mineral specimens in the world!

We took hundreds of photos on site, and are happy to present our audience with a taste of the happenings here. Our reports are comprehensive and detailed, and we have about 85% of all the display exhibits from the show photographed. Our show reports will contain high-resolution images of the public exhibits, individual minerals in the exhibits, and new and interesting minerals shown to me by certain dealers.

It takes a lot of time to organize and prepare our photos for posting, so please keep on checking our news blog as we post the pictures! We'll keep posting them as we get the new photos ready.

Below are some general show scenes, including set up and the show floor. (All these pictures are clickable for larger pop-up pictures.)

The Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show centers around the Riverpark Inn, and is a sprawling show that seems to keep on growing every year. Aside from dealers setting up their material which they sell out of their hotel rooms, there are a large number of tents of all sizes throughout the property, including courtyards, parking areas, and adjacent to hotel rooms.

This show features a large variety of dealer types. While there are many mineral dealers, there are many more gemstone and jewelry dealers present. This creates a very eclectic environment, with all different types of people in a dense set up with a lot of people. The giant Quartz crystals and Amethyst geodes are also worthwhile to see.

Below are some pictures from the. Pueblo Show 2016. You may click any picture to enlarge it for more detailed information.