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The I-10 Corridor Shows

February 24, 2015 Hershel Friedman (0)

The strip on the western side of the I-10 Freeway - from the Days Inn at Congress Street to the Clarion Inn at Starr Pass Road - is lined with hotels and tents with hundreds of dealers. There are minerals, gemstones, and jewelery being sold out of almost every hotel room and nook and cranny. It is fascinating to observe this scene, and a must for all Tucson show visitors to go and see. The enormous Brazilian crystals are especially fascinating.

Click on the images below for larger pictures.



The stretch of motels (Clarion Inn, Howard Johnson, Motel 6) with tents
along the Interstate 10 Freeway Corridor



Large South American Amethyst Geodes in a tent at the Clarion Inn.
La Genuina Amethysts, Artigas, Uruguay



Ted Smith of the Ace of Diamonds Herkimer Mine.
Ted Drives Down every Year from NY to sell some of his amazing Herkimer Diamonds.
www.herkimerdiamonds.com



Boxes of Large Herkimers in the Sunlight. These are all half price.
Ace of Diamonds Herkimer Mine (Ted Smith)
www.herkimerdiamonds.com



Huge Quartz Crystals in front one of the tents of the Brazilian Dealers.



Very large Aquamarine crystals in Quartz from Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
RM Gemas, Brazil (Robson X. da Costa)



On of the Fine Individual Aquamarine Crystals from the Above Lot



Tents of Brazilian dealers between the Clarion and Howard Johnson



Young Saguaro Cacti and Succulents Across the Street from the Shows


The 22nd Street Show

February 21, 2015 Hershel Friedman (0)
The first show I visited in Tucson was the 22nd Street show. This is a relatively new show, set up in a giant tent on the east side of Interstate 10. While this show has mostly jewelry and bead dealers, there are several interesting mineral dealers present. The show also has the show actors of the Prospector's TV series who bring some of their recent Colorado finds.

At this show, I also met show organizer Lowell Carhart to discuss details on the upcoming NY/NJ Show, as well as his new venture called the 22nd Street View. The View will be a new permanent fixture in Tucson for dealers to be able to have a year-round Tucson presence.


One of the nice perks of the 22nd Street show is the free parking. After visiting this show you can just walk across the freeway underpass to the other shows on the I-10 Corridor.

Click on the images below for larger pictures.


Large tent of 22nd Street Show Tucson
Large tent of the 22nd Street Show.
Note the deep blue sky, indicative of the great weather.


22nd Street Show Tucson View Music
Sign outside the tent promoting the 22nd Street View, accompanied with Live Music


22nd Street Show Tucson Dinosaur Fossils
Nice Dinosaur fossil display at the show


22nd
Beautiful African Malachite, with some very large pieces!
African Arts and Minerals, Bellflower, CA


opal spencer mines idaho
Beautiful Polished Opal with Play of Color from the Spencer Opal Mines in Idaho
Spencer Opal Mines (Claudia and A.J Couture)
www.spenceropalmines.com


quartz ourary colorado
New find of white botryoidal Quartz from Ouray, CO.
Miners Mall (Dennis Schneider & Tammey Holdbrook)
www.minersmall.com


colorado turquoise cripple creek
New Colorado Turquoise from Cripple Creek, mined in 2014
Miners Mall (Dennis Schneider & Tammey Holdbrook)
www.minersmall.com


aquamarine mt. white colorado
Beautiful gemmy 120 ct. Aquamarine from Mt. White, CO; one of the best pieces collected in 2014
The Lucky Miner, (Dwayne Hall - of the Prospectors TV Series)
TheLuckyMiner.com


dwayne hall prospectors
Dwayne Hall of the Prospectors TV Series wearing a Minerals.net cap.
Dwayne collected the above Aquamarine


peridot colorado
Peridot gemstone from Freemont County, Colorado.
This stone holds the record for Colorado's largest faceted Peridot at 4.81 cts.
Found by Travis Anderson (Prospectors) and cut by Carl Holzer.


aquamarine mt. antero colorado
Incredible Aquamarine from Mt. Antero, Colorado, collected in 2012.
Collected by Ron Griese; displayed at the booth of Travis Anderson of the Prospectors.
The larger stone is 5 3/8 inches!


peridot colorado travis andersen
Large lot of small, recently collected gemmy Peridot from Freemont County, CO
Travis Anderson, Prospectors


oregon sunstone
Large Slab of Oregon Sunstone in Volcanic Matrix
Oregon Sunstone Exchange (Josh the Terrible)
www.sunstoneexchange.com


oregon sunstone
The above Sunstone sliced in two showing the structure and texture.


polished oregon sunstone
Schiller Sunstone Rough in Water from the Oregon Sunstone Exchange



Video Explaining the Sunstone

Tucson Show Reports 2015

February 19, 2015 Hershel Friedman (0)
Once again we are proud to share our show reports on all the happenings in Tucson this year. Hershel Friedman visited many of the shows, taking many pictures and meeting with many important personalities. His trip was much shorter this year due to timing constraints, but the coverage is still extensive. He was unable visit the Westward Look Show due to its earlier timing, and the Pueblo show was also missed due to camera issues, which will be described in more detail in a future post.

The show reports will consist of the following sections:
  • 22nd Street Show
  • I-10 Corridor Shows
  • InnSuites Show
  • Convention Center Show
  • The University of Arizona Mineral Museum