The Mineral City Show is a new show in Tucson at 516 W Lester Street, a bit further uptown than the major shows. Mineral City is organized by Graham Sutton, and took place in a newly construction cinderblock L-shaped building.
The concept of this show is to provide dealers with permanent storage of their minerals in Tucson, and allow them to showcase as well during the show season. The concept is novel and it seemed to have really kicked off this year.
There were 16 well-known dealers at Mineral City, offering excellent specimens of all price ranges available.
From their website, it looks like Mineral City will be expanding with additional dealers for 2020. Many of the dealers here had maintained rooms in the Hotel Tucson (AKA InnSuites) in prior years; some of them still maintained rooms in both shows, while others exited the other show and only exhibited here.
Mineral City Mineral Show Outside the New Building
New Find of Large Smoky Quartz Crystals from Mulanje, Malawi
Paul Botha Minerals
The Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show at the Hotel Tucson City Center (or more commonly known as the InnSuites) is a sprawling hotel complex with many rooms filled with dealers. There is a large variety of dealers at this show, with many setting up here in late January and then transferring to the main show at the Convention Center during the second full week in February.
This show has a very enjoyable and relaxed atmosphere, and is one of my favorite events in Tucson. There are always interesting minerals and new finds to be discovered in almost all the rooms, as well as interesting people to chat with throughout the grounds. This post contains photos of some of remarkable minerals and new finds that I encountered at the Hotel Tucson City Center.
Penetrating Blue Fluorite Crystals from Monte San Calogero, Termini Imerese, Italy
Webminerals
Giant Quartz Crystals Outside at the InnSuites (Hotel Tucson City Center)
Purple Gemmy Scapolite on Matrix from Fargon Meeru, Kokcha Valley, Badakshan, Afghanistan
Mountain Minerals International
Large Amethyst Crystal with Smaller Quartz Crystal from the Reel Mine, Iron Station, NC
Reel Mine
Unusual Smoky Quartz from the Reel Mine, Iron Station, NC
Reel Mine
There are literally dozens of mineral and gem shows throughout Tucson during late January and early February. The main cluster of shows takes place at the motels and parking lots along the Interstate 10 Freeway service road west and southwest of downtown. Thousands of dealers set up shop here in the motel rooms and tents throughout this area, creating a true spectacle to behold.
I started my walk at Interstate 10 Freeway and 22nd Street, walking north and visiting the Quality Inn, Howard Johnson, and Travelodge. These motels have their rooms filled with dealers and tents in every surface area. I then continued north along the service road, walking along a quieter area until getting to the Riverpark Inn, where the Pueblo show takes place. This is a very busy show, with many gem, jewelry, and rock dealers, as well as quality mineral dealers with fine minerals for sale. I was considering continuing north to the Rapa River show directly north of the Riverpark Inn but ran out of time.
Posing in Front of the Rows of Dealer Tents at the Quality Inn
Dealers at the Howard Johnson Motel, Inside and Outside the Motels
With Giant Amethyst Geodes at the Pueblo Show at the Riverpark Inn
Large Quartz Points and Spheres
Quartziam
Posing in front of a Giant Quartz Crystal at the Entrance of the Riverpark Inn
Largest Quartz Sphere in the World, Verified by Gunniess Book or World Records
Continuing with our reports of the 2019 Tucson shows, our next post is the 22nd Street show. This gem and mineral show takes place on the eastern side of the I-10 Freeway near downtown Tucson. It features a gigantic tent (the largest tent I have ever seen) containing most of the dealers, and also has an additional smaller satellite tent called the "Showcase."
The main tent has all types of mineral, gemstones, and jewelry dealers, and the Showcase tent caters to high end dealers. Like the previous year, which introduced the Showcase tent, the signature dealer was the Arkenstone, boasting impressive displays of exceptionally fine and highly photogenic minerals.
Posing in front of Giant Petrified Wood Logs, between the Main and Showcase Tents
Busy Show Scene in the Large 22nd Street Show Giant Tent
Table of Dumortierite-Included Quartz from the Vaca Morta Quarry, Bahia, Brazil
Arte Crystals
Deep Blue Dumortierite-Included Quartz from the Vaca Morta Quarry, Bahia, Brazil
Arte Crystals
Table of Green Drusy Quartz on Chalcedony from the Bilecik Mine, Central Anatolia, Turkey
Pacific Minerals
Individual Green Drusy Quartz on Chalcedony from the Bilecik Mine, Central Anatolia, Turkey
Pacific Minerals
We are excited to begin our posts on the The 2019 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®. This show is the most prestigious and well-know of its kind, and dealers and enthusiasts from all over the world come to the sunny Sonoran Desert in the midst of the winter to celebrate this event and the many other mineral and gemstone venues through the city.
Hershel Friedman from Minerals.net was on site this year at the show, and once again is proud to document the interesting finds at the show, from new finds to outstanding and interesting minerals. Our show reports usually start with the satellite shows in Tucson, but this year we are changing the routine and will start with the The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® and then lead into the other shows.
This page will contain links to all the posts that we create as we organize and publish them. Stayed tuned and check back frequently for updates!
The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® View from Above on Opening Day
Another View of the Show Looking into the Main Hall
The Mineral of the 2019 Show Theme Wulfenite Poster
The Mineral of the 2019 Show Theme Wulfenite Poster
