** The Tucson Gem Mineral Show , Feb **

[Madrus Rose]

World's largest Treasure hunt in sunny Arizona !! This show is mind boggling & tons of fun with gems & minerals from every corner of the earth brought in for display & sales . Great friendly people from Brazil , Africa , Europe , Middle East , North Africa , India ,Mexico , Asia & Canada ...
a show not to be missed

Two weeks almost of the Greatest Show on Earth for gems & minerals ... have been 7 times , anyone else gone before or planning to go ?
http://www.google.com/search?q=Tucs...ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLL_en

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Tucson's Show Reputation

The Tucson Gem Show is spoken of in India in almost mystical terms. For the uninitiated foreign supplier, the chances for success are low, especially in the first year. While booth space is relatively inexpensive for a two week show, recouping the costs of inflated hotel prices, airfare, car rental, food and incidentals can be difficult.

Talk to anyone involved in the jewelry industry and they will vouch for the importance of the Tucson Gem Show. It offers buyers and sellers of all nationalities and a venue to meet, socialize and make deals.
Competition is fierce in terms of both price and quality. With tight margins and lots of comparable products, the market is often skewed in the buyer's favor. Negotiations often revolve on pennies, especially when larger buyers come with cash and a willingness to spend it.

What is on offer at the Tucson Gem Show? Everything from "rough" minerals (unpolished rocks) to finished jewelry. Beads are in abundance, including semiprecious, precious metals and obscure cuts and species of stone. There are wholesale shows and retail shows, shows for high-end stones, shows that focus on rough, and everything in between.

Vendors come from India, Thailand, China, Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Italy, Africa, Australia, Indonesia, Canada, Russia and more than a handful of other places, just to sell at this once-a-year extravaganza called the Tucson Gem Show.

 

[SourSmoke]

Checked out the gem show this year for the first time and it was awesome! Loved the vibe and planning to go back next year. I was only able to enter a few of the retail spots. Is there a big difference in the wholesale tents? Better stuff to look at?

 

[kaochiu]

I wish i could go to the Tucson show. The Saint Marie aux Mines in France is quite good too, but Tucson is mecca for minerals. Big part of my family has been into the mining bizz for generations, so I've got an inherited collection. Some truly are mindboggling, one of my faves is a large piece of estibine, as a kid i was fully convinced it was kryptonite and i was scared to touch it. I've spent many stoned hours surrounded by stones. And fluorite too, got some beautiful things, and despite keeping the best for the collection, we've been supplying to Fabre, who does go to Tucson, so chances are some of our stones are showed there. And got many others still to clean, (good enough for Tucson standards!) I'm not a connoisseur by no means, just chance they are there, but a younger member of my family is a minerals freako, as soon as he finished primary school he submerged himself in that world and at 22 he's in charge of the whole thing, likely he'll end up showing off in Arizona sooner than later. Thank you for showing this in ICMag.

 

[Abja Roots]

It's a great time. Always manage to see some beautiful pieces and pick up at least one nice piece for myself. Love meeting people from all over the world. Hope to make it to Munich next year.