Weekend Vendor Spotlight - Wolfe Lapidary!

We have grown accustomed to seeing Tom Wolfe Minerals & Petrified Wood at most of the major Gem & Mineral Shows. 

Cases of SPECIAL & RARE GOODS at the 2012 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show!

....but do you know about their latest endeavor?

Wolfe Lapidary!

Tom Wolfe Minerals & Petrified Wood   http://www.tomwolfeminerals.com/

Wolfe Lapidary   http://www.wolfelapidary.com/

Taking You Back To Tucson...

Today I sent in the deposit for the house I'm renting for my two weeks in Tucson and it always makes me eager for February...so, I started going through my photos albums and organizing photos in albums.  I keep coming across things I meant to post but ran out of time and never got a chance.


I know it's old but I found this great video with the Mayor on Opening Day of the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show - AKA The Main Event - to take you back and over the next couple days I will be posting from the show.


...and BTW - if you have questions or need recommendations or just want to discuss the shows we are always available on the Tucson Gem Show Facebook page and Twitter Feed...stop in and say hi!




Photo Credit:  From the Kristalle Blog:  http://www.kristalle.com/news-story.php?id=85

What's Hot In Tucson 2011 - Minerals - Review & Discount

I have spent the last week - literally - working my way through the 2 DVD Set (240 minutes!) of What's Hot in Tucson - the Mineral edition!  What do I mean working my way through...the incredible amount of information hidden within these entertaining videos is immense!   


Of course the big  joke in 2011 is that Tucson was anything but HOT - with below freezing temperatures for close to a week as is visible in the frozen fountain on the DVD jacket photo!


The Minerals video starts with the Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show, moves to the newest venue at the Pueblo Show at the Riverfront Inn, then the Westward Look Fine Mineral Show and ends at "The Main Show" the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show.   Along the way there are several candid Collector on the Street - where they talk to people about their finds at the show!  


For 2011 the Dave Wilbur - Bob Jones team is back!   What is fabulous about these videos is that several of these pieces were found within the last year...or a minerals that have been identified and named within the last 5 - 10 years!  ...and some of the rarest minerals available!


Cornetite - Henmilite - Alabandite - Ilvaite - Arfvedsonite - Aegirine

For me the star of the Mineral Scene in Tucson is the Collector's Day at the Fine Mineral Show at the Westward Look Resort - the Featured collector this year was Wayne Sorenson and I really love the way that BlueCap edited this portion with Wayne and Dave sitting down and chatting while the stunning specimens roll by!


You Will Find Unbelievable Beauty!
...the glowing red-orange of the Tasmanian Crocoite - the Adelaide Mining Co. room was dazzling!
...both crystal and wire silver & gold
...the Chaminoux Red Flourite and Shigar Red Fluorite
...the Rhodocrosite from the Wutong Mine in China was in several rooms but "The Emperor" and "The Empress" at the TGMS were the stars of this find!
...new pocket of sparkling Prehinite fingers from Prospect Park, NJ from The Arkenstone 
...gleaming gemmy Milpillas Azurite crystals from Evan Jones minerals
...a two year old - 472 carat Emerald crystal from the La Pita Mine, Colombia - complete with it's custom lighted base!
...water clear Swiss Smokey from Pala International
...all of the new Cuprite - Copper Pseudomorphs
....and the amazing carvings from Pu Tzu at the Uncarved Block

It is great watching the way the dealers interact with Dave - his reputation in the field is unparalleled.  And one of the most candid moments comes when Bob Jones introduces and interviews his son Evan Jones, who along with his partner has some of the finest Milpillas Azurites!  Bob does a great job of explaining the various minerals present in these specimens and why the Azurite crystals just seem electric blue!


...and there are all of my favorite bathroom shots...remember these shows are in hotels and a good vendor uses every space available.  Wait till you see the Aquamarine in Rob's Levinsky's bathroom  ;-p

SO - did I mention DISCOUNT?  the folks at BlueCap have offered a special discount to all the readers of my blogs!    BlueCap is offering a special 15% off the price of your total purchase from now until Sept. 12, 2011!  

There is a 15% off coupon set up for your readers at our online store. The special code they will need to enter at checkout to receive the 15% discount is FLYONWALL. 

This code is good for two weeks from tomorrow, Monday, August 29 through Monday, September 12. It can be used once per order and will be 15% off the total order, no matter how many DVDs are in the order.

So don't forget to get your copy while they last...special checkout code FLYONWALL - while you're there pick up the Gems & Jewelry video too!

Photo Credit: Gail Spann after Cropping Robyn ;-p

Product Description:
Join us as we spend three full weeks in Tucson, Arizona at the largest mineral show in the world!! We visit dealers and collectors from the Hotel Tucson City Center (formerly known as the InnSuites), Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show, Fine Minerals International Show, The Westward Look Mineral Show and round it all up with the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society Show (aka The Main Show).


Along the way we see some of the Ilvites from China that made such a huge hit, the Russian Cuprites that were one of the hottest new finds at Tucson, one of the finest emerald specimens in the world, a behind-the-scenes viewing of the new Kunzites from Pala, an exclusive interview with the owner of the Tourmaline Queen Mine and the first owner of the world-famous Rabbit Ears Blue cap (Dave Wilber was the second owner) and a whole lot more!!!!


And, as always, we also feature Jeff Scovil's Top Ten Tucson Photos where Master Photographer Jeff Scovil shares his top ten picks for specimens shot while on location in Tucson.
It's four-hours of non-stop mineral fun on 2 DVDs and even a VERY special surpirse at the end of the program that we hope everyone enjoys.


This is What's Hot In Tucson for the year 2011 and it's HOT!!!!!!


Your "FLYONWALL" discount is available on your entire purchase from the BlueCap Store - so - Check out all the quality videos offered by BlueCap Productions at:   http://shop.bluecapproductions.com/

What's Hot In Tucson 2011 - Order Now!

Well, the wait is finally over - the 2011 edition of What's Hot In Tucson is available!!!


From BlueCap CEO & Videographer, Bryan Swoboda's Announcement:

This is our fifth year covering the Tucson show and every year it gets better and better. Dave Wilber, having finally overcome many of the physical ailments that have been plaguing him, returns as our knowledgable and locquciousShow Host.Bob Jonesalso returns as our Co-Host and together we blast throughthree weeks of the biggest mineral show in the world to bring you the hottest minerals under the sun.

We start our adventure at the Hotel City Tucson Center (which we still refer to as theInnSuites) where we check in with a hand full of dealers showing off specimens ranging from the truly spectacular to the rare oddities.

Then we're off to the newly developed, and quickly growing, Pueblo Inn Gem & Mineral Show. This is their second year where they've created an International Fine Mineral Sectionand it's one of the more fun and eclectic stops in our journey.

Next, we stop off at the Fine Minerals Internationalshow where we get a sneak peek at their gallery-like showroombefore it opens to the public. One of the biggest thrills of the entire show is when masterpieceafter masterpiece comes out of the safe for our private viewing. It's almost Wonka-esque.

The next stop is up at theWestward Look Mineral Show (aka Fine Mineral Show: Tucson) filled with some of thefinest dealers on the planet. This is what I consider a mineral time machine - you arrive on a Friday and before you know it, it's Monday and you have no idea where the time has gone!!!

Our whirlwind adventure ends at the grand-daddy show of them all - TheTGMS Showat the Tucson Convention Center (or as everyone refers to it - The Main Show). This is the show that started them all and it never disappoints. Display case after display case is filled with specimens, oddities, treasures and more all interwoven among the dealer booths and ice cream stands (ok, there may be only one ice cream stand but I must have visited it a dozen times over the weekend).

In all, it'sthree long weeks in Tucson seeing and filming minerals every single day. We've taken those 504 hours of time and, for your convenience, distilled it and compressed it down to only 4 hours on 2 DVDs!!! How nice.

And last but not least, for the past five years everyone has been asking about a certain thing that we FINALLY added as a surprise ending. Want to know what it is? Buy the DVD and keep watching through the closing credits. If Dave doesn't kill me, I'm hoping to make this a new feature for all future What's Hot In Tucsonepisodes so voice your support!!!!

Remembering Tucson: Bathrobe Couple, or...Only in Tucson!

Anyone who has been reading this blog knows that the Tucson Gem Show is held annually across the entire city of Tucson.  Most shows are held in various hotels and vendors show in their rooms.

So imagine this...I have just finished viewing a room of stunning minerals at the Fine Mineral Show at the Westward Look Resort, probably the highest of high end Mineral Shows.  I was waiting for friends and a lovely couple walks up asking if it is OK to look?  They weren't sure if you had to pay to go in or what.  Of Course I said feel free...did I mention that this couple was in Terry Robes and had just stepped out of the Jacuzzi? 



We soon drew a crowd of people- it was such a great reminder that we are after all at a Resort Hotel.  Most people book their room at the Westward Look for the views and ability to relax a short distance from the hustle & bustle that is downtown Tucson during the shows.

So they enjoyed the show - relaxed in comfort!  
 
Photo Credit: Gail Spann - from the Gail Spann's Version of a Tucson Show Report 2011 

Tucson Gem & Mineral Show - the "Main Show"

I love this ad from the Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau featuring internationally known expert & collector, Peter Megaw, PhD...

  

Peter is the Exhibits Chair for the TGMS - this is excepted from the Fabre Mineral Forum:

Speaking as Exhibits Chair for the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show (tm) I am pleased to announce that we will have some truly spectacular exhibits this year. The theme is Minerals of California and there are at least 40 museum and private exhibits playing to that theme including several "group-shoot" cases with pegmatite minerals from Southern California that should be superb. This will include the first public unveiling of a magnificent brand-new find from the Oceanview Mine...resetting the standard for California kunzite.

For those jaded with pegmatites...there will also be a strong showing of non-pegmatite species...including some secondary base metal species that may blow your mind.

We will also host the first US Showing of the 774 ounce "Ausrox Nugget" from Australia, the third largest in captivity...and pretty to boot! Another highlight is the first US Showing of the Caerhays-Williams collection of classic Cornwall minerals...recently rescued from obscurity in the basement of a Cornish manor house!

This year will also feature a group of 12 exhibits of Calcite, organized by a cadre of die-hard calcite collectors including Chuck Houser, Phil Richardson and Terry Huizing. This will include worldwide killers, pseudomorphs, twins, fossils, speleothems (sensu latu...ie not ripped from wild caves) and a half dozen locality cases.

Plus the usual array of competitive and other exhibits featuring the best minerals in the world...and dealers to buy them from. 

Kids: the #1 reason to stay for the TGMS Show!

I was going through my Tucson Gem Show photos and found some that I haven't posted! This is from the great day I spent with the FAB Jeweler, Maureen Brusa Zappellini (BZap), of Cosmo's Moon, and her charming son Cosmo.

The scene - the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show - this is the show produced by the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society and the show that started it all!!! It started as a public show and has remained a public show...however the vendors will accept wholesale orders from eligible buyers.

This is what makes the "public" shows a "must do" for me...you find the nicest vendors...they truly inspire the next generation of gem and mineral collectors...

This woman spent quite a while talking to Cosmo and answering his questions about beads and gems! ...can I get a collective - AWWWWWW!

...and then there is the hallway of schools and organizations - this was a display from the US Forestry Dept. - kids could do rubbings of fossils!

You might be interested in the theme for the TGMS Show for 2011 - Minerals of California! See you there:

Apologies and more great Tucson Reports coming...

I want to quickly take a moment of your time to apologize for the lack of blog posts from the Tucson Gem Show this year!!!

I am so sorry!!! My hard drive decided to crash while I was in Tucson and I lost some of the info for posts that I had already written and so now I am madly playing catch up!

One discovery was that I could keep up with email and the Facebook page and Twitter page by phone - but trying to post to a blog from a smart phone - not as easy!!!!

Did you check out the great group of posts from lots of active Twitterers on our Twitter Hub? http://twubs.com/tucsongemshow

This site works great because it takes micro-blogging to a higher level allowing you to integrate photos from TwitPic, Videos and RSS Feeds all on one page brought together through the power of a hashtag (#)!

So anyone at the #TucsonGemShow, #AGTA, #Centurion or #TGMS could tweet about what they are seeing and doing and, when using one of these tags, it is shared with everyone else. I find that this approach offers a great range of shows, viewpoints and coverage!

I have about a dozen posts to go and following that I will (as in years past) talk about some of the vendors that made an impression on me this year!

So bare with me and enjoy an extended stay at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show!

Photo from previous post about the first delegation of Afghan Gem Dealers...http://tucsongemshow.blogspot.com/2010/02/afghan-gemstone-traders-first-time.html

Collector Day Features "The Will Larson Collection"

The show at the Westward Look has become an annual pilgrimage for me and my friends Margo (in turquoise - Gemologist) and Roni (Geologist, GG and Co-Founder of the Jeweler's Ethics Assoc).

Here the girls are schmoozing with Gail Spann - who refers to us as the Three Muskateers. Jim and Gail Spann were the featured collectors at the 2009 event.

You can't say enough good things about this woman - her mineral photos and drawings grace the pages of Mindat, the Mineral Forum on Jordi Fabre's website as well as her Facebook page!

This show is one of several that are filmed each year by BlueCap Productions and distributed as "What's Hot In Tucson"...you can' see clips at http://whatshotintucson.com/clips.html

It's a great way to bring a little bit of the show home with you...and an excellent teaching aid for geology classes and Rock & Mineral Clubs.

Here Bryan Swoboda gets host Dave Wilbur mic-ed up!

Will Larson was on hand to walk people through his exhibit which is considered to be one of the finest collection of minerals from Japan.

BlueCap Productions published a teaser about the event:

Every year the Westward Look Mineral Show (aka Fine Mineral Show: Tucson) puts on the Saturday Collector Day where they invite a special collector to display his or her specimens in the lobby of the Westward Look Resort.

This has always been a highly anticipated and attended affair and it looks like 2010 will continue that tradition when mineral collector Will Larson shares his collection of Japanese and Worldwide Minerals.

One piece from his worldwide collection that will be on display is this outstanding Tourmaline with Cleavlandite specimen. This killer specimen is from the world-famous Himalaya Mine in Mesa Grande, CA.

Apart from its obvious perfection, one of the things that makes this specimen so special is that it was self collected by Will way back in 1989.

As Will describes it, he was only 4 years old at the time and his father, Pala International's Bill Larson, basically picked him up and shoved him into the pocket - it was that big. After spitting out a mouth full of dirt that Will had managed to kick into his face, Bill patiently talked Will through the careful extraction process and, little by little, this piece started coming loose. Covered in clay, both the specimen and Will, they took this piece home and carefully washed it.

As more and more of the fine details of this specimen revealed itself, Will knew that he had a very special and rare piece. We couldn't agree more!!!

Still passionate about the famous pegmatite mines that he grew up with, Will continues his field-collecting explorations underground at places like Jeff Swanger's OceanView Mine (one of the filming locations for New Crystal Hunters).

So whether he's out field collecting or cruising through obscure mineral museums or even working deals with today's top dealers, Will Larson is one of those young, active, up-and-coming mineral collectors who follows his dreams.

Pala International profiled Will in their popular Mineral News Newsletter at: http://www.palagems.com/mineral_news_2009_v2.htm#portrait_will

Aside from featuring some of the finest minerals and mineral dealers, during this show BlueCap Productions offers a special panel discussion - previous discussions have been "Women in Mineral Collecting", "Mineral Photography" and this year was "The Grand Masters of Mineral Art".

Keep an eye on the website for the dates of the show, special events and the featured collector in 2011! http://www.westwardminerals.com/

You probably recognized the stunning Tanzanite crystal above, but do you know what that day-glo green mineral is?

This is piece literally caught my eye and stopped me in my tracks. A really lovely man in the Pala International room was patient enough to tell the story of Cuprosklodowskite...twice!

...let see if I remember it...the Cupro is for the copper content and Sklodowskite is for Maria Skłodowska–Curie the mother of Radioactivity - for the Uranium content.

Please - feel free to correct me if I'm not recollecting it properly.

Alishan - At The Bench at MJSA

The Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America's EXPO West Pavilion is in the Ballroom on the Galleria level, along with the Spectrum of Design Pavilion. Exhibitors demo manufacturing equipment, tools, supplies, contract services and the latest in new technologies. MJSA’s At the Bench Live features bench demonstrations for attendees, showing the latest techniques for bench jewelers.

Today's "At The Bench - Live" demo was with Alishan Halebian - who was a delight!!

The Demo was listed as...
Craft and Creativity: Improvisation At The Bench with Alishan Halebian

A Master Goldsmith renowned for bold and often provocative designs, Alishan will demonstrate how he improvises at the bench to create designs which best showcase specific gems.



In reality he walked us through a new design he started - from illustration through fabrication. That is where the title of the demo comes in. If you work at a bench - in fact if you work in any creative field - you know that just because it looks great on paper doesn't mean it works in 3D!

As he added components he discussed pieces that weren't fitting in properly and walked us through his thought process for making changes and why. He offered demos of how he used normal bench tools to accommodate a different use.

He showed his method for applying a "Florentine" finish - no he doesn't use a burr - he does it by hand - each time it is slightly different and everyone does it a little different.

One of the things he said that stuck with me...

"...each time you add handwork you make the piece more important"

Following the demo Manos from Alishan's staff took me back to the booth to show me Alishan's insect jewelry...wonder why he thought I might like that? (big grin)

Check out the schedule, the range this year is wonderful!

Thursday, Feb. 4
Setting Fancy-Cut Gems 1: A Traditional Approach
Lee Krombholz
Fancy-cut gemstones, with their subtle cut variations, present setters with numerous challenges. In this session, custom designer Lee Krombholz demonstrates traditional wax-working techniques to create cast settings that are appealing, secure, and lasting.

Friday, Feb. 5
Setting Fancy-Cut Gems 2: A CAD/CAM Approach
Lee Krombholz
Lee Krombholz has won numerous awards for his computer-aided designs. Here, he shows how he uses CAD technology to create a wax model, then applies traditional bench techniques to ensure that model becomes a finished piece that safely and securely holds a fancy-cut gem.

Saturday, Feb. 6
Working on Heirloom Jewelry: Recycle, Repurpose, Rejuvenate
Gary Dawson
More and more customers are asking jewelers to re-work the heirlooms they’ve inherited—jewelry that often has endured years of abuse, faulty repairs, and overall neglect. Goldsmith/designer Gary Dawson shows how to identify the hidden challenges in such pieces, safely remove the gemstones, and either recycle or repurpose them to create modern jewels.

Sunday, Feb. 7
Creating Unique Settings for Unusual Stones
Gary Dawson
Jewelers often must fabricate their own settings to accommodate unusually shaped gemstones. Gary Dawson shows how to make the wire or sheet metal jewelers need for a specific job, and how to create a secure and attractive setting.