New Plan for TGS Blog

In previous years I let this blog go black following the close of the gemhows. This year I am going to try something new!

I am going to be posting brief articles on the vendors that I saw at the show - some of these folks are the reason I go back every year.

Vendors come to the Tucson Gem Show from all over the world and when you find a dealer you like it is hard to keep up a relationship aside from meeting them annually in Tucson. A large number of the foreign dealers don't have a website or only one that allows contact. So this is your one opportunity a year to actually see and touch the gems and findings you want.

So in an effort to give some International attention to these vendors, I will be posting info and when possible photos of goods from a some of the outstanding vendors of the Tucson Gem Show!

Some will be mineral dealers (although my friends Justin & Brandy at The Vug have this topic covered), gem dealers, rough dealers, bead dealers, findings, home decor - so some will apply to you, some won't - but I am hoping to interest you in things you have never been exposed to before.

The format will be as follows - the photo and write up then at the bottom complete contact information for any vendors mentioned in the article. I could hyperlink throughout the piece but really want you to read the post and then check their website, info, etc.

This info will also be posted to the new Tucson Gem Show Facebook Page!

Tucson Gem Show

FaceBook Page

http://snipurl.com/eh8kc [www_facebook_com]

The Vug

http://the-vug.com/

This site is a wealth of information. With videos from the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show as well as from the other mineral shows throughout Tucson. It also features links to all the major mineral dealers and to Justin's own FakeMinerals.com.

If you are in Southern California, Justin is available for speaking engagements and offers wonderful DVD's of Rockhounding opportunities in the area.

TGS - Tucson Gem & Mineral Show "The Main Show"

Today was "Opening Day" for the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show - this show is billed as "The Main Show" - it is the show that started it all!!!

This is the annual Gem Show of the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society http://www.tgms.org/ - each year a new theme is chosen - this year it was "Mineral Oddities"!

"The acclaimed Tucson Gem and Mineral Show™ is held every year on the second full weekend of February. It has set the standard for gem and mineral shows around the world, and is now the largest gem and mineral show in the United States. The Show is open to the public and presents retail Dealers only." printed from the TG&MS website.

BTW - this is also a great site to check for the latest updates on the construction project along the I-10 Freeway!

This show is HUGE - it ulitizes the entire Tucson Convention Center with a seperate area for finished jewelry - a giant section of mineral dealers - offerings for the artistic and the good ole' rockhounds with rough, slabs & cabs!

As a side note - if you missed the show last year - the theme was American Mineral Treasures and the show featured "...close to 50 showcases of the best specimens from the greatest localities in the U.S., borrowed from museums and private collections across the country. There was an electricity and a feeling of excitement in the air that we had never felt before at any mineral show in the last 40 or 50 years. Showgoers passing before case after case of treasures were speechless. They couldn't round up enough superlatives to express their awe and excitement at what they were seeing. It was a show for the ages, a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will surely never be repeated." quote from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-179677100.html

That show was made into a huge coffee table book - brimming with some of the most glorious photos and information from the exhibit! It is hard to find but well worth the effort! Photo from The Vug at http://www.the-vug.com/vug/article69.html

Plan to attend in 2010:

56th Annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show™

February 11-14, 2010

"Gems & Gem Minerals"

So - next time - inside the show!!!!