January 29, 2007

January 29, 2007

The Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase is in town for the next two weeks. We went to a smaller version in Chicago last year, and both of us enjoyed it, so we made a point to watch out for it here in Tucson. The show in Chicago had something for both of us, jewelry for Aimee and fossils for me. The Tucson Show is supposed to be the granddaddy of US events.

The Tucson Show seems to be a little confusing though as the paper says it is held in 30 different locations around the area. The Tucson Convention Center must not be big enough to hold it all. On the way back from hitting a few golf balls at the driving range, we stop at a small nearby hotel hosting part of the show. Every room in the hotel has a different vendor with a small display of items for sale. Even the parking lot and courtyard have display tents setup. What is interesting is that seemingly every country from around the world is represented here. I had no idea there was this big a market for rocks.

After breezing thru this site, we head towards another. The next one is a series of circus-size tents near the Baseball Spring Training stadium. This location has vendors with some seriously large rock inventories. I am astounded how big this show is and we have 28 more locations to visit!

The next day we take Aimee’s mom with us and visit a couple more of the locations. I get to see a lot of fossils. Beside the usual collector-size samples, many of the vendors have beautiful rock samples meant for artistic display in upscale homes along with plates, vases, sinks and tables made from fossil rock. The girls though are bored and dragging.

Surprisingly the next day the girls want to go again. I need to stop at my broker so I agree. Big mistake. The next locations are mostly about jewelry. Now I am bored and I can’t get the girls to budge from the first display table. Fortunately, after a few hours a vendor rescues me and invites me to test-drive his equipment. This kilt-wearing Scotsman gives me about an hour hands-on lesson in fine art of making gems. I practice cutting the facets on a 25-carat amethyst gemstone. Pretty Neat! Maybe I can get a part-time job as a master gem cutter. Afterwards I help Aimee get a deal on some opal jewelry and then we all walk across the parking lot to the Learning Center for a demonstration on rock carving. An artist is demonstrating his techniques for turning a lump of rock into sculpture using modern tools. I am thinking I could be a Michelangelo in retirement.

A couple days later we hit a gem show held at a local resort. On display in thirty hotel rooms are mostly high quality rock specimens. Between the price tags and the way the upscale guests are ogling these rocks, you would think they were old-world masterpieces of art. Amazing!