[GemGeek]

This is a multi-post story. Here's the first part:

This weekend I had quartet rehearsal/retreat (a cappella) and the girls wanted to go to the Gem Faire. The Gem Faire is a trade show that also sells to the public and has a wide range of beads and jewelry.

Road Trip Quartet (I'm the short one)


I thought it might be fun to share what I purchased and a little bit about the show. The Gem Faire has a website that lists their shows. They are mostly on the West Coast.

The first thing I usually do is visit the jeweler who does while-you-wait repair/alteration work. That way he'll be done by the time I get through the show.

This ring is a mounting from Stuller and the stone is a Synthetic Rutile - very hard to find now since they had their heyday in the fifties. They were diamond simulants known by the trade name Titania. Strontium Titanate (Fabulite) displaced it, followed by YAG and GGG. When CZ came along, it became the dominant diamond substitute.

I had one other stone like this. I had it set with tsavorite garnet side stones and my best friend insisted on buying it. My job is to sell jewelry, but sometimes I want things for my gem collection, so when I had a chance to get one again, I jumped.

Here is the finished ring.


Normally, I go on Friday morning when the show is only open to wholesale buyers and go straight for the good pearls, but this was Saturday and the people I compete with had already been through, so I followed my girlfriends as we headed for the back of the building to work our way across the show.

We hit the back and immediately ran into one of my favorite vendors, Cinderhill. They sell collector gems and minerals and Cindy has a clean style of wirewrapping I've always admired. I've been after her for years to make a video and she finally did. I actually yelped with glee when she showed it to me! Who knows when I'll find the time, but I have it at the ready. She said she'll be making more, so I'll have other techniques to look forward to later.



My friends spent about twenty minutes going through the rubber and leather neckcords at You And Me. So having to hang around, I decided to purchase some vermeil spacers to experiment with. They make a nice chain all by themselves.



I finally left the girls to shop on their own. I had a lot of things to get so I started my search for the clasp guy.

Some of you may have read my exploits making my first torsade necklace. Dumb me -- I had to buy several cones, but I only bought one matching clasp. They're heavy and expensive and I was feeling cash poor as I was leaving for the pearl tour in a day and a half.

When I got back to work, people had seen the necklace and wanted to order them for holiday presents, but I didn't have any clasps! Fortunately, the same vendor was there and I was able to buy a few more.



And after I got back, I found the complete instructions for tying off the strands in the cone on the Rio Grande web site. Who knew? Those Rio Grande people are great.

Part two coming in a few minutes...

[GemGeek]

Part Two of Blaire and the Gem Faire

I promised my friend Mona that I would get her a pair of jade and pearl pea pod earrings because she loved mine. PR Jewelry had them and I scooped them up.



The back has been carved to have little bumps where each "pea" is. I have a matching pendant and earrings. When we went to Robert Wan Tahiti's store, I wore the set because I didn't have anything really fine, so I thought why not wear something different instead? It did the trick! The ladies who worked in the pearl salon all fussed over the pea pods. I felt more comfortable after that.

Then I headed over to my favorite pearl vendor, Taiko Imports. Since I didn't have to compete with anyone, I started with the bargain pearls in the front. These are specially priced for everyone. Here are the $2.00 a strand pearls I purchased.









You can always find some good ones in the ordinary beader's stuff. The multi-color measure 3mm across. The round ones measure 4.5mm and the rice measure about 5x8mm.

Part three is coming...

[GemGeek]

Part Three - Blaire and the Gem Faire

Then I picked out some $3.00 pearls...



I love the lavenders! They're 5x8mm. The black are barely 3mm.



On to the $4.00 pearls...

These were too pretty to pass up. 11x7mm


These tubular pearls are just plain fun... 12x8mm





The 3mm pearls are to match larger pearls in my inventory.

Part four is coming...

[GemGeek]

Part Four - Blaire and the Gem Faire

I'm done pawing through the bargain table. Now I make my way to the wall of pearls. Here the pearls are 50% off of the marked price only if you have a valid resale license.

By habit, I first look for the coolest pearls that I can afford. Normally I don't go for double drilled pearls, but the color variation on these reminded me of that terrific photo of the fireball pearls, which, of course, I couldn't find. This strand was $20.00 wholesale.



Then I found some large baroques just like it for $8.00 wholesale.







Woo Hoo! I'm going to have some fun with these puppies!

I have to pick up these silver rainbow pearls at $6.00 a strand...



More pearls coming in part five...

[GemGeek]

Part Five - Blaire and the Gem Faire

Finding the cool baroques made my day. Even better, I found some smaller ones just like it for $6.00 a strand...



I need some black pearls for a project. These were $7.00 each...



Are these beautiful, or what???


And chocolate and raspberry keshi for $6.00 each...




So pretty!

Part six coming...

[GemGeek]

Part Six - Blaire and the Gem Faire

At this point, I'm exhausted and my hands are dirty. It's taken a long time to go through everything and be satisfied that I haven't missed something special. I have a lot of pearls at home, so I'm not buying more than a kilo this time.

The girls have checked in and disappeared so I stop by Sunlight Gems and pick up some moonstone beads. These are hard to photograph. They have a lot more blue adularescence than my camera can get.



Then I find a cool earring stand that will work for lever-backs and french wires for web site photos. The other stands have a hole you must put the wire through and they block the view. This is from Saad's (SID).



I always buy at least one tool from my favorite tool guy, K. H. Lee. He keeps getting smaller and smaller points. He thinks these are the smallest pointed pliers he has ever seen...



While waiting for the girls again, I find these cool Chinese Azurite beads...



Unfortunately, I start to look at what the girls are looking at, an estate dealer who is selling 14K gold chains at $15.00 a gram. Melt price is $14.75 right now! I purchase a chain and fall prey to a turquoise ring. What can I say? Retirement may not be an option!



Believe it or not, I still have something else to show you...

Part Seven coming soon...

[GemGeek]

Part Seven - Blaire and the Gem Faire

The girls decided they want to go again on Sunday, so we made our way back to the Gem Faire. This time I decided to interview my pearl vendor so I can write an article on him. While I was taking photos of his pearls, I was forced to make one more purchase.

You see, everyone has been bugging me, asking me if I bought any Tahitian pearls to sell. Of course, they are cheaper at home (sorry Josh). So I got a deal on some Tahitian pearls that I plan to use for earrings. They're not great, but they're cute, and after I have my way with them, I'm hoping they'll be downright stylish.



I'm lucky to have the Gem Faire come so close to my home. I have known a lot of these people for a few years now. I'll be writing a pearl story soon, if you can bear more photos! If you have any questions, let me know.

Cheers,
Blaire

[knotty panda]

Wow! Everything is great! Love the Sweet Adelines! Tell them hi!

Oh gee, so many comments, where do I start? Tools, let me know about the pliers. I sprung for a set of Lindstrom's about a year ago (finally) and they advertise the smallest loop. What is that next to it? Is that concave looper?

Moonstone and labradorite photo best on black. That's how my supplier does it.

I knew I should have made notes before I started to comment!

But it's just gorgeous! Everything.

[pattye]

Hi Blaire,

No wonder there are no great pearls left when Gem Faire gets to Portland!!! Just kidding!!!!!! Your photos are great and you always have fun things to share! Gee, and you sing too! What a gal, you are awesome----

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[GemGeek]

Knotty, the tiny tip pliers are Teborg from Sweden #46,9590. I don't know if that will get you anything! The other pliers are mandrels. Sometimes you want to make loops with wider material, but don't want it to taper at one end. The smallest ones I could get before were twice the size.

Inge, the ring is turquoise.

Off to work...

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by pattye

Hi Blaire,

No wonder there are no great pearls left when Gem Faire gets to Portland!!! Just kidding!!!!!! Your photos are great and you always have fun things to share! Gee, and you sing too! What a gal, you are awesome----

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

Ah, my photo-loving friend! Thanks. It's hard work to find those pearls, though.

[Sueki]

Yikes Blaire,
Thank you for another great read.
Those pearls are lovely - I especially like the silver rainbow pearls...

[john675]

Hi Blaire,
Thank you so much for taking the time to post on the Gem show. It was great fun to read and to see all the photos. It makes me want to go to a show soon...
John

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by john675

Hi Blaire,
Thank you so much for taking the time to post on the Gem show. It was great fun to read and to see all the photos. It makes me want to go to a show soon...
John

Thanks! The Gem Faire goes to Eugene and Portland, Oregon. Also Salt Lake City, but my pearl guy doesn't go to SLC. Maybe you could plan a weekend getaway. I know I'm leading you father down the path of no return, but you'll enjoy it!

Muah hah ha!

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by Sueki

Yikes Blaire,
Thank you for another great read.
Those pearls are lovely - I especially like the silver rainbow pearls...

Thanks Sueki! I love the silver pearls too. They look great knotted with gray silk and a silver pearl clasp.