Tucson Gem & Mineral Show 2018

Day two was equally as much fun, if not more! I began the morning heading right over to the AGTA lecture by Elisabeth Strack. Very informative on the testing methods for different types of pearls. Her knowledge is amazing, and that she shares it so eloquently with her wonderfully accented voice...well you feel like you are being told the secrets of the world, but only if you choose to listen carefully. After the chat, again I saw Judi and GemGeek. And just as we were giggling about something, up came Ms. Abi and her handsome hubby. I had been looking at this beautiful young woman with the gorgeous Tahitians, something about her just looked so familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. When she introduced herself, I thought, ah ha! I know those pearls. She and her husband are adorable...not sure mine would follow me to the gem floor let alone a lecture on pearls...honey, he's a keeper!

Some social media chatting and coffee, then back to the gem hunting we went. I stopped by Mason-Kay to drool at their jade, and had a lovely conversation with them about jadeite and Tahitian pearls.

I floated around the floor and found some great treasures, including some fantastic and very colorful stones...so a successful morning. I had an appointment to meet an old friend who is a stone cutter in India, and he was at his brother's booth at the Gem Mall venue. Wish I had some more time to spend there, but I didn't...I took a 15 min Uber ride over, and came back with my staple supply, and maybe one or two new things too. I had to put on my blinders and keep my focus, as I needed to get back to see Douglas.

Darth Vader, a most delicious mabe of his, had been eating at my brain all night before. So I hoped he was still available, and scooped it up along with a few other pieces. Douglas is such a sweet sweet man, and I absolutely enjoyed hearing about how his pearls are harvested and how mabe are grown. So generous in sharing this information. And the pearls, nothing short of incredible.

I won't bore you all with the rest of the trip, but I am happy and just so thrilled to have met all these wonderful people in person! I'm already making my plans for next year...arriving earlier for sure!!
 
Well Sarah , I feel like I made the trip myself. Though I still have money so I know I didn't. What a wonderful time you had !! Can't wait to see all the photos ! I'm definitely going to have to put this on my list of stops for next year.

Abi - I'm glad you went back and got those beautiful GSS Keshi !!! What colour !! Even if I wasn't looking for Keshi that strand would have caught my eye !! And thank you for the explanation of the Show layout. It sounds like things are all pretty close .... other than perhaps the Gem Mall that Sarah mentioned as a 15min Uber ride. I can see that with so many different venues that time would be a big issue.
Thanks for your information and great photos !
 
Well Sarah , I feel like I made the trip myself. Though I still have money so I know I didn't. What a wonderful time you had !! Can't wait to see all the photos ! I'm definitely going to have to put this on my list of stops for next year.

Abi - I'm glad you went back and got those beautiful GSS Keshi !!! What colour !! Even if I wasn't looking for Keshi that strand would have caught my eye !! And thank you for the explanation of the Show layout. It sounds like things are all pretty close .... other than perhaps the Gem Mall that Sarah mentioned as a 15min Uber ride. I can see that with so many different venues that time would be a big issue.
Thanks for your information and great photos !

There are venues all over the place, including what appear to be like flea market type set ups. The "Gem Mall" and "Holidome" shows were right next to one another too. Gem Mall really is a big warehouse down a dirt road, so not very mall like at all, but still what can be bad with a warehouse full of all kinds of stuff. My visit there was literally just in and out to meet one person.

Abi, your keshi are beautiful! I cannot wait to see what you do with them.
 
Thanks for the travel log JP. It must have been totally wonderful!
 
I also went to ATGA and lucky enough, I bought this beautiful mabe abalone pearl from Betty Sue. The color is amazing.
27846087_10214929532447349_775007802_o.jpg
 
Oh, those colors are absolutely stunning! It sounds like an absolute blast! I'm very envious of all of you who went!
 
Thank you LVlanghanke, pattye, Katbran, Pareltje and MSC. This color is truly amazing. I think I will make it into a pendant.
 
Back
Top