Tucson: The Gem Shows!

2007 Tucson Bead & Gem Show…I want to put this information on paper…first for myself because I want to remember every minute of this incredible journey, and second because I think it may inspire some people who are sitting on the fence when it comes to to make the decision to make the trip!

Let me dispel some of the misconceptions I had…

1. The Tucson Gem Show is this giant show with tons of booths…not quite…the Tucson Gem Show is actually 46 separate shows and each individual show can hold anywhere from 50 to 500 vendors.

2. After reading the Show Guide and seeing where the shows were located I thought you would need a car…don’t…probably spent a total of $150 on cabs (I would eliminate this cost entirely if you stayed in a hotel near one of the venues). Tucson is going through a 5 year highway renovation project and traffic is a nuisance, aside from the fact that finding parking near most places is very difficult. The city of Tucson provided (FREE) a shuttle system that went to the various shows, so if your hotel was near one of the shows, you had free shuttles from 8am to 7pm every day.

3. You must have a business license and resale number (one program actually required letters of reference from companies you bought from in the past) to enter (and purchase) most programs…as a student, this It was a big fear for me, since I no longer have a business. Most shows will admit students for sure, some want a student ID. Most places offered “visitor” passes and they can be purchased from most vendors. Vendors who are “Wholesale Only” or require a “Minimum Purchase”, display that information prominently.

4. You can get amazing prices that will beat your local bead store… True and False! If you’re going to Tucson as a one-of-a-kind designer, while the prices will definitely beat your LBS, you’re likely not going to get great deals. If you run a bead supply business and can afford to buy multiples, most suppliers will offer deals by the gram, kilogram, or pound. You need to do your homework: most salespeople deal in millimeters, centimeters, grams, or kilograms, they know their weights and measures, nothing tells an amateur like screwing up a weight. One way to orient yourself is to say that an item is priced per carat…ask the seller to weigh and price a medium size of the stone he is looking at so you have an idea of ​​what he may find in his price range. At bead vendors, watch them weigh out a kilogram of beads for someone (most will let you mix and match and one vendor gave $100 worth of free beads to anyone with business ID)…it will give you an idea if this is a deal or not

5. Appearance Matters: You know, the more I dressed the easier it was to talk to some of the vendors… there are shows where I feel “business attire” is necessary (AGTA, GJX and GLDA shows in particular ). But the bottom line of the dress code is “business casual”: if you’re like me, you’ll be walking a lot more than you’ve walked in a long time (and it’s continuous day after day), so the most important piece of wardrobe they are your shoes!!!

I think the easiest way to do this is by location… so come on everyone here we go!

AGTA at the Tucson Convention Center:

This is probably the most exclusive and popular program… it will really take your breath away. Most of the people I spoke to did not attend this show because they felt it was just about faceted stones and diamonds… while that is a big part of the show, it also included beads and pearls (a form I did not find in any other place) and due to the greater presence in the market and the budget of the companies represented, this show is key to know the trends and directions of fashion. When you enter the main Gem Hall and see a strand of emerald beads, you have an example of what grade AAA emerald beads should look like. While they may be out of our price range, it gives you a great place to shop at some of the other places.

Trends I noticed in AGTA:

Cuprian Tourmaline – No matter how controversial this stone is, it is beautiful and everywhere! In the color “Paraiba” and a range of new colors (I especially like the strong almost neon quality of purple) from Africa.

Microspheres – these little smooth or faceted washers (most are 3-5mm) are HUGE…most sellers sell them…but buyer beware as quality varies from seller to seller and from one strand to another. These are shown in emerald, ruby, sapphire, mixed corundum (ruby, with blue and yellow sapphire), emerald with mixed corundum, and diamonds (all colors, blue, champagne, yellow, cognac, milky white, and light white).

Diamonds: Not only in the micro pearls, but also in a really cool look with natural rough diamond crystals. These came in a variety of styles and appearances, from 1ct crystals caged in 18k gold to nugget beads strung together, rosary style!

Pearls: I must say that pearls with threads of all colors, shapes (crosses, biwa, mabe’, keshi, coin, potato, rice, button, even faceted) and size (micro 3mm to 12-16mm) abounded. Several vendors are showing keshi pearls in new shapes…some are lettuce edged with ruffles, others are leaf shaped, side pierced, center pierced… I guess I’m saying if you like keshi, it’s still big. I really felt like I had probably seen all the shapes when I saw something that was truly unique. One seller (I didn’t see these anywhere else and I’m kicking myself for not picking up a thread) had really beautiful champagne pearls that were a nice round pearl (about 9-10mm) with just a little bit of that “keshi” “edge of lettuce coming off one side, they really were beautiful… oh well!”

Ok, let’s take a quick tour of the AGTA Show at the Convention Center:

After you register (which I suggest you do before you go to Tucson, by the way – most shows allow you to pre-register), you walk down an aisle lined with photo exhibits and individual booths staffed by all the various trade organizations they support. the jewelry industry. (both in the US and internationally) and all major schools and testing labs are also represented.

The first grand salon was the “Design Pavilion” housing the work of people you have only seen on the pages of fashion and society magazines along with the 2007 AGTA Spectrum Award Winners (AGTA Spectrum Awards are an annual design of cultured pearl jewelry and natural colored gemstones). competition.). You can see the winners here: [http://www.agta.org/consumer/spectrum/2007winners.htm]

Next, visit the main Gem Hall – literally aisle after aisle (17 consecutive rows) of some of the most spectacular gems I’ve ever seen… most humans will never see gems like this in their lives! quality! There was also a small display of some of the museum grade gems that have been donated to the GIA’s private collection and a small grouping of items from the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibit.

Gem Hall II housed the new “Colored Diamond” area and a very interesting and surprisingly affordable “State Jewelry” area along with several rows of metal, findings and tool vendors. Tucked away in the corner of this room was a surprise who didn’t know that MJSA was offering a series of seminars called “At The Bench…” each topic was different but overall gave a great representation of the industry. For a list of seminars, see:

[http://www.agta.org/consumer/tradeshows/gfseminars.htm]

Okay, let’s move on… Tucson Electric Park, here we go…

When you take the GemRide shuttle bus to Electric Park, you enter between the two separate shows, the Tucson Electric Park Show on the left and the Electric Park RV Show on the right; Let’s start with the larger of the two shows.

For those of you wondering, Tucson Electric Park is a sports complex, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and spring training camp for the Chicago White Sox.

This is probably the sturdiest place…you need not only comfortable shoes for this place, but also sturdy and comfortable shoes! The entire event is outdoors on gravel. Most of the shows are open to the public with only a couple identified as “for wholesalers only”. That doesn’t mean you can’t get wholesale deals here, just offer your resale number and a sizeable order.

There is a HUGE main tent that was anchored by a large Indonesian company that carried a variety of products (loved the carved knots in particular) and Southwest Silver at one end and Kent Tools and Alpha Supply at the other. With a variety of shops in between… some carving shops (one of my favorites was here), some rough, some beads, a couple of facets and lots of finished jewelry.

This tent held my attention for hours… Alpha Supply (very nice and helpful people) had demos every day… Tony Aldrige would demo any Foredom feature that was important to his field; Ed Johnson cut Ocean Jasper to the pattern of the stone in an amazing demonstration of the new “ring” saw, it’s like having a jigsaw for stone (this may be my next major purchase) and several different people did carving demos . .and my personal favorite demo was the Tools by Miland booth…a tool fanatic’s paradise!

As if this wasn’t enough, there were two other tents that housed tool companies…the Diamond Pacific Tent and the Crystalite Tent. The other big tents housed Village Originals; yes, your product looks just as good in person; Blake Brothers (Wholesale only!); the rest were an eclectic mix of merchandise, brutish, jewelry, and even clothing! There was a great company (can’t remember the name, unfortunately) that would wire wrap a piece you bought while you waited…great idea! I got my favorite purchase from Wild Ginger Imports: an amazing selection of moths, beetles, and a leaf bug (yes, real!) behind glass in a shadow box.

Most of the other vendors either had their own tent or were out in the open space in a central booth “village” area! This was definitely the place to find great deals on raw gems, jars of opals, agates of all kinds, jade, and really nice rugs and wood carvings.

Now to the real reason I spent so much time at Electric Park, the Electric Park Learning Center:

http://www.electricparklearningcenter.com/

This could not have been a more welcoming place – friendly staff and truly world class instructors. His schedule was very comprehensive and fit right in with the other seminars available…from beading to faceting (including a full day of faceting from across the pond, with Scot, Danny Hargreaves, he was a wealth of information and I was looking forward to share your trade)

For me the highlight was…

Placing a stone inside another stone – Hans Durstling

Selection of a good rough faceting – John Franke

Sell ​​Your Craft – Tony Aldridge

Getting the most out of your diamond saw – Bill Ritter

Cabochon Cutting, Step by Step – Bill Depue

Tumbling for Jewelers – Ed Johnson

Drilling Holes in Gem Material – Bill Ritter

Check out the links above for information on offers for 2008!