Although most of the Tucson shows don’t open until January 27th, some dealers are open for business early. We visited a couple, the first is The Gem Shop from Cedarberg, Wisconsin. They feature some great rough from Eugene Mueller’s claims, in addition to more. This is always a great place for a couple designer Cabochons. I cut most of my own Cabs, but also purchase exceptional pieces for our Jewelry. You can see how nice these are. In this case I nabbed an exceptional Morrisonite and a colorful shadow Laguna.

In addition Bonnie found a Sonoran Sunrise Slab with red, black and green, and I found a good, solid slab of Turkish Stick Agate.

Even the smallest town has strip malls with salons, coffee shops, and banks. Here in Tucson they skip those stores and have a “rock mall” this one is called the Tucson Showplace. So next door was another rock shop, Soklich where you will find a great selection of Australian material. They have some nice stuff! Pretty much all the semi-precious Aussie stuff is there; carvings and great rough, and lots of it, mookaite jasper, peanut wood, fossils, black jade, fuschite, zebra jasper, and shiny tiger iron. Clear quartz crystals were in the window of the next store front, but they weren’t open yet. This is a small show by Tucson standards, but open to anyone and fun to shop. We will go back again to catch the other side of the parking lot where Archy’s shop is (he’s always chatty), and fossils and other stuff down the line.

All the show tents are set up and ready to get underway. I went up on “A” Mountain (Sentinal Peak) to see the difference from a couple weeks ago. Noticable was that the 22nd Street Show was just a vacant lot, but now there is a large hard-sided tent there. The tent seemed twice as large as last year, I do not know if it is twice as large, but indeed it is a much larger show than when it first started. All the shows at the “Strip” (the Hotels along US10) are set up and ready to go.

Shows opening up on the 26th, include the JOGS (wholesale and retail show) at the Tucson Expo Center on Irvington, The 22nd Street Show, and the SRGJ (Silk Road Gem & Jewelry Show) at the Grand Lux Hotel on Grant. I understand also that there are several new shows along main Street.

The show guides will not be available until the 26th, and I have yet to see the usual article in the local paper that always mentions what’s new, but I’ll keep you informed when I know.

New attendees to the shows usually are overwhelmed. Where do you go, where do you park, what shows can non-dealers go to, what shows are wholesale (business license required)? I’ll attempt to give you a few hints.

We love JOGS so we’ll go and fight the crowds on the 26th. There is free parking. it’s a wholesale-retail show. The wholesale buyers, guests, and such are ID’s by the badges (tags on lanyards they wear). the dealers might give a better deal to the wholesale buyers, but they are happy to sell to anyone!

We try to find free parking and take the free shuttle buses if we can. If I go to the strip and expect to be buying and carrying rocks, there are a couple parking lots that you have to pay around $10 for the day, but this may be worth it to you, as you can dump your load as it gets heavy. Remember to park, walk to the furthest venue and work you way back to your car. It makes no sense to start near the car, buy stuff and have a full bag at the furthest point, then have to lug it back to the car. Shop smart!

Some dealers will haggle with you on price. Often cash talks and the price is cheaper if you buy in volume. The prices you will pay on the first day of the show is most often more than you would pay on the last day. Many buyers sweep in for the weekend then they leave, so they cannot take advantage of this phenomena. The best selection is when the show opens though, and in may cases I like to get to the quality stuff and my customers expect the quality stuff from us.

There is a hugh lot across from the Mercado Mall at 6332 E Broadway Blvd, but if it rains, it’s a mess. You can take the local transportation (trolley) Sun Tran or walk to a shuttle bus stop.

it took me about 5 years before I felt comfortable at the shows; it really is overwhelming, but worth it when you find that hidden treasure.

Our first stop on Thursday is JOGS. They discourage picture taking, but I always ask dealers if I can take a picture; some say no, but some say yes; anyway ALWAYS ask.

Our adventure will continue daily, so check back. You never know when the internet will work properly at the RV resort.