Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Shows-THE BIG SHOW

12-9 Sunny 73

The Tucson Gem & Mineral Show (The Big Show) sponsored by the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society opened this morning, and we were right up at the front of the line. I expected wonderful displays of the Minerals of Arizona, which was the theme this year. We were not disappointed with the quality or quantity of the exhibits.

Gov. Jan Brewer opened the show and I happened to be right next to all the news cameras for a close-up view of everything. After the opening festivities Bonnie and I took in the whole show.

I cannot begin to describe the wonderful displays we saw. We spent a few dollars on some nice cabochons, and I bought some nice slabs, including some Wingate Plume agate from Death Valley, California. It has great oranges and reds on a black background. The stuff was not cheap, but it drew me right in. I can make some great jewelry out of it.

Bonnie bought some great drilled cabs to make necklaces from, but mostly we looked at displays and people. Today I will just show you a small sample of what we saw today.

As I have mentioned in previous years, if a Tucson cop is sitting by a case, it is probably quite valuable. Today he was sitting next to a case containing Geronimo’s 1868 Springfield Rifle and Wyatt Earp’s Model P Colt Revolver. Bonnie thought he was there because of the huge royal blue Tanzanite.

A remarkable gem pendant on display was the Hooker Emerald from the Smithsonian museum. The Hooker Emerald is a superb 75.47ct Columbian Emerald dating back to the Ottoman Empire (1876-1909). It is surrounded by 109 round brilliant and 20 baguette cut diamonds totaling 13 carats. Mrs. Janet Annenberg purchased the emerald brooch from Tiffany in 1955, and in 1977 donated it to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

I will post a small portion of the approximately 100 pictures I took today; ENJOY!