87 and sunny
The display cases boggle the mind at the Main Show, as do the Dealers.
Today I continue with the story, in photos, of our visit to the Main event show at the Tucson Convention Center. This show caps off over two weeks of exploring the 40+ shows in the Tucson Showcase. We are sad to see the show come to an end, but to be honest I am both mentally and physically drained. We had a great time and I’m happy we could tow you along by showing you small bits of the shows.
The G&LW (Gem & Lapidary Wholesalers) was closing up. We have learned from past experience that the last day at this show the dealers are in a hurry to pack up and get out of there. They really don’t want to take goods back to wherever they came from and the beads may sell for 1/4 to 1/3 the costs they were at the beginning of the shows. We sort of grabbed and go’d on one side of the table, while the dealers packed up on the other side. Bonnie was a shopping fool, and made cash offers, you would not believe; that were accepted.
An amazing Amethyst specimen for sale at Collectors Edge.
Columbus Pearls-Yep, Guard stationed nearby.
Show floor.
Turquoise & Diamond Necklace
As we drifted through the Main Show we saw a special display honoring the past Carnegie Award Members including our friend Dr. George Robinson. We sure miss George (and his wife Susan) being around The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum.
Amethyst-unusual color-Minas Gerais
Miner Carving
Thousands of little Aqua Crystal poured on a table
Malachite. Very amazing piece
Recent addition to the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum-The Paul & Janet Clifford Collection…..The first donation consists of these more common minerals, but there will be more.
At the Collector’s Edge booth one of the popular displays showed Shipwreck Gold from the Klondike. A luxury liner, the SS Islander, was repurposed into a transport for passengers and prospectors headed to the Alaska goldfields. In 1901 she hit an iceberg and likely overloaded, sank in 20 minutes. Reportedly she was carrying at least $3 million of gold. A recovery effort was made in the early 1930’s with only a small portion of the gold being recovered from under many feet of silt and mud. In 2012 another attempt to recapture this treasure trove was made. The weight of the gold contributes to the difficulty in recovering this material.
The gold was packed in “pokes”, the tube-like items you see in the photo. They averaged about 200 troy ounces of gold, and were made of deer hide or other hides. Staff from the ship reported that at least 25 treasure boxes full of these pokes was on the boat when it sank. A dealer at the booth was overheard telling that they had opened the wax that sealed the top poke (on the riser), and we could see the gold on the edge where it spilled out, and into the pan below. Photos also made a connection with Wyatt Earp, of special interest to this Western venue.
With the timeless charm of gold and recent interest due to the Gold Rush tv show, this was a busy display. Hopefully some American Western museum will acquire this display and artifacts so it can continue to be enjoyed.
Thanks for following along with us on this trip, and I hope I have convinced you to get here next year.
I will post more blogs intermittently showing what we bought and made from the things we found in Tucson. Check back occasionally. Like Snob Appeal Jewellry on Facebook and you will see first the new stuff and links to new blogs.