Tucson Gemshow 2016: Days 1, 2, 3 and 4

by Mirabai Nagle
January 25, 2016
4 min read

Hi All,

Once again it is that time of year. Our annual trek down to Tucson, AZ. This is Karen and Bruce's 19th year! This year however, it is a family affair! I will be heading down and bringing my husband, Luke with me for his very first year.

We will be doing the same deal as last year with reserving crystals. They are all first come, first serve. If you are interested in a piece, please email us at info@handsofspirit.com or shoot me a text. 720-352-3224. I will put your name down on a list to reserve you a piece. You are not required to buy the piece if you see it in person and it does not resonate with you though.

So far it has been an eventful trip. Karen and Bruce had a beautiful drive down this year, and had a bit of excitement at a gas station close to Tucson. When they arrived, they were informed by the person working there, that a man had just come 10 minutes before and stolen a car! He then proceeded to exchange gunfire with the police! Good thing Karen and Bruce were running a bit behind schedule.

Once they checked into their hotel, they went over to Wendy's for their annual arrival dinner and came across people selling these little guys. As many of you may know, I do a lot of work with wildlife and rescues, please be responsible and spayeuter your pets! There are so many wonderful pets in the shelters that need homes and get put down every year. :(

Day two started out with beautiful weather. Clear blue sky's and highs in the 70's. First on the list for the day was Citrine polished points, however the shipments did not arrive. With the Citrine's being pushed back on the list, Bruce and Karen left to hunt down the coveted Blue/Green Obsidian with Lava Flow. They were in luck! For the first time ever, they were able to get Cabochons! Can you imagine what these will look like in a pendant? They were also able to get a few pieces of unpolished rough and a few larger pieces that are partially polished.

After this, Karen and Bruce started looking at Amber. They found some Colombian Amber with quite a few bugs. Get out those loops and magnifying glasses. No reproducing Dinosaurs though! We are probably better off if T-Rex is not running around eating us ;)

The shows keep opening earlier and earlier every year, however not everyone has their product out and ready for us, so it was a little bit of a slower day. They stopped a bit earlier then usual and headed to their favorite restaurant, Mariscos Chihuahua! Sadly their favorite location of this restaurant shut down and they had to go to a sister branch.

Day 3 again was a day filled with sun and temperatures in the 70's. This day we found a lot of outstanding crystals and minerals.

The list is as follows:

Spirit Quartz from South Africa. Large and small clusters as well as points. Shown below are some of the larger clusters.

Papagoite and Ajoite. This material is rarer than rare. We are always happy when we can get our hands on some!

We were lucky enough to also get two pieces of rough Sugilite as well as crystalline Sugilite on matrix at very affordable prices and fantastic color!

The next incredible material is Fibrous Shattuckite. We were able to get a few pieces a bit ago, but it is EXTREMELY rare. Some other companies sell it for 4 times the price we sell it for as it is quite the collectors items. We have heard from multiple sources that it is mined out, and if it is not, there is very little of the material in the vain. These photos do not do it justice. This is definitely something you will want to see in person. You can see the chatoyancy in the fibers when the specimen is rocked back and fourth. Again, if you think you may want a piece, message us and we will put you on the list!

One of my personal favorites is Star Hollandite. We had a few last year and were able to get a few more this year. This is another mineral that is mined out. These pieces are old collection. They are so special! As you can see in the pictures, the inclusions form as little black stars! Incredible.

Next up, Malachite! We found a lovely sculpture that stands on it's own and shows well from all angles. Also, we have jumbo free forms and a few with Chrysocolla. Fantastic bulls eye patterns!