This year’s gem show consists of more than 47 shows and 4,000 vendors. They are strewn across Tucson and most are open to the public. That includes the Tucson Convention Center, Kino Sports Complex, and the fairgrounds. Many hotels also set up can’t-miss white tents that showcase even more goodies. Schedules and locations for each show are available online.
By Gloria Knott, Special to the Arizona Daily Star
The 1967 show at the Tucson Rodeo and Fairgrounds drew a modest crowd. After its 1955 beginnings in a school auditorium, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society moved its annual show to the Quonset hut at the Tucson Rodeo and Fairgrounds on South Sixth Ave., at Irvington Road.
File photoJust 15 vendors were at the first show in 1955. About 1,500 people attended.
Sights from inside the 22nd Street main tent.
Samantha Munsey/Samantha MunseyThis year, 50,000 people are expected to attend.
Bisbee minerals were some of the viewing attractions at the 1962 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show displayed by the Arizona Bank in Bisbee. — Credit: Tucson Gem & Mineral Society archives
Tucson Gem & Mineral Society archivesThe Tucson Gem & Mineral Society started it all. Today, their show is just one component of the citywide showcase and is still ran by mostly volunteers.
David Sanders / Arizona Daily Star 1994
David Sanders / Arizona Daily StarThe original show was housed in a local elementary school before moving to the Pima County Fair and Rodeo Grounds in 1956. TGMS’ show, the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show, is now housed at the Tucson Convention Center.
Jim Cresawn, who traveled from Virginia, looks at a table of crystals at the 22nd Street show during the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017.
Courtney Talak / for the Arizona Daily StarAmong the gems that have traveled to Tucson for attendees to gawk at: the Logan Sapphire — 423 carats, cut from a crystal in Sri Lanka, and one of the world’s largest blue sapphires; a 100-ounce gold crystal; a 390-carat Burmese ruby crystal, and a 13-foot amethyst cathedral geode.
Melis Cohen looks over the strands of crystals she’s buying from the booth run by Queenly Global Trading, Richardson, Texas, during the JOGS Gem & Jewelry Show at the Tucson Expo Center in Tucson, Ariz. The JOGS show, featuring about 200 exhibitors, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and runs through Sunday.
Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily StarTucson Gem, Mineral, & Fossil Showcase
When: Saturday, Jan. 27—Sunday, Feb. 11. Individual shows have different dates and times.
Where: All over Tucson. Visit xpopress.com or visittucson.org for more details.
Et Cetera: Downloadable guide at visittucson.org/gem-show-app
Click the icons for more information. Click the window icon on the upper right of the map for a larger version.
Shopper Michael Love examined small Labradorite stones at last year’s Main Avenue Gem Show at Main Avenue and Helen Street. At past shows, tre…
The annual Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase happily overtakes Tucson about this time every year.
Food costs, wage hike make it hard to offer deals, owners say.
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