Right after the New Year, Madagascar Minerals lined up a dozen temporary workers to set up displays and prepare merchandise, such as petrified wood and tumbled stones, for the city’s biggest event of the year.
The local business started early because it is hosting the first show on the official list of the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase, beginning with “jump start” Wednesday, Jan. 20 and Thursday, Jan. 21 when the first round of buyers arrive.
“They want to get in and totally avoid the insanity of the show,” said Carolyn Cary, general manager of Norcross Madagascar US LLC, which runs the show.
The showcase officially takes over many corners of the Tucson area from Jan. 30 to Feb. 14, as the so-called “world’s biggest treasure hunt.” Some of the shows start as early as next week. This year’s event expects to draw 50,000 people to 45 shows, ranging from small tables and store space to massive, white tents and hotel ballrooms.
It’s big business for Tucson. A 2014 economic impact report found that $120.5 million in expenditures were directly tied to the showcase, including hotel stays and restaurants. Also, the showcase resulted in $10.7 million in local taxes.
“This is everybody’s Black Friday,” said Mark Candee, a dealer, collector and owner of Canyon Colors.
New shows
While some shows are reserved for wholesalers only, most are free and open to the public – giving Tucsonans fun, although sometimes costly, places to browse and shop. The shows sell everything from small bags of polished rocks for a few dollars to gems and museum-like pieces for tens of thousands of dollars.
This year, the event has five added shows, both small and large. While the number is less than the peak of 49 shows in 2007, the increase is a sign that the showcase has bounced back from the recession.
One new show, International Gem and Jewelry Show, will feature items for celebrity lovers – jewelry owned by stars, including Elvis, Elton John and Marilyn Monroe. Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ cigarette case will be shown, as well as the Duke of Windsor’s cufflinks.
Also known as Intergem, the event will host between 80 and 100 vendors both inside and outside the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center – Tucson Airport. Intergem previously hosted a smaller, wholesale-only show in Tucson. But it is returning after several years with the larger, public show, including fine jewelry, antiques and items from Afghanistan, Nepal and Tibet.
“We need to set the bar high for what we want to do and become a featured player in Tucson,” said Brian Fischer, marketing and communications director for the Intergem show. “We missed being in Tucson because everybody is there for that week.”
Not all shows are that big. Another new one, the Oracle Road Just Mineral Event, began when organizer Isaias Casanova called his colleagues in the mineral business and convinced six or seven of them from around the country to set up shop for three days at the Elks Lodge.
“We’re all good friends. I figured this would be an easy way to do things,” Casanova said.
Main event
The main event that got it all started, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, comes at the end of the season, running Feb. 11 to 14 at the Tucson Convention Center.
The original show began in 1955 with a small group of rock enthusiasts and collectors from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society hosting 10 dealers at Keeling Elementary School and drawing about 1,500 people. It blossomed, eventually landing at the convention center and spurring the satellite shows around town.
Usually, the main show has a theme, like a specific mineral or a place. But this year’s theme is more broad and simple – “Shades of Blue: Minerals of the World.”
“We’re going to have a little bit of fun with this — lots of blue splashed through the halls and lots and lots of blue minerals, blue gemstones and every shade of blue you can imagine,” said Gloria Quigg, the show’s publicity chair.
“We typically pick a mineral species or country or state. One of the fellows said, ‘I just want to have fun with this. And blue sounds fun.’”
The blue theme is expected to splinter off into the other areas, as well.
“I think this year is going to be very special because the theme this year is blue minerals, which opens up a whole can of pretty worms,” said Casanova, who is organizing the Oracle show. “I think the exhibits will be out of this world.”
