Tucson 2011 - Rockology New Second Location

Tucson 2011 is upon us. The tents are already going up. I will be there once again helping the fine folks at Rockology. We will be back at the Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show at the Hotel Tucson City Center - formerly the Inn Suites in tent 11B. You can find the address, map and directions here.

Also we will have a second location. We will be at the 22nd Street Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show in Booth A14-15. This is a new venue right off of I-10. You can find the address, map and directions here. Both venues have free parking and we should be set up by January 25th, even though the official opening date is the 29th. In this business word of mouth is so important so please forward this info to any friends or associates you might know. I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Governador Valadares and Teófilo Otoni

I am way overdue on this second post about my trip to Minas Gerais. I guess I was less motivated about writing this because I was less enthused about my visit to Governador Valadares (GV) and Teófilo Otoni (TO) than Ouro Preto. While Ouro Preto was not a nice place to buy minerals, it was a fantastic place to visit. GV and TO don't offer much for the tourist and the mineral shopping there was underwhelming.

Unlike Soledade and Ametista do Sul in southern Brazil, these two cities in Minas Gerais do not revolve around the gem and mineral business. If fact, if you were unaware that they were gem and mineral towns you might visit there and not even realize it. In GV we visited several dealers, all of whom received us well. I found that the prices were very similar to what you find in Tucson (probably because it was many of the same companies) and the selection was a little inferior. (They claimed it was because they had just sent their best material to Denver.) I love beautiful rocks and am not that impressed by rarity for rarity sake. In general I find you can get more aesthetic value for your dollar from the minerals in the south. I am sure many will disagree with me.

We were originally only planning to visit GV, but we found out there was a gem show going on in TO. We drove to TO and went to the show. It was a major disapointment. Most of the material was junk. If you hung around a table or booth for a while looking at their junk they would then pull out some awesome piece they keep hidden under the table in a separate box. For this they always asked for some absurd amount. Way more than it was worth and way, way more than you could resell it for at a profit. To add to the disappointment of the whole experience, remember that Minas Gerais is a Texas-style huge state and the drives between these places are long and often on bad roads. It is important to make an observation to be totally fair. Many of the mines are in small towns surrounding GV and TO. If you took a month or so to hang out and drive to the mines themselves, getting a new tip at each mine and driving there next, then you could probably make contacts that do not go to Tucson and are more "hungry" to sell. I didn't have the time so I didn't experience it. That adventure will have to wait for another day and another blog post.

Ouro Preto

It has been quite a while since my last blog post. The truth is, I felt like a lot of what I was doing on a regular basis with rocks and minerals was repetitive and I didn't have a lot of good new information to share. I didn't want to post just for the sake of posting. Recently I got to do some new things that are worth sharing.
I have been doing business with minerals from the Minas Gerais region of Brazil for a long time. Soledade in Rio Grande do Sul is still probably the best place to go shopping for minerals. Not only is there a great selection of local minerals, but it is also a "one-stop-shop" for minerals from all over Brazil, with lots of stuff from Minas Gerais and even Uruguay,Argentina, Peru, etc. Since Minas Gerais is such a long way from where I live, I had dealt with material from Minas Gerais with dealers from the south that brought it down or in Tucson, where there are several good dealers from Minas.
Last month I took a trip up to Minas and got to see a lot of stuff with my own eyes. After flying in to Belo Horizonte I drove to Ouro Preto. Ouro Preto (which means Black Gold) is an amazing little city. It was the heart of the Brazilian gold rush. It was called Black Gold because the gold was covered in Palladium. To avoid sending the gold to Portugal, much of the gold was kept locally by donating it to the Catholic church. The city has several Baroque churches, many layered in gold on the inside.
Let me start of by saying that Ouro Preto is not where you want to go to buy minerals today. The city is a bit of a tourist trap, so most of the minerals are low quality and high price. The only exception is for imperial topaz. I believe the only imperial topaz mines are in the area. But even there - I would only buy if you know what you are doing. Crooks abound! There is no longer any gold mining to speak of, but there is some iron ore mining in the surrounding area. The science museum has a very nice (but not very well maintained) mineral collection worth checking out.
The architecture throughout the city is amazing. There are tons of quaint hotels and B&Bs, as well as nice cafes and restaurants (if you like the local fare- surprisingly lacking in international cuisine for such a tourist location). An interesting characteristic of Ouro Preto is the "Republicas." These are sort of a cross between dorms and "frat-houses." Most Brazilians don't live away from their family during university, but live at home and go to school localy. Ouro Preto is an exception and has a large Federal University that attracts students from all over the country. The Republicas are set up in very cool old colonial buildings and often have interesting names like "Necrotério" (The Morgue) and "Delinquentes" (Delinquents). Eveidently each Republica has it's own traditions, hazing, and allumni reunions, much like fraternities or sororities in the USA.
Overall, Ouro Preto is a must see destination if you come to Minas Gerais and want to know about the rich mining history of the region. However, keep your money in your pocket to spend in other places, unless imperial topaz happens to be your thing. In my next post I will talk about Governador Valadares and Teófilo Otoni.

Tucson Gem and Mineral- Why do you go? What is your plan?

2010 was my 5th year to go to Tucson and my 4th year as an exhibitor. As anyone who has been to the Tucson show can attest, the first time it's all a bit overwhelming. I probably took me 3 years to get Tucson "figured out." There is always more to learn, but I have a good feel for things. While there is no shortage of material to blow your mind, I often am more impressed by the other side of the equation- the buyers. There are so many kinds of people who buy in Tucson for so many different reasons. Becoming familiar with these reasons has helped me offer better service. Rockhounds, decorators, collectors, artisans, jewelers, museum buyers, gift shops - each has their own set of needs and agenda. Now that I better understand the why, my next objective is to understand the how. There are over 30 venues and hundreds and hundreds of dealers in Tucson. I am curious to understand how people go about deciding where to go and who to buy from. I'd love to receive your comment on this. Please specify what type of buyer you are (retail, wholesale, jewelry, specimen, etc.) and tell me how you go about the buying process. Do you use the guide books? If so which one? What do you use as your search criteria- company name, type of material, visual adds? Do you research online for dealers or venues before you go? Do dealers you have bought from in the past stay in touch with a mailing list or something like that? Do you pay attention to adds on billboards, guides, etc. ? Do you browse new dealers intentionally or do you go to your "regulars" and only stop at at new place if it catches your eye? I know it's a lot of questions, but I'd love your imput.

On a separate note, I enjoyed this year's show at the Inn Suites with my friends at Rockology. It's a great venue with several dealers offering good variety and quality. It's less crowded and crazy than the shows in the hotels off of the freeway, has free parking, and decent food vendors. The first picture is from a Uruguayan dealer across the parking lot from me, and the second picture is of the inside of the Rockology booth.

Tucson 2010 - New Location!

Happy 2010 to everyone! The new year has begun and the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is upon us. The official dates of the show are January 30 - February 17th. Many dealers will be set up a few days earlier (we should be set up on the 27th or 28th). I will be helping my client Rockology at their booth. The past 3 years Rockology has been at the Mineral and Fossil Marketplace. We are very excited to be at the Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show at Hotel Tucson City Center (formerly InnSuites) this year. Commonly called the InnSuites show, this show is very well respected for the high quality dealers there. Rockology is confident it will contribute to maintain that tradition of high quality minerals. Please come by and visit. We will be in tent 11B. A floor plan is available here. We are just to the left of the main entrance, across the lawn from Moussa.

Video Footage of the Mines

Part II

Denver 2009 and Exposol Report

It's been a long time since my last post. I will make up for it by posting twice today. I was going to post a report about Exposol, but none of my photos of the specimens did them justice, so I lost a little motivation. The show had several unique specimens and the local dealers were pleased because an eccentric Italian collector came to the show and paid close to top dollar for several of the best specimens.

Denver Gem and Mineral show is coming up next week- September 16th - 20th. I won't be there this year. I am disappointed because it is such a great show and so much fun. My client Rockology will be there again this year but in a new, better, and bigger venue. Last year I helped out Rockology over at the Merchandise Mart. This year they will be at the Denver Coliseum Mineral, Fossil, Gem and Jewelry show. It's a new venue with lots of great vendors. For a list of dealers, including Rockology see here. Some of them are new, and others are migrating from other locations. Rockology will have a great selection of South American gems and minerals. They are looking forward to your visit. I just wish I was there to greet you as well. Please check the links for directions, maps, and other general info. Please leave your comments regarding any impressions about the Denver show.