Houston Gem and Mineral Show

The weekend after Denver is the Houston show. Some brave souls wrapped up in Denver and took their goods to Houston, so I got to say hello again. The Houston show is a club show put on by the Houston Gem and Mineral Society. It is very large for a club show. The Houston public is unusually sophisticated. Because of the energy business there are many folks with a geological background. They know minerals. I think Houston has the chance to expand and become an even more important mineral show in the future. Just for fun I posted this picture from a display at the show. The whole table was set up to look like banquet, with everything made out of minerals. Well, I hope my report was either helpful or interesting to you. Soon I’ll add some news on the mineral world here in Brazil. As always, feel free to contact me if you want to know more about minerals in Brazil or if you want to share your opinions.

Denver Gem and Mineral Show

It has been a while since my last post. I’ve been on the road a lot lately. In September I went to the Denver and the Houston gem and mineral shows. I’ll share with you my “take” on the two shows. It was my first time at both shows. I was very excited to go to Denver. It’s the most significant show in the USA after Tucson. The show is split up in 3 geographical locations. For dealers most of the action is at the Quality Inn (formerly Best Western) and the Holiday Inn. These two hotels are across the street from each other. The dealers display their goods in tents outside the hotel and in the suites inside. It’s very reminiscent of the way business is done in Tucson in the hotels off of Congress St. Most of the major dealers from Tucson are also in Denver, so I saw many friends and familiar faces. I guess the main difference between Denver and Tucson is Denver is much more concentrated. The biggest and strongest dealers in Tucson are spread out, a few anchoring each separate show. In Denver all the biggest players were just a few yards apart. I guess it’s good for the buyers, allowing them quickly compare prices and quality. Because the Denver show is so much shorter, that is important for the buyer. For the exhibitors, they have to be even more competitive. They benefit though from the shorter time frame. It keeps their operational costs down and buyers are less likely to lag in their decision making because time is short. After you leave these two hotels you may go the National Western Complex near the stock yards. It is an indoor venue, making the shopping experience a little more pleasant. They also have a large selection of dealers who are big Tucson names. It doesn’t get the foot traffic of the two hotel shows. The third location is around the Denver Merchandise Mart. That is where the main jewelry show is. Also, the club show of the Denver Gem and Mineral Society and the Fossil Expo are there. The DGMS show is more of a retail show. Lots of families and children go. It’s very different than the rest of the mineral show. Just outside the Merchandise Mart there is the Miner’s Co-op. It’s an interesting show because it is not organized by one of the big promoters. There are some interesting deals there and some unique material. I was glad I went to Denver. I never cease to be amazed at the minerals I see, and I always enjoy seeing the friends in the business I've made the last few years.

Picture 1- Denver Gem and Mineral Show

Picture 2 - Denver Expo 2007 at National Western Complex

Picture 3- Miner's Coopertive Mineral Show