How do I find a club in my area? Depending on where you live there may or may not be a lapidary/faceting club near you. One of the best places to look is on the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies website. Here is the link to their…

Tucson Gem Show 2009 Left: A picture of the freeway still under construction 2009. As you probably know if you came to the 2008 Tucson gem show the city had all the downtown roads torn up, especially the freeway where many of the main shows…

Tucson Gem Show 2008 Left: A picture of the freeway under construction. As you may have heard or know if you came to the Tucson show… The city and county have most of the freeway and a lot of the other roads around town torn up for…

Tucson Gem Show 2007 Left: A picture of the Inn Suites fossil and mineral gemshow. Rain and cold were the theme this year at the Tucson gem show. At least for the first 8-10 days. Near the end of the show it finally cleared and got back to warm…

Tucson Gem Show 2006 Left: A picture of the TEP ball park gemshow. Another Tucson Gem Show has come and gone. This year the weather was really quite nice, sunny and in the 70’s. There were quite a few changes and new shows open this year (as…

Tucson Gem Show 2005 Left: A picture of the TEP ball park gemshow. Another Tucson Gem Show has come and gone. Basically this year it was rain, rain, and then some more rain, not too heavy, just all during the show it seemed like. There were…

Tucson Gem Show 2004 Left: A picture of the TEP ball park gemshow. Well another Tucson Gem Show has come and gone. There were quite a few changes and new shows open this year and it looks like there will more changes and shows next…

Tucson Gem Show Dates 2006 Every year there are new shows and the show promoters keep changing the names and locations of their show. It is a full time job just keeping things straight. I am listing the different shows and the general locations. I…

What is the Bisbee Mineral show like? Bisbee is a small mining town on the Arizona/Mexico border. It is about 85 miles from Tucson and a scenic drive. Every year about the first weekend in October the local mineral and lapidary club holds a mineral…

Jeff’s tips the Tucson Gem Show The Tucson February Gemshow is absolutely huge and the chances are you will not be able to see all of it even if you are here for the entire show. So it is a good idea to figure out what exactly you are…

Jeff’s Buying Tips for a Gemshow… Tucson in Particular If the deal is too good to be true, it probably is… Remember for the most part you are dealing with people that do this for a living, they are not in business to give you a great deal. If…

The Tucson Gem Show Look for Jeff’s Tips on equipment and Buying Tips Planning to visit the Tucson February Gem Show? Most of this advice can be used at any gem show. But I am especially talking about a large gem show like February in…

Planning to come to the Tucson February Gem Show… How? What? When? I recommend that any faceter or just rock person come to the Tucson February Gem Show at least once. It is well worth the trip, you will see things you cannot see any where else…

Etiquette… Gemshows and every where else? Good manners are essential in most business’s and they are particularly important in the gem business. Note: I have had several friends in the business contribute and read this article. They all…

Easter weekend marked the end of the 2000 Australian International Faceting Challenge, hosted by the Australian Faceting Guild. It was held at the “Gemboree” in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. This two-year competition included master cutters from…

The 2004 “Kraftwerks” was held in Ontario California at the Precious Metals West factory. There were eight (8) Kraft Masters there from various specialties in the custom jewelry, lapidary and jewelry manufacturing trades. The Kraft Masters are all…

I was a featured Kraft Master at the 2003 “Kraftwerks” being held in Ontario California at the Precious Metals West factory… I basically arranged things so that I could fly into the Ontario airport and then drive down to the Ultra Tec factory in…

What faceting clubs and guilds do I support? Why? I only support not for profit faceting guilds or clubs and here is why… Non Profit organizations are required by law to maintain a certain clarity both in how they are run and how they…

This year we asked our members for their impressions of the Tucson show. Below are their impressions. For those who have never made it to the Tucson extravaganza, this should give you a good idea of what it is like. As a teenager I was a…

Well, a trip to Tucson any other time of the year would mean a relaxing time in the Arizona Desert and a little rest from the work-a-day madness that we all experience, but in February, it’s a whole different scene around Tucson! In February Tucson…

As I crossed into Arizona from California, I became very excited. This was going to be my first trip to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, which ran from January 13th through February 14, 2015. I had been looking forward to this trip for months! I…