Monthly Archives: January 2014

Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Shows 2014-Finding Something New

lightedcrystals

So far the largest Geode.

Today, all the shows at the hotels on “The Strip” opened. This is a row of hotels on the service road on the West side of I-10. We favor a parking lot south of the Riverpark Inn. (all day $5). We walked all the way north,then headed back toward where we parked. Experience has taught us that the rock bags get heavier as you go, so start light and work back as they fill. crystals

As we walked from the lot I spotted Mike Carlson, the author of the fabulous and beautiful book, “The Beauty of Banded Agates”. We chatted a while, catching up on various topics. Snob Appeal Jewelry participated as vendors at the past two International Agate shows, where we met Mike.

Nicely carved (and curved)

I did stop to say hi to my buddy, and agate dealer, Jeff Anderson of Dwarves Earth Treasures at his booth at the Rapa River Show, before walking north.

The first show we visited was the Globe X show at the Days Inn. As with all hotel shows vending takes place in rooms, tents, and courtyards. The aisles are crowded with an array of rock and non-rock goods. It is not uncommon to see rugs next to gemstones. It’s all part of the fun.

Saw lots of Lapis.

I’ll attempt to remember what I purchased and where, but as anyone that comes here knows, the mind gets overloaded, so I apologize in advance for my “oldsheimers”. Bonnie says she can’t help much..”Where did you buy those little opals?” Bonnie: “I don’t know, it all runs together.” That made me feel A LOT better.

Kammereite

I was very excited about a couple items. I was just wandering along and on a table outside a room was a rock I did not know. It was a reddish-purple and light green, a very striking and unusual combination. I asked the man in the hotel room, and he said in was Kammererite, a stone from a new secret locale in the mountains in the northern part of India. It also can be found in Turkey and California, among other places. It is a red form of Clinochlore– I liked the stuff. We always like the rare and unusual, so I bought a piece of rough.

Watermelon plus a blue filled Tourmaline.

The priciest purchase today was a Watermelon Tourmaline slice. I bundled it with a piece of Blue Tourmaline inside pink Tourmaline. A couple real stunners.

Hotel Courtyards are filled with rocks.

Bullseye Malachite I selected.

After the Globex show we continued south to the Rapa River Show and the Pueblo Gem and Mineral Show (Riverpark Inn), looking at and purchasing random items of interest. The RiverPark show is alsways interesting because they feature massive quartz crystals and large amethyst geodes as well as amethyst furniture (tables). At some of these vendors you would think you were in Bedrock. The most impressive thing was a large Jade table with 6 rock benches that you could take home for $12,000. If I had the money to buy it, reinforce my house, ship this tonnage, and try to find someone foolish enough to put it in my house, I would have bought this in a heartbeat. Oh wait–I think that was lawn furniture!

A gem grade amethyst table. About 3' across.

A cursory look at these three shows took about 4 hours. We will go back later to look at hallways and items we missed I had to go back to J.O.G.S. and pick up a parcel of Bullseye Malchite and some assorted Craft Stones.

Even though the Tucson shows are exciting and fun, they are also quite mind-numbing and wearing, especially on aging bodies. Where I used to go from daylight to dark, I really need to quit early in the afternoon now. This is why we spread out our shopping over the two weeks of the shows. Though there is a certain frenzy to get there first and have the “best pick”, you just can’t do everything the first day!

Real rocks & fake rock blocks.

A skull carved in Pyrite. It really shined in the sun.

What is Don studying?

What was Don looking at? A patriotic, Chinese manufactured, picture made of multiple tiny rocks. This just sparkled in the sun.

What an awesome Smoky Quartz.

Casadonia Agate looks suspiciously like Blue Lace. I was told it's from Namibia.

Amazing Ruby/Zoisite was more like Zoisite in Ruby. Fantastic color.

Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Shows 2014-Hot buys and Hot Miners

A nice group of Raptors. Triebold Paleontology always Impresses.

Another Triebold Specimen: This one a Thescelosaurus Neglectus (65 million years ago)

We were really excited today to get on with our buying and exploring at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows. There are some 41 official shows and several bandit shows scattered all over Tucson. They open and close at various times. You need a show guide (a large catalog) that lists the locations of shows, dealers, and dates for shows. Some shows require dealer ID, while others are Wholesale/Retail.

Buckets of Turquoise at J.O.G.S.

Turquoise Bead picking.

The J.O.G.S. Show opened at the Tucson Expo Center and we were near the front of the line. We were not really looking for anything in particular, so we Freestyled, looking for things we did not know we needed. Bonnie looked at, and purchased some beads. We look for quality and bargains, but were conservative in our purchases. The crowds were not large, but people were spending some money. I would call the J.O.G.S. show “busy”.

I saw buckets of Turquoise in the usual spot, some nice cabochons and much gem material. Perhaps pictures were frowned upon, but I ask several dealers, and they said I could take a picture. One dealer that we deal with every year again had great stuff. I purchased a Moss Agate cabochon and a wonderful slab of Maw Sit Sit.

Maw Sit Sit from Burma (Now Myanmar)

Maw Sit Sit is a cousin of Jade, but not really Jade. It is considered a rock and not a mineral. You can look it up on line. A very interesting stone indeed. Good stuff is also quite valuable. I looked over on the counter and saw three pieces of Elbite Tourmaline. Are you kidding three pieces of fairly good Tourmaline for a give-away price? This must be a mistake. It was not. The largest piece was 2 1/2″ X 1 1/4″. The buy of the day.

Blakes Guard...Don't mess with the silver dude!

Blake Brothers' Guard...Don't mess with the silver dude!

I saw a very intimidating guard at the Blake Brother’s booth.

A scary skull available for purchase. Bumblebee is not jasper. It is a sulfur rich volcanic Tuft from Indonesia. It can be made into some very colorful Bumblebee jewelry.

We proceeded on to the 22nd Street Show. Last year we were promised an additional tent and a paved lot, but that did not happen. Half the show was fossils and dinosaurs, and the other half random gems, jewelry, cabs, and carvings. If your kids are into dinosaurs, do take them here!

Amanda Adkins has to be the "hottest" Miner around.

The entire cast of the Weather Channel Show “The Prospectors” was there. I asked Amanda Adkins for a picture. She graciously agreed. She is very tough on the show, but very nice in person. It doesn’t hurt the eyes to see her either. I enjoy the show and everyone was taking turns in the booth and selling their wares from Colorado.

A great Dendritic Agate I could not resist.

Tourmaline for four bucks. Nice buy Don.

Tourmaline bargain. Nice buy Don.

Smilodon Skull and Petrified Wood.

Check in tomorrow for more adventures from the Tucson rock shows.

Wire Wrapping 101-NOT! ( My most Challenging Wire Wrapped Pendant)

One of the Gem Bone Slabs I found last year.

One of the Gem Dinosaur Bone Slabs I found last year.

Jewelry I made from the above slab.

Last year I bought some amazing gem dino bone slabs in Quartzsite. These particular slabs came from the estate of a famous bone collector. I love gem grade Dinosaur bone. It amazes me that each individual cell is many times an individual agate, within the agatized D-Bone. These cells can be fortification agates of just nice clear Chalcedony or some of the great colors in good gem Dinosaur bone can be vivid red, orange, yellow, pink, brown.

I cut a few slabs with a multi-stone pendant in mind, and searched out some bone-shaped dinosaur bone beads. I layed out the pieces and saw good possibilities. Bonnie has wanted me to make a pendant for myself to wear at shows, and D-Bone seemed to be a good choice for a manly pendant.

My most challenging pendant thus far.

I thought about this piece of jewelry for at least a year. With multi-stone pendants you have to know the end, and mentally work backwards. Sometimes I need a challenge, or I think I do. No matter what stage you are in your wire wrapping endeavors, you should always look for something to challenge your brain, fingers, and tools. I sometimes get bored just making simpe single-stone wraps and enjoy the challenge of multi-stone wrapping.

Even with all my experience I sometimes try things that just do not work; I have to start over, and try again. This is very frustrating at times. I can almost wire wrap a single stone with my eyes closed, but these multi-stone things are another issue entirely.

Multi stone wrapping is equal parts of engineering, art, and expertise. I find myself inventing techniques to conquer challenges when using multiple stones. A good understanding is also important as to what your wire, your tools, and yourself may be capable of. Sometimes it really upsets me when I think I can do something, and it fails. But I find the best way to learn is from your mistakes (sometimes it takes reminder mistakes).

Ahead 1 year: I laid out my dinosaur bone cabs on my workbench and was certain that I had a plan, but instead I had two complete failures which frustrated me and taught me that perhaps I should rethink this pendant. What I had in mind was extremely complicated and intricate. Can I really pull this off? Finally after being on my workbench for approximately three weeks the pieces began to come together. The big challenge was how to connect piece to piece and still make the work come together artistically.

Also you have to think about what metal to use. In this pendant I decided to use Argentium sterling, yellow gold and pink gold (three tone). I decided that twisted pink always looks nice with silver and I bound it with half-round gold. In this pendant the center rectangular dinosaur bone cabochon is the featured stone: bright red and a perfect pattern. I used another slab of dinosaur bone to fashion the top and bottom pieces with the beads coming from another piece of dinosaur bone. I worked on this off and on for three weeks so that my frustration level would not exceed my judgement. Backing off and thinking things through entirely indeed helped.

I had a larger gap between the second and third pieces than I expected, which gave me the chance to insert the two 5mm faceted garnets between which adds a bit of dignity to the piece. This entire piece is about 4 1/4″ by 1 3/4″.

The finished piece exceeded my expectations, and I will be happily wearing this piece beginning with the upcoming Tucson gem shows. It will open discussions with other wire wrappers that I meet.! I enjoyed the challenge of making this piece of jewelry, but I am elated now that it is done! I name this the Dinosaur Boneyard. So if you are at the Tucson shows and you see a guy wearing this, say hi and introduce yourself!

Speaking of the Tucson Gem shows, my daily blogs will start later this week–hope you join me for my adventures!

Quartzsite-Let’s See What We Got

Olivenite-Caution should be taken with this stuff as it is a Copper Arsenate.

Cheetah Jasper with Apatite inclusions.

Returning to Tucson after 2 1/2 days exploring the Desert Gardens Show and several other locales around Quartzsite, we re-lived our adventures by taking a close look at our spoils.

A few of the very fine Imperial Jasper slabs I selected.

Cobra Stone-India. Some is wet so you can see the color better.

Cobra Stone-India (AKA Coquina Jasper). Some is wet so you can see the color better.

There were several slabs I picked out from at least that many dealers. One was an interesting stone from India called “Cobra Stone”. By looking at it you can see why it got its’ name. In actuality the reddish matrix is filled with a multitude of clams. When the stone is oriented and cut the little clams look like cobras.

I also mentioned the scarce crystal Rhodocrosite from Argentina I stumbled across. There is some left, but I picked the top pieces I saw. You can still find this beautiful pink material around, but is is uncommon. Generally a story comes with a rock purchase. With this Rhodocrosite we were told that Chinese bought the Rhodocrosite Mine from an unwilling to sell miner. The wrote him a check for so much money, he just walked away. The

Crystal Rhodocrosite ( color not enhanced)

Chinese converted this mine into an open pit operation in search of precious metals and rare earth minerals, doing so much damage, and violating so many mining rules, that they got evicted. In the meantime their dynamite destroyed a wonderful gemstone mine.

Coprolite-Yes I did indeed buy this crap.

I found some great Apatite-included Cheetah jasper at T-Rocks. This is actually spoil rock from the Brazilian Apatite Mines. It used to be just left in the discard pile until someone realized what great cutting material it is. The rock varies widely in color and pattern, but nice Cheetah Pattern is what most look for. The beautiful Apatite is a bonus.

Condor. The colors were classic Condor. Some of this is damp, but the Az sun just dried the slabs off immediately.

I bought a couple pieces of Condor Agate. I usually am not excited by most of this stuff, but occasionally I find such beautiful coloration that it just screams “CONDOR”. I found these two pieces, out of the whole box, begged me to pick them out.

Pickings were very good, but there were no crowds. Maybe shoppers are waiting for the week end.

All these rocks we bought with the plan of turning them into the top-quality wire wrapped stone jewelry that we sell. You might not be able to see it yet, but come back over future months to see the results! Like us on Facebook to keep up with new items and all our blogs from Tucson.

A nice slab of Purple Opal (AKA Bertrandite, AKA Tiffany Stone)

Some of the deluxe Aventurine from near Pikes Peak.

Some of the deluxe Amazonite from near Pikes Peak.

A fist sized piece of superb Chrysocolla picked from the 60# I found at the Desert Gardens Show.

Quartzsite Rocks and Redneck Guitars

Amazonite crystals.

T-Rock's Garden.

Clear sunny skies greeted us as we arrived in Quartzsite for Day 2 of our rock shopping adventures. We continued to walk the aisles of Desert Gardens searching for the best stones to make our jewelry, and found an amazing ammonite display from Lake George Colorado. They told us this is one of the only area on earth that smoky quartz crystals and amazonite are found together. We spoke to the miner and he related that after many years of mining amazonite he hit a four foot by four foot pocket that contained beautiful museum quality specimens of amazonite with smoky quartz crystals. He said it took three years of cleaning to get these specimens ready for sale. Combination specimens can be valued at many thousands of dollars. Larger amazonite specimens were in the $150-$500 range. We bought several small bags of pieces and chunks to make cabochons and jewelry.

amozonsmoky1

Digging through the many bins of water-covered slabs led to cold and wrinkled hands. There wasn’t too much that I didn’t already have, but I found a few treasures. One dealer had some lovely crystal rhodochrosite. This material is quite scarce and is unlike the common pink/black/white banded rhodochrosite in that it is quite translucent and has no banding. The Argentina mine that this chunk came from was purchased by the Chinese for mining of precious metals. The mine has been converted to an open pit operation that virtually ruined all of the superb rhodochrosite that had previously been mined there. The Chinese were after other materials, and lapidarists are in mourning over the loss of this great gemstone source.

The water was icy in the morning.

Quartzsite is like a redneck garage sale.

The redneck display champ.

We always get a laugh over some of the things we see in the flea market area near Tyson Wells. You always see an array of random redneck relics. If it is something you didn’t know you needed, you can find it in the flea market at Quartzsite. My redneck winner of the day was a guy with a card table containing animal skin rugs and banjo and guitar shaped facsimiles made from license plates. He must have ties to the Midwest because two were Michigan license plates. Interestingly, one of them is a non-expiring trailer license which costs $75. I also saw under his cardtable a pair of green antique glass net floats. Where do people get this stuff?

We had to return to T-Rock to pick up our purchases from yesterday and marveled at their rock garden of random large rocks encircled by large wire trees decorated by large glass balls similar to the ones under the guys card table. We gave up the shopping early and returned to the banks of the Colorado River.

We will return to our home base in Tucson tomorrow. When I get back to my portable photo studio I will take some detailed pictures of the treasures we purchased. For all of you who are coming to the Quartzsite shows, I left lots still on the tables–happy picking.

Quartzsite

Shopping the Quartzsite Rock Shows 2014

A pleasant 4 hour drive from Tucson, the town of Quartzsite (where there is no Quartzite in Quartzsite) is a small oasis in the desert mountains about 20 miles from the California border. The town explodes during the winter months with Snowbirds, Rockhounds,flea market shoppers, and RV fans. The giant RV shows are in full swing, but there is some early rock picking around also.

Desert Gardens

Later in the month the Powwow opens as does the Tyson Wells Show, but our favorite show in Quartzsite has always been the Desert Gardens Show (there are no gardens at Desert Gardens). This is a tent/RV tailgate show in a large dusty lot along the freeway. Bargains can be found by the astute buyer, and always lots of interesting rock. I go to Desert Gardens mainly for the rough rock, but other hidden treasures can often be found.

The REAL gem amongst all the rocks at T-Rock.

Our first stop in town was T-Rock that our Upper Peninsula friends Mike and Theresa Thompson own. I found some lovely lavender opal, and several other random pieces of gemstone rough. They are open all year in case you come through off season. I’ll be hitting that place again.

Real nice color in this bucket of Chrysocolla.

At the third booth we looked at, Bonnie seemed to be lusting over a couple small buckets of Chrysocolla. I recongnized this to be old stock from the Ray Mine. You would swear it was Turquiose, it was so blue. I guessed there was around 60-70 pounds. Bonnie said we could keep some and sell some, so I bought it all.

How do we get this home?

We looked at a 4400# piece of Tiger Iron as well as a piece of Gaspeite I would guess to be about 800-1000# at the Australian Outback Mining booth. Peanut wood was available, but not as good a quality as ten years ago. There was one very unusual Peanut Wood piece that was combined with Mookaite. We were told that it came from their area where they mine Mookaite. No Peanut Wood was available last year in the way of Peanut Wood, so even though we did not get any, it will make other’s happy.

What is more fun than buying rocks? Talking to the dealers; picking their brains, so to speak. You can learn so much and fill your trivia banks just by chit-chat.

Next I spotted some Royal Imperial Jasper slabs that the dealer had acquired in a collection he purchased. Amazing, nice stuff indeed. Expect some Royal Imperial Jasper jewelry in the future.

We saw some buckets of crap (Coprolite), but did not buy any.

Coprolite (petrified poo)

4400#!!! Look over Bonnie's shoulder for large Gaspeite.

We did not finish looking at the Garden’s show today, but was have another day. I’ll keep you posted.

Gaspeite.

Mookaite/Peanut Wood

Ammonite Jewelry and Ammonite Discus

Iridescent Ammonite from Alberta are many Thousand Dollars.

There are many sources on line (and we should always believe anything on the Internet), that indicate the first Discus’ were Ammonites. Other sources (WIKI) say the first Discus’ were cats. Who do you believe? I am indeed confused; perhaps they alternated; throw a cat then an ammonite. I say nothing more for fear lest PETA members boycott my blog. ammoinrock

Reverse impression and golden hue make this Ammonite classy.

I enjoy making fossil jewelry. A favorite popular fossil is Discus Ammonite. Most ammonites are found in Canada, U.S., or Madagascar. I’ve also seen plates of Morroccan Ammonites that are obviously fakes (ie artsy positioning, exact duplicates, or Ammonites from different time periods in the same plate.

Moroccan Ammonite

Ammonites were Cephalopods related to Nautilus, Squid, Cuttlefish, and Octopi. Many people think of them as snails. This is incorrect. Sizes range from huge 3 footers to miniscule sizes. I like the 3/4 to 2″ size for jewelry. The avid specimen collectors love the amazing iridescent Ammonites from Alberta. These specimens are priced in the high 5 figures. Some Ammonites from Europe are six feet in diameter. Ammonites thrived in the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods (175 to 65 Million years ago).

Kosmo Ceras

I have been attracted by the Pyrite Ammonites, Kosmo Ceras, from the Volga River in Russia. A Russian dealer mentioned that you have to pay large sums for a ride on a government helicopter to this remote site on government property. You could save much money by buying a Snob Appeal Jewelry Ammonite instead of exploring the Volga River Valley.

I love the reverse imprinted Ammonites that appear to be sprayed with gold paint from New York State. A light dusting of Pyrite occurs naturally on these Ammonites. I think, along with the iridescent Ammonites of Alberta, these particular Ammonites are very classy. I seek good ones out each year at Tucson.

Iridescent Ammonite

The iridescent part of the Ammonite is called Ammolite, and is considered gem material.

My metaphysical friends tell me that these iridescent Ammonites have good Feng Shui in the home or office. I would think that if you owned an Ammonite Pendant from Snob Appeal Jewelry, it should provide enough Feng Shui for your body. Besides Feng Shui, our Ammonite Pendants are great conversation pieces and look great with anything.

Fun Ammonite trivia:

Ammonites were believed to be petrified snakes in Medieval times.

Navajo and plains Indians called Ammonites “Buffalo Stones” as they had a resemblance to Bison. They carried them in their medicine bags for health and good hunting.