Photo: Rock Our World’s large crystal cathedrals.
Globe X – This show is the craziest mix…gems, beads, pearls, crystal cathedrals, rugs, singing bowls, African Trade beads, Tibetan Silver and fossil creatures crawling across stone as tall as you are!! All of this is flowing from two stories of hotel suites out into the courtyard & parking areas between the rows of hotel rooms.
We were here to check out the opal carving demo by internationally known carver, Daniela L’Abbate. I met Dani at the 2007 show and Jennifer (my Tucson roommate) had some opal questions that needed answers. Dani shares space in the Down To Earth Opals booth and as usual their Lightning Ridge location always assures topnotch product from the source!
Contact Info:
Gem Brite Lapidary – Jim & Diane Coon
Email: gembritelapidary@oregoncoast.com
785 Makinster Rd., Tillamook, OR 97141
(503) 842-6317
Contact Info:
Freya’s Jewellery – Ammolite in the Rockies
Oswald (Ossi, Sr.) Treutler
http://www.freyas.ca/
ossi@freyas.ca
P.O. Box 950, Banff, AB Canada T1L 1A9
Ph: (403) 762-4652 FAX: (403) 762-8044
At the edge of the GlobeX show (it may in fact be the Rapa River Show – they pretty much run together) were some dealers with African Trade Beads.
Next stop was the Riverpark Hotel – this is definitely my favorite of the outdoor, everything but the kitchen sink shows…it is a little more refined but not so refined that it was expensive. Unlike Globe X most of this show is under giant tents – there are still folks selling out of there suites. I will never forget the first time I asked a dealer to show me a strand of emeralds and he had to crawl across his bed to get to the case…only in Tucson!
The outside booths at the edge of the Riverpark housed the “cheaper stuff” – now in saying that be aware that this is also where I made my first purchase (double drilled shell bracelets in the photo), so cheap isn’t always bad! The gem rough at this show is beautiful, but I will talk about that tomorrow when I go back to pick up some rough that I can work up in the Learning Center later this week!
OK – so into the “big” tent – lovely things from Amber to Watches made from Meteorites. I left Jennifer at “The Opal Zone” looking at some really nice Koroit opal (he also has some of the nicest Ethiopian Opal I have seen) and I went off to look for the award winning faceter/carvers that I remembered from the previous year.
and Lepidocrosite in Quartz (AKA Fire Quartz). Daniel Ingalsbe at Pyramid Imports had a large assortment of Medusa Quartz, which features a beautiful aqua inclusion splashed (literally it looks like water dripped into the stone) in clear quartz. And while his Lepidocrosite in Quartz was gorgeous I have to say it was the first time I have ever seen Lepidocrosite in Amethyst. He is based in Brazil and Tucson assuring “from the source” quality.Contact Info:
Pyramid Imports
pyramidgem@hotmail.com
Tucson Ph: (520) 977-8265
Brazil Ph: 55-33-3275-1459
With booths at Globe X as well as the Riverpark, the folks at United States Pearl Co. located in Hong Kong and E. Tennessee oozed southern hospitality, they were helpful and accommodating…their product speaks for itself. Clean beautiful pearls both loose and made into jewelry…but the showstopper was the incredible selection of baroque pearls – all natural color.
Contact Info:
http://www.uspearlcompany.com/
Ph: 1-800-248-3064
Robyn Hawk
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