Day Two: AOS Opal & Gem Show!

I really wanted to get to the show early enough to report on the second day of seminars – but I am battling some sort of head cold – so…I missed Jim Pisani’s talk on Florescence in Opals.

I got to the show just in time for a great seminar with Larry Hoskinson and Leslie Neff (some of you may recognize them from the South Bay Rock Club ad as vendors at several local shows) on

Discovering Yowah, Queensland, Australia.

They have been traveling to

Australia for over 15 years and are able to show shots of the opal fields then and now. Their presentation was excellent and filled with great anecdotes and fun stories about

the colorful people and and animals they have run in to along their journey…did you know there were camels running wild in Australia?

…and what do you find in the Yowah Opal fields?

Yowah Opal photo courtesy of http://www.yowahopal.com.au/

The halls were bustling – I don’t know if it was the new venue or what but this was a really busy show…

In the main hall – I wanted to get some closeups for those of you who aren’t in the area…

One of my favorite vendors from Tucson was on hand – True Blue Opal – I was sort of bummed because yesterday they had an opal pineapple, they sold it so – no photo…but check out their case.

Contact info:

True Blue Opals

email: salopals@aol.com

USA phone: 817-300-6909

In the West Wing a Gem ID Test caught my eye and sitting in for Lothar Vallot – the Gemology instructor over at Santiago Canyon College was my newest friend Walter Lombardo, Geologist and Proprietor of Nevada Minerals and Books. It was a lot harder than it looked but – I got them right and won a tote bag from SCC.

…oh yeah – did I mention that this show was hopping from open to close…what an amazing grouping of Opals and Gems and some of the most interesting and diverse seminars in one place.

I finished the day at the Gem ID For Beginners talk by Dr. Walt Johnson. I have to say that he isn’t just a gem dealer – this guy makes some of the most beautiful jewelry – he is a true artist.

I was interested in the seminar because yesterday when I spoke with Walt he said that he teaches people enough to walk into an Estate Sale, Yard Sale, or Flea Market and purchase gems and jewelry with confidence using nothing but a loupe…and I have to say I picked up some tips!

…and that’s a wrap – I certainly hope that you can make it to the 2010 Show…and if you are at a show in SoCal look for me! I am leaving you with a shot of some of the finest fire opal I have seen lately…nice fire!