FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jordi Fabre]

Barcelona 21/02/2015

Already in Barcelona and slowly reconnecting my neurons, here you have my 10 favorites of the - all wonderful - specimens displayed in the Show Cases of the Main Show.

I can't find my papers where I listed from who were each show case of these specimens. If someone can let me know by MP then I will add it to the images. Thanks in advance.

More to come...
European correspondent of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show™

[Jean Sendero]

Thanks Jordi.
I like the idea of listing our 10 best or most appreciated.
Something for next year.....

I am told the blue year. This year, the META was a case filled with great specimens, filled with blue minerals. Thinking forward bunch.

Cheers
Jean

[Jordi Fabre]

OK, here I am sitting in front an empty white computer screen and I'm not sure if I can translate in written text the kind of dementia that is Tucson.

"Gigantic" "Crazy" "Excessive" - all of these words and much more can be used to describe the phenomenon of Tucson, but no one can really understand what Tucson is without being there and feeling (and in some way suffer) its thumping intensity. Tucson is beyond comparison with any other mineral show. Neither Munich, Denver nor Ste. Marie can compare with this hungry monster chewing up all of the dreams, money and hopes of so many collectors.

What I can say about Tucson 2015?
Can I describe the good feelings of many dealers (compared to previous years) or the desperation of others?
Can I describe the phenomenal purchases that some wealthy collectors made in Tucson or the disappointment of many other humble collectors who can afford almost nothing that they really like?
Can I describe the physical impossibility to attend all of the events or the pleasure from attending some stupendous parties, talks, social events, awards or ceremonies?
Can I describe the kind of unnatural bubble which is Tucson moving away from the real world, or the pleasure of being for some days outside of the common troubles of our daily life while enjoying a kind of communal excitation?
Sorry, but after more than 25 years attending this show I can't find a proper way to describe what Tucson really is, so this year what I will do is to try to simplify and summarize my thoughts about the most popular topic in Tucson every year: "Why hell the are prices so high?" ;-)

I am a dealer and a collector as well so for many years I guessed that the mineral world of the collector was perhaps going in a wrong way and that this wrong way could bring to all us to a kind of collapse, mental or economic. From time to time, and mostly in the European shows, I still have this pessimistic feeling, but the dynamism of regular Internet sales and the brutal energy of the Tucson Show tends to clear my mind of this negative feeling and, although I'm not totally sure about it, now I am starting to believe that this hobby seems to be influenced by the same market laws that influence many other major hobbies, and that currently the number of buyers of very fine specimens seems to be quite higher than the real number of fine specimens in the market. Very elevated prices for these fine specimens are now with us and maybe will not decrease in the future. Another topic is why so many lesser specimens have such inflated prices, but this is another story…

So, are there no chances for the not very rich collectors, like myself? Well, yes, there are still some chances, but instead of remaining immobile complaining about too high prices what we should do is work harder, looking at all dealers, all stocks, all boxes, all remote places, in fact doing everything in order to try to find something available within our limited possibilities. Just walk and walk and walk and walk and watch and watch, and watch again, to finally find something we like that we can afford.
No more complaints! Collectors, move your asses and work, the reward is there! Do many prices look too expensive to you? Forget these prices and search for something with a better balance! In Tucson you can play this game because the show is so huge that everybody can have a chance, but you must forget your dreams to acquire a "Master Piece" for a cheap price for the same reason that you can't purchase a Picasso for a modest price. Due to the different style of the new wave of collectors (many quite young but very rich) who seem to consider minerals as "natural art," you are in the same league with art buyers, even if you do not like it. Thus very high prices for the best, with just some very limited opportunities to find bargains, and only if you have a really extensive knowledge of what you are collecting.

I disagree with the feeling that many collectors have who believe that dealers have a kind of wonderful life doing almost nothing. Myself and many other dealers that I know work extremely hard, we do not have a peaceful and easy life at all. For me, after a monumental effort for more than a month, an effort that most people will never experience, I'm finally back at home, exhausted, missing greatly my "normal life," and with just a little money in my pocket after paying the never ending invoices that such a large show generates. Then, you may ask, why do I do this? Am I a masochist? Of course not. I do this for the rewards I derive. Together with "some money" I also brought home to Barcelona some, not many, but some, lovely rocks that I will add to my collection and, in fact, this is the same reason why so many collectors attend Tucson year after year, and this is our real reward.

Forget the easy-funny images published in this and other Forums or social net sites supply. They are just the "tip of the iceberg," the reality of the Tucson Show is much more complex and sophisticated than this and only if you attend Tucson can you discover what I'm talking about. So why don't you discover this overreaching bazaar at least one time? Believe me, it is an experience and you will never forget it!

Jordi
PS:Thanks to John White for editing and clarifying this text to try to make comprehensible to English readers the efforts of my overwhelmed, non-English, brain.

[Roger Warin]

The connoisseur's choice and the conclusion of a great humanist philosopher.
Can I translate your text for the members of my club?
Many thanks,
Roger.

[Woody Thompson]

Jordi, thanks for the grand overview of Tucson - with many bits of wisdom from your experience there!

P. S. That rhodochrosite from Japan is really wonderful !!!

[Jordi Fabre]

[Dehne]

[John S. White]

[John S. White]

Here is one of my favorites from the main show. The amethyst in the back from Artigas, Uruguay. Sad to say I did not take other photos of favorites.

[Gail]

Gene and Roz Meirien collection. I took photos, 5,000 or so. Am cleaning out my 43,000 previous photos to speed up my computer right now. Will post shortly.

[Peter]

Very well put Jordi (and John!)
There is plenty to see and no one need, is interested in, or can afford "everything". I fully agree, work hard, go around, look in boxes. I used to do every hotel, every room, almost every box in Tucson in the late 80's and through most of the 90s. However it is more time and cost efficient (you do not want to spend most of the money for hotel, car rental and other non mineral bills!), to concentrate on a few of the best shows in your field of interest.

I found specimens for a couple of collector friends at 20 USD each, lovely for what they are. Prices for similar specimens vary not only ten fold, but sometimes much more. Do not lose yourself in the prices. I saw someone recently sell a beautiful Malkhansk gem rubellite for a few hundred USD which was much better than one with 5 digits! This is life. Everyone needs to decide what fits his collection, mind and budget.

Why worry about prices of Picassos? Some are really ugly!

Cheers Peter

[Gail]

And....two of my favorite men!

[Jordi Fabre]

Barcelona 02/23/2015

To end this Tucson post and to have more time to post some more photos, below I have listed a summary of the new finds I saw and I liked in a year that - finally - has been good in terms of new finds. I'm sure that soon there will be published in magazines and other online sites much more information about these new finds, so now I will not dwell much on them but will add just a collage of photos by Jeff Scovil of these new finds at very low resolution in order to respect the magazines that maybe will publish some of them and they deserve to be the first to do so.

Morocco: new sharp crystals of Silver from Bou Azzer, new groups of sharp, stalactitic crystals of Marcasite from Bou Nahas and new Quartz coated by red iron oxides from Izizauen, Tinejdad, with a different quality/shape than the previous ones, a more "alpine" quality.

China: extraordinary Chalcophyllites from some unknown (yet) locality, and not really new but one of the main "buzzes" of the show, the Plumbogummites coating or replacing Pyromorphites from the Yangshuo Mine, Guilin.

Madagascar: new BLUE Albites (analyzed) from the Vohambohitra pegmatite.

Mexico: hyper-prolific year for Milpillas with superb Brochantites in chisel-like crystals, very fine Azurites on snow white Dickite, Malachites after Azurite on iridescent Goethite (coated or not with Baryte crystals) and superb Volborthites (analyzed), the world's best in my opinion. Also very good Natanites from El Potosí Mine in Santa Eulalia.

Laos: not so new, but really wonderful Azurites as well as fine Malachites after Azurite from the Sepon Mine, Villabouly

Nepal: extraordinary clear twinned (Japan law twins) Quartz from a new prospecting area in the Makalu Mountain.

Venezuela; more very fine Golds from the new area in Urimán, Caroní river, as well as from the other famous localities like El Infierno, Trompa, Zapata, etcetera...

More to come...
European correspondent of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show™

[Jordi Fabre]

Barcelona 03/15/2015

In the paradise of plenty that Tucson is, it's very encouraging to see in the Main Show display cases like this one from Jim Bleess and Neil Prenn. Is also exciting to see that choosing a topic (Quartz in the case of Jim & Neil), investing time, effort and perseverance and knowing well what you are doing, you can prepare a so good display case as this one from Jim and Neil.

Serve this post as a small tribute to all the Jim Bleess of this hobby that build very attractive collections mostly with a lot of efforts instead a lot of money! ;-)

Congratulations!

[Tobi]

Great to see how a man puts so much love and effort and passion into this hobby, a display presentation at Tucson like the one above must be a great honour for him!
I also have quartz as one of my collecting focuses and thus I can appreciate the high class of Jim's collection. Wonderful presentation!