FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[bob kerr]

Rob Sielecki at Crystal Universe (Ausrox) has a bournonite cogwheel group that must be seen to be believed - lustrous, large and complete all the way around - excellent.

bob

[bob kerr]

Gulam Mustafa had a single display case loaded with exquisite specimens - including two "kinda blue cap" tourmalines from Paprok.

bob

[bob kerr]

In what seems to be "The Mineral of the Show" theme; Fluorite, Kevin Downey of Well-Arranged Molecules has some top pieces - see photos.

bob

[bob kerr]

Every year The Ramoses in the Top Gem annex bring literally tons of Peruvian sulfides - especially pyrite from Huanzala - with usually a new or unique crystal form. This year was no exception as they were showing what appears ro be "pyrite frosting" on pyrite dodecahedrons. See photos.

Also, on offering later in the day were "Pisco Sours" - a traditional Peruvian cocktail that is quite refreshing and a real treat with cheeses, meats and crackers.

This kinda took me back to the Desert Inn days when late in the day the area around the pool became the REAL mineral central.

bob

[bob kerr]

In Wayne Thompson's Westward Look room, he was displaying many of his specimens of fluorite from around the world and through the visible spectrum. These were not for sale but were a pleasure to google over.

bob

[bob kerr]

Hungarian/German dealer Laslo Gal brought a new group of those Romanechite on Goethite specimens that he introduced last year (see the 2022 report for details) and the group included one large cabinet specimen that he was selling on consignment.

His booth is located in the large tent just north of Top Gem and he will also have a booth at the TGMS Show. See photos.

bob

[bob kerr]

Well, it's been quite some time since i last posted - incredibly busy with way too many things to list here - but especially due to setting up for the TGMS Show. I'll try to catch up with the dozens of photos I've taken over the last week or so.

Yesterday was tear-down day at the TGMS Show (sometimes called the "Main Show") and for those of us who commit a great deal of time, this tear-down comes with very mixed emotions - "I'm sorry that it's all over" AND "I'm glad that it's all over" - my feet are especially glad that it's all over.

So, to start catching up, I'll start with one of the centerpiece display cases at the TGMS Show. The show theme was silicates and there were LOTS of terrific quartzes on display everywhere.

This centerpiece display was of 4 excellent quartz specimens starting with the HUGH and GEMMY Japanese Law specimen at the top from Nepal. The others are equally terrific. See photos.

bob

[bob kerr]

Every year, the Mineral Association of Dallas (MAD - not to be confused with the JURCS - just us regular collectors) puts in a display case from their members and this year's case focused wonderfully on the show theme. See photos.

bob

[bob kerr]

Not to be outdone, The Arizona Mineral Minions also put in a fine case of various specimens and carvings. See Photos.

bob

[bob kerr]

In bucking the show theme - but adding tons of color and crystal forms - Jason Adams entered an excellent case of fluorites. This display was remarkable similar to that displayed by Wayne Thompson at the Westward Look - I'm not sure if there was a connection or what it was.

bob

[bob kerr]

Every year Jim and Gail Spann enter a world class case of their collection. Here's this year's case. The back panels came undone and fell over slightly but luckily, they did not knock over or damage any specimens.

Many thanks to Jim and Gail.

bob

[bob kerr]

The center cases are typically reserved for some special stuff. This year Gene Mieran filled 6 - yes, 6 - large cases with his gem and mineral specimens. They included a case dedicated to:
1 - Tourmaline
2 - Quartz
3 - Topaz
4 - Garnet and Spodumene
5 - Beryl
6 - Miscellaneous crystals

I'll start with the Tourmaline case.

bob

[bob kerr]

Next up is the topaz case - look at the size of these specimens - and mainly undamaged.

bob

[bob kerr]

On to my favorite of Gene's cases - the Beryl Case. This case contains my favorite of all his specimens and as it turns out is also Gene's all-time favorite in his collection. See photos.

bob

[bob kerr]

Now onto Gene's case to support the show theme - Quartz. There's lots of great speicmens in this display and it is not a real focus area for Gene.

bob

[bob kerr]

Now to the garnet and spodumene (kunzite) case. These are not my favorite species but here it is for all to enjoy - and note the fully terminated spodumenes - pretty rare.

bob

[bob kerr]

And finally, the Miscellaneous case. LOTS of great pieces adorn this case. I'll focus on a few.

More tomorrow.

bob

[bob kerr]

Two additional new or interesting items.

1 - Orange gemmy quartz from Sweden

2 - Petroleum included quartz - referred to as "Fire-fly" quartz (no location given.

see photos.

bob

[bob kerr]

And to wrap up this year's report, some really nice specimens then a summary of my observations of this year's shows.

bob

[bob kerr]

For this years shows a few quotes come to mind:
- "the only constant is change"
and
- "those who try to hold back the hands of the clock will get their arms torn off"

Some observations:
- initially I thought that this year's shows would return to the glory days of 3-4 years ago - didn't happen. Most dealers said that sales were down (some were WAY down) and although traffic and sales for the first few days was reasonable, both died down significantly.
- Dealers who could be referred to as "Source Dealers" (ones who bring material in bulk sometimes directly from the source - or they are the source) did well and many simply sold out. South African Clive Quite was essentially sold out one week before the shows "officially" started.
- The display cases at the TGMS Show were only a shell of their previous glory. Gene Meieran put in 6 cases of his excellent material but other than a few others (the Spann case and the Fluorite case), the usually world class displays were far from it.
- There was LOTS of open space at the TGMS Show - not enough dealers. The SE and SW corners were populated by tables and chairs and a car raffle and there were numerous open spots in prime locations.
- However, the dealers that were at the TGMS Show did very well.

So, what's going on? Let me offer my opinions and welcome alternative views:
1 - The internet has changed things radically. Both internet auctions and direct sales are taking over. This is simply an economics issue - both for buyers and sellers. MUCH cheaper to buy and sell via web sites or social media. Return policies must be - and are - liberal for this to work as photos and videos can be very misleading.
2 - The business model of most dealers who come to these shows are to either rent annual space or actually own selling buildings outright. The huge cost and risks associated with moving cabinets and minerals are eliminated by keeping put in one place.
3 - Due to many circumstances, Russian and Chinese dealers were missing. A real loss.
4 - Something needs to be done about fake minerals. I know that Graham Sutton has chastised a number of dealers for selling fakes but there's new shams every year and new technologies make it harder to detect these. (There are now glues that do not show up under UV and do not break down with acetone.)
5 - I wonder about the future of the TGMS Show - one of the main draws is the world class displays and last year and this year they were WAY below par. Simple momentum will keep this show going but as more dealers abandon the show the cost per dealer will go up causing more to drop out and raising booth prices even more. A potential death spiral.

That's all from Tucson - I hope you all enjoyed the reports.

bob