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February 11 -14, 2016
The official "TGMS Show Poster" will be on sale at the TGMS Poster Booth, located in the Galleria of the Tucson Convention Center.
Signed/Unsigned framed posters are $65.00
Signed/Unsigned unframed posters are $35.00
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Report on Munich 2015 - TGMS Roving Reporter, Paul Harter
The official first day of the Munich Show is for trade only. But rest assured, just as in Tucson those who want to visit the show on the first day find a way to get in. Early access is universal. So my initial suggestion to the Show Committee is to revisit the idea of early access, say Wednesday afternoon from 3:00 to 6:00. Charge a fee just as Munich does, I believe the early access fee is either 50 or 100 Euro. One aspect of this show which is so different from Tucson is that there are no satellite shows. Everything is at this one venue. I know such is not the premise of the TGMS show, simply an observation. The second observation is the amount of space dedicated to activities for the youth. The space allocated is reasonably central in location and not buried an out of the way corner. My second suggestion is to move Junior Education to a more prominent area so that everyone who attends the show sees the effort which goes into youth activities. Enough of this and on to the show.
Gemworld – This aspect of the show occupies one entire building with a special pavilion area for the high end displays of fine jewelry, gemstones and carvings. It is a site to behold. One of the gemstone dealers in this area is Paul Wild. He also made available for the special exhibit in the mineral pavilion some of his finest facetted stones. We are talking about some in the 100+ carat size. Entire areas are dedicated to vendors of pearls, every color one could imagine from snowy white to golden, black, pink and on and on. Finished jewelry is abundant from the finest evening wear to everyday pieces. Perhaps one of the best aspects of Gemworld is the space dedicated to new designers. Great innovation in design and execution.
Fossilworld – Although TGMS does not focus on fossils it is enjoyable to visit this hall and see stunning examples of preparation. A huge mastodon dominated one end of this hall and overlooked two large sandboxes into which fossils had been mixed. The youth can did for fossils and then have them identified. A great youth activity.
Mineralworld – The first thing one notices about this hall is the countries from which so many dealers hale. The net is far and wide. The second is the number of dealers who travel to the US not only for the TGMS show but also other venues. In this hall there are generally three tiers of dealer space, tables to highly staged booths with rigid walls and netting to create the appearance of a ceiling. My good friend Jim Bleess, who attended the show with Von Ceil Bleess, has always said one cannot just look at the eye level shelf, you must look in the boxes. This is so true with this show. Just ask the budding sphalerite collector Les Presmyk about his finding specimens for his second area of collecting. A second enjoyable aspect of the Show is the opportunity to see friends who have visited Tucson in the past but for one reason or another do not visit any longer. I had a pleasant visit with Michel Jouty whom I have visited in France and we laughed about his time at the Frontier Motel. At 86 he is still an active collector. As with the TGMS show, books are also a significant part of the Munich show. At Munich all of the book dealers are located in one area. Perhaps this could be considered by TGMS at a future time. Then the last stop in the A6 hall is the high end dealer area. The perimeter is surrounded by many dealers that we see in Tucson, both at Marty Zinn’s show and also at the TGMS show, Jordi Fabre with his usual good inventory, Karp with their well-chosen inventory (BTW, for those of you wanting a cuprite or copper ps. you had better act soon for not too many were available at the show) and so many others. Each of the high end booths is immaculately designed and staged. Crystal Classics booth looked like you were entering into a store on 5th Avenue in New York City. I particularly liked their display of minerals from Tsumeb. Arkenstone had a well-designed compact booth with well selected specimens. Both of the Watzl brothers had gorgeous booths with well-chosen specimens, mostly from Europe, Africa and China. In a reversal of roles the Larson gang from Fallbrook, whose booth is frequently the “hangout” out for so many of the foreign guests in Tucson, while always on the hunt for a specimen, gemstone or a piece of rough, held court in the booth of Alain Martaud. Alain always displays fine material and on occasion will “exit” a fine French specimen from his collection. Last but not least are the great dealer champions of the TGMS show, Dona and Wayne Leicht, accompanied by the always personable Lois Nelson. They displayed a small but attractive case of their trademark inventory of gold. Always a treat to look at. They also had a “pile” of flats loaded with European minerals at a 50% table. These were selling like hotcakes, not to mention sales from the display cases were active. Lastly the special exhibit area was themed “rough and cut”. Simply stunning beryl’s, tourmalines, ruby, sapphire, tanzanite, kunzite,etc.
I know I have missed people and rest assured this was not intentional by any means. There are so many good friends in Europe that it is difficult to help but not miss someone. One I did miss dearly was Dave Bunk. Dave is continuing his treatment for leukemia, is getting better every day and expects to see all of us in Tucson. Get well!
We cannot leave Munich without a mention of the food. Bavarian food is an exceptional cuisine. From the beer, which at one time was viewed as a food not a beverage, to the traditional pork dishes, to the vegetables and heaty soups. But of course for those looking for other cuisines, you need not look far. My personal favorite is perhaps the finest meal known, calamari imported from Patagonia, Argentina for an appetizer and pasta with a butter sauce covered with sliced white truffles. A meal worth raveling 8 time zones to eat.
The final thought is my visit with the founder of the Munich Show Johannes Keilmann. The Mineralien Tage Munchen and the TGMS show are the two finest shows in the world. As he said to me “we must never let these die”.
So long until my next visit to Munich. I hope you can join me.
Paul S. Harter
Report on Munich 2015 - TGMS Roving Reporter, Paul Harter
Setup in Munich continued on Thursday. As usual the mineral dealers were well ahead of all others. The Munich show is unlike the TGMS show. Think of all Tucson venues in 4 jet airplane size hangers and compressed to a three day show. In addition the staging and setup occurs over several days, not just 36 hours that are available to TGMS et al.
Gemworld is a spectacular combination of high end gemstones and gorgeous jewelry. One great aspect is competition for young jewelers. I cannot wait to see the new work. Much like the Spectrum awards given by AGTA which recognize great achievements, these awards go to young designers and jewelers. One gets an opportunity to see the finest work of faceters, carvers and jewelers. This is an aspect of our show that merits additional consideration.
I know TGMS cannot be everything for everyone, but one great youth activity is two large sandboxes filled with sand and small fossils. You can sift the sand in the search for fossils.
Food - the TGMS food trucks beat the food in Munich. But, Munich tops TGMS when it comes to beer, wine and Champagne. A very casual atmosphere in which friendship is valued.
Minerals - there are some exceptional minerals coming from Iran. Beautiful orange wulfenite. We have seen glimpses of this material. I expect a substantial amount in Tucson for the 2016 show. Also saw a lot of very nice demantoid garnet from Iran. The crystals were on matrix and large, up to 10 mm. I am looking for some faceted to see this material compares with that from Russia and Namibia. Kristalle had a table of European classics and other locations that were moving on their 1/2 price table. Crystal Classics had a wonderful selection of Tsumeb material. Quartz is so prevalent. Jim Bleess was in quartz heaven. Perhaps the best piece he saw was a Swiss closed gwindle, smoky that was every bit of 5+ cm in height. A superb specimen for a quartz collector. Rob Lavinsky was moving at a frenetic pace working on the next deal. Stay tuned to us we dust for new posting. Selfishly it is always nice to see a specimen from our home state. There are a few Red Cloud wulfenites and three turquoise specimens from Kingman.
Bavaria is a special area with great regional, formerly national, pride. The Muncheners are getting ready for a football match with Frankfurt on Friday night. We are staying in he Marienplatz and I expect it will be hopping after the game is over.
Lastly, if anyone has any doubt as to respect our show has earned our banner is the first one sees when they walk in the A6 hall. See picture below. Let's support the TGMS dealers who have so loyally supported our show.
So long for now. It's 11:30, time for bed and then a big day at the show.
Report on Munich 2015 - TGMS Roving Reporter, Paul Harter
Today was setup day. So different than in Tucson in that vehicles drive onto the floor, exhibit spaces are built with sheetrock, which is taped, textured and painted. There are different types of booths from elaborate rigid walls to table tops. So many of our dealer friends are here. I know I will miss some but they include the Jungle Buyer, Arkenstone , Kristalle, Crystal Classics, Alain Martaud, Pala International, Bryan Lees and Cal Graeber. Again my apology to those I missed.
We got to the show about 3:00. Lots of specimens were being placed on shelves. I saw several pink fluorites from Mt. Blanc, small but choice pink, an unusual quartz gwindle from Mt. Blanc that was clear and not smokey, medium deep purple fluorite from Spain, beautiful Tanzanite crystals, many exceptional specimens from Tsumeb, which of course was at one time an area under German control. Even saw A few minerals from the US including SHM rhodochrosite, Illinois fluorite and Bisbee copper. There is not much from the US. The other topic of great interest is the immigration and customs situation that may be facing our non-resident dealer so. I had not been inside the building more than 30 seconds before I started getting questions.
Being a setup day I knew there was no reason to get to the show early, so one more field trip. This time we went to the BMW museum and then to the Olympic park. A great way to see so many outstanding BMW autos, engines, etc. today's picture is of a 1955 Isetta. This car was powered by a motorcycle engine and could seat three. It would probably drive Ralph Nader crazy as a totally unsafe vehicle. But it would sure be fun to drive one.
Thursday's show report will have mineral pictures.
Report on Munich 2015 - TGMS Roving Reporter, Paul Harter
Munich 2015 is here! The anticipation of foreign travel makes this trip special. We left Phoenix on Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m. and arrived at our hotel on Monday morning at 10:00 a.m. This includes a nine hour time change. We picked up Evan Jones, Jeff Scovil and Mark Miterman along the way. Great to walk around the Marienplatz, a vibrant area. All the high end stores are present. No minerals today, but great history!
Today's picture is of the upper church at Burgersaalkirche. This is the church of Pater Rupert Mayer SJ. A Chaplin for the German army in WWI and later an outspoken critic of the Hitler regime.
Tuesday is a train trip to Oberammergau and then minerals on Wednesday.
Paul S. Harter
Much like Tucson, when waiting for the Show to begin, we are just tourists. The joy we have with a day trip in Munich is just like our guests experience when they drive to Bisbee or some other locality. Today we picked up the Presmyks, Corey and Gloria Staebler. We had a delightful day trip to Oberammergau. Attached is a picture of a painted house. Lots of carvings and a magnificent rococo church from 1750. The wood carvings are painted in gold.
Back to Munich for a traditional Bavarian meal and we see John V., Joan K., Jesse F. and Marie and Terry H. A wonderful meal and good beer. Tomorrow you will have a report from the show.
So long for today!
Paul Harter
For the first few decades of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®, dealers were known to save their best specimens to sell there and collectors came expecting to purchase from that select pool. With the proliferation of satellite shows, some starting as early as mid-January, the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society (TGMS) Show Committee has been hearing people question the “freshness” of our dealers’ stock. We know that "it's only business"...dealers will sell where and when the money is available, and that buyers shop where they can get the best specimens, but we don’t like hearing “After two weeks of motel sales everything good has already been seen/sold, so why stick around for the TGMS Show?” We recognize that having top quality dealers with top quality goods is as important as our exhibits, educational programs and social functions and we want to foster strong mineral business at our Show in the same spirit in which we’re upgrading our exhibits and overall layouts. Buyers respond when they know they’re seeing fresh goods; witness the crowds waiting to get at the Minette Collection when Dawn Minette made debuting it at TGMS a term of the sale (Thanks Dawn!). So, if someone outside TGMS can do this, then so can we, to the benefit of our dealers, buyers and the entire mineral collecting community. The question remains how to dispel the doubts harbored by those who insist that backroom deals will always eat into set-backs and that all dealer claims of freshness are suspect.
Enter “Certified Fresh for TGMS” (CFFT), a voluntary program that will verify that a certain amount of stock was set aside and left untouched until the TGMS Show. The program has three levels of participation: 100% (TGMS Only), 50% (Certified Organic), and 20% (Healthful Choice). The dealer alone decides how much and what to set aside; on arrival in Tucson TGMS volunteers will go to the dealer, count the set-back flats and seal them with tamper-proof CFFT tape. (TGMS is not certifying quality so we will not look in the flats.) The same team will visit the dealer at set-up, verify that the right number of flats is present and that the seals are intact. Assuming all is correct, the participating CFFT dealers will get a sign indicating their percentage of participation to display prominently on the case(s) where their CFFT goods are displayed. To help buyers navigate directly to the things they know are new, TGMS also will highlight the participating dealers on signs in the lobby and make it possible to highlight CFFT in our advertising.
"GRAND PRIZE"
18K Yellow gold Pendant with an Oval Sapphire surrounded by Diamonds on a 16" 14K Yellow gold chain.
The drawing for this item will be held on Sunday, February 14th at 3:30 p.m.
What a lovely Valentine Day present this would be for a very lucky person!
This pendant is from Millan Marketing (Booth: 2000 -2003)
Look for the Giveaway Booth at the north end of the Arena. Bring your TGMS Show ticket stub and enter the drawing for the "Grand Prize."
While you are there, enter your name for one of the other numerous "hourly" drawings that happen during the course of each day of the Show. LOTS OF FUN!!!
DRAWINGS ON THE HOUR
THURSDAY, Feb. 11th ... 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00
FRIDAY, Feb. 12th ... 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00
SATURDAY, Feb. 13th ... 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00
SUNDAY, Feb. 14th ... 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 3:30 the “Grand Prize” drawing
Mineral & Gem Asia 2015 in Hong Kong - A New and Promising Mineral Show
TGMS Member Post: Guenther Neumeier
Every time someone mentions the Chinese market for collector’s minerals or a mineral show held in China, a shudder goes through the crowd and everyone who has ever attended a mineral show in China comes up with a story about disasters and bad experience. Even those who have never been to a mineral show in Mainland China contribute what they have heard through the grapevine or what they have seen published in magazines and/or on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter. Common challenges included unreliable shippers who demand extra pay for services they had already been paid for, incomplete or missing booth setups, missing merchandise on setup days, unfathomable legal obstacles with the customs and revenue office, inflexible bureaucrats with negotiable tax rates, and crowds of people pushing and shoving with resulting damaged mineral specimens.
It seems quite understandable that when word spread that a new mineral show for the huge Asian market is planned in Hong Kong, the reactions were largely those of reluctance: head shaking, indecision, wait and see attitudes. However, there were those with a “lets give it a(nother) try” attitude.
Photo by Mark Mauthner
The show called Mineral & Gem Asia was organized by UBM Asia, a group that has been organizing gem and jewelry shows for over three decades. UBM is the largest trade show organizer in the region and the largest commercial organizer in China, India and Malaysia. The show was to be held overlapping with one of UBM’s big gem and jewelry shows in the city, the 28th June Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair with over 2,200 exhibitors from 45 countries. It was planned to profit from crossover traffic, just like we see in Tucson, where people with GJX and AGTA badges wander the venues of the various mineral shows in Tucson
The gem and jewelry show was held in the downtown convention center, the futuristic looking building overlooking Victoria Harbor while the mineral show was held at the Asia-World Expo, the fairgrounds out at the airport. The distance between the two venues was initially a major concern. I was pretty concerned about this situation myself until I got to Hong Kong and found an extremely well organized, inexpensive, and easily understood public transport system with trains and double-decker busses, plus a shuttle bus between the two show venues on overlapping show days. I personally preferred the double-decker bus departing from downtown which gave me and my fellow riders a great sightseeing tour every day while others chose the slightly faster subway. I stayed in a hotel downtown while others preferred to stay at the airport Marriot, which is connected to the fairground by a pedestrian bridge. Another issue that had to be considered is the time conflict with the St.-Marie-aux-Mines show; both are held on the same weekend. The deliberate linkage of the Mineral & Gem Asia to the June gem and jewelry show makes a move of the Mineral & Gem Asia to a different date highly unlikely.
Construction crews assembled the exhibition stands in sweltering heat and high humidity quickly and on time. Dealers were able to move in and set up their merchandise as scheduled. The lack of a value added tax as well as import/export duties in Hong Kong certainly helped to attract dealers. All went well and was done professionally, as in a well-oiled machine. Dealer registration on the morning of the setup day was well organized, no chaos, no lines, no problems.
Photo by Mark Mauthner
A special exhibit, called the Treasure World Exhibit with 32 white, 18 by 18 inch pedestal jewelry cases were setup, and filled by foreign and local exhibitors: Two spectacular gold specimens from The Arkenstone (the Ausrox nugget and the Thunderbolt—both have been on exhibit at the TGMS), and several exceptional rhodochrosite specimens from Colorado, Zambian emeralds from the Kagem Mine and superb Pakistani specimens were provided by The Collector’s Edge. Kristalle brought excellent gold specimens from California and a great display of Nevada opal. Italian dealer Marco Tironi exhibited stunning Brazilian beauties, and German gem dealer Axel Henn from Idar-Oberstein set up what someone called the “Million Dollar Display”: Four display cases with two large agate cameos, a ruby carving in gold setting depicting a reclining Buddha, a necklace with “mandarin” garnet and diamonds, and finally, an almost 10 lbs. heavily rutilated quartz. Superb Minerals from India put out zeolite minerals while local collector Sam Yung displayed a number of fine pieces from his personal mineral collection that included one case of large Tsumeb dioptase.
Christoph Keilmann, organizer of the Munich Show in Munich, Germany and his crew set up a stunning fossil display area with the a 65%-original T-Rex skeleton, the original fossil of the 11th Archaeopteryx and informative posters. Both fossils, well traveled, had been on display at the Munich show in 2014, and the later has been on display in Tucson 2015 in the Red Gallery on Granada. Italy-based fossil dealer Kieran Nature added two more large fossil skeletons.
A total of 105 mineral, fossil and gem (rough and cut stones as well as finished jewelry) dealers attended the Mineral & Gem Asia. According to the show organizers, 80% of them where mineral and fossil dealers and the remaining 20% were gem dealers. Obviously most were locally from Hong Kong (37) followed by US dealers (15) and dealers from various European countries (18).
Photo by Mark Mauthner
The local club, The Mineralogy Society of Hong Kong, had large booth staffed with members answering questions about the society’s mission and a nice exhibit from some its members. The club organized a scavenger hunt for visitors throughout the show, which was very well received, and manned an educational area for school children.
Photo by Mark Mauthner
Education of the visitors was an important objective of the show. A stage with a seating area was setup for talks given by four speakers from the US, one South African expat and one local geologist. The unifying approach of the American talks was to give the local audience an understanding of Western mineral collecting philosophies in order to appreciate the specimens the dealers had on display. Photographer Mark Mauthner’s well illustrated talk was on “Collecting Nature’s Finest Rarities: A North American Perspective”, Bryan Lees’ professional presentation was on “Collecting Gems and Minerals: Why are they so rare and valuable?”, Wayne Leicht invited the audience to “Step Into the World of Collecting Gold Specimens” and Monica Kitt, standing in for Rob Lavinsky, spoke on “Mineral Collecting: Chinese Minerals, collected in the Western Style”. Local collector Dougal Pitt, from Hong Kong, introduced the audience to “Mineral Collecting by Hong Kong Hobbyists” which was, in my opinion, a great lesson for Western mineral dealers about the possibilities of the local market. Geologist and gemologist Edward Liu’s talk, held in Cantonese language drew the biggest crowd. However, it must be said that in general, all talks followed by lively discussions, were very well attended.
Which brings me to a concern about the show. The attendance of the show was not as high as expected and business was not as brisk as one would have wished. So what were the causes? I think it is fair to say that for a first-time show it was reasonably well attended. The local Mineralogy Society of Hong Kong has been organizing a small mineral show for almost a decade, but Mineral & Gem Asia was the first big mineral and fossil show with International attendance in Hong Kong. Some alleged the less-than-expected attendance was the distance of the show venue to the city, others spoke of the ongoing anti-corruption campaigns in Mainland China that cautions potential buyers from there to travel to Hong Kong and spend their money—a sentiment that, by the way, is shared with the local luxury goods retail industry.
So what are the lessons to take home?
For the dealers: The dealers who participated in this first show have to be commended for their pioneering spirit. It is expensive to send staff and merchandise around the world to a new show with an unknown outcome. So I was very pleased to hear from the major mineral and gem dealers that they plan to come back next year and support this show, maybe even at the expense of mainland shows. I also heard some dealers contemplating about bringing a different, bigger variety of specimens to the next show.
For the organizer: We must support UBM to convince more foreign mineral dealers to participate in the show. UBM is actively building up a database of customers and has offered to share the data with dealers for marketing purposes. The cooperation with the local mineral society and collectors should be intensified to spread the word of the show.
There is always room for improvement, at any show in any country, and I am very optimistic about the future of the Mineral & Gem Asia. The staff of UBM was always around to address problems when they occurred. Thanks to UBM’s proven track record of organizing trade shows, the logistics, the setup of the show and the marketing was very professional. Their staff was eager to hear feedback and opinions and I look forward not only to next year’s show but also to how they will have implemented the suggestions and recommendations to improve the show in 2016.
Posted by TGMS Member: Paul Harter
As members of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society there are many opportunities for education, fun and camaraderie. April 18, 2015 was one such opportunity. For thirteen years the San Diego Gem and Mineral Society, in concert with the Gemological Institute of America, have co-hosted an annual symposium. This year the theme was “opal,” but before I get to the theme, let’s take a short journey.
The symposium is hosted by the GIA at its facility in Carlsbad, California This is an easy drive for those of us living in Arizona. In my case Marilyn and I took the opportunity to visit with friends along the way. One of the pleasures of this great hobby is becoming friends with folks around the world. On the road from Phoenix/Tucson to Carlsbad one might visit with the many show dealers in the Fallbrook area or Laguna Beach. Each of us should be ambassadors for TGMS and reach out to those who support our Show. I know the effort is appreciated. Dinner on Friday night overlooking the Pacific Ocean is always a pleasant experience. But, Saturday morning beckons and there is a short drive to the GIA.
The GIA campus in Carlsbad is stunningly beautiful as its back lawn overlooks the Pacific. A cool breeze is always welcome to those of us living in the Sonoran Desert. The exhibits inside are stunning and give you the opportunity to see spectacular gems and jewelry. Saturday was no different. The co-hosts serve a continental style breakfast which gives everyone a chance to renew friendships and say “good morning” to all. Then it is time to walk upstairs to the lecture room.
Wow, what a speaker line-up. The list read like a who’s who. Speakers from all corners of the earth. The first was Eloise Gaillou from the Paris School of Mines, followed by Andrew Cody noted author on opal and director of the National Opal Collection in Australia, Raquel Alonso-Perez curator of the Harvard Mineralogical and Geological Museum, Jack Hobart and Bill Larson got us to lunch. Each speaker shared knowledge and information regarding this most beautiful gem. The programs included historical information, scientific information and a thorough discussion of why some opal (common opal) does not show flashes of color while others do. One true highlight of this symposium is Bill Larson and his entire family sharing with each of us items from their collection. Indeed a once in a lifetime opportunity to see so many beautiful opal specimens and pieces of jewelry.
A delightful lunch and a second opportunity to eat outside and enjoy the beauty of the Pacific. Balboa certainly had it correct, from a distance the view is as peaceful as one could ever hope for. Lunch afforded me two opportunities: to visit with Andrew Cody and learn more about opal from Australia and to visit with Carl Larson about his time in Paris. Fortunately the day was not yet concluded.
Arizona Blue Opal
After lunch, Alan Hart from the Natural History Museum in London regaled the audience with some priceless humor, but also insight into his museum’s collection of opal. Several other presentations occurred, including photography tips from Robert Weldon and the Symposium concluded with George Rossman from Cal Tech talking about color in opal. His talk was amazing in that he took an incredibly complex topic and was able to distil same to information which was readily understandable. I might also add that Helen Serras-Herman, who is known to many of us, gave a superb presentation on Common Opal, including a reference to blue opal from Arizona. I know I have not mentioned every presenter. For those I missed, please accept my apology. Your presentations were as significant as those I have mentioned.
Then off to King’s for one last seafood dinner. This has become a tradition which is hard to top, including a long, tall Mojito. Again outside, cool breeze and looking at an entire hillside of ranunculus in full bloom. If you have time, stop by the gardens to see acres of these flowers in all their glory, including an American flag that must have been 200’ by 100’ in its magnificent red, white and blue.
Sunday morning arrives, the car is packed, but one last stop before heading home, the Carlsbad Strawberry fields to purchase a lug of berries picked that morning. They never sell day old berries, so these are the freshest, sweetest berries you could ever hope to eat. A great weekend filled with friendship and education. Next year’s symposium will focus on sapphire, I cannot wait. As a closing thought I again encourage TGMS members to be ambassadors for not only the Society, but also the Show it presents. Many of the folks who work tirelessly to present the Symposium are also participants, exhibitors and dealers at our Show. We should show not only our support to these folks but also our appreciation for their support of TGMS. Hopefully each of you will make plans to attend this Symposium.
Since 1946
A community committed to geology, mineralogy, lapidary and allied earth sciences, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, Inc. is a non-profit organization, established in 1946 by a small group interested in mineral knowledge and appreciation.