The Smart Jewelry Show was very bright.........

Don’t look now, but I think we have an upward economic trend happening. It’s not as quick as the fall, but down is always faster than up. Gravity works against us in more ways than just climbing a mountain; and if we can continue this analogy, we are climbing Mt. Everest after a free fall from 35000 feet. Make sure to bring along some oxygen!

Tucson was good, a solid improvement for the majority of the vendors over last year, but no one was sure if this was a precursor to this year’s business. Happily, Chicago proved to show the same trends, a significant increase in the number of shoppers and the total number of invoices written. Inventories of the unusual have to be replaced, and those of us who carry reasonably priced, beautiful gemstones are doing better--not great, but better. Be grateful for the little things.

Chicago is “my kind of town”. The show is 2 miles from downtown, so any hotel is close. Great restaurants, shopping and music are within walking distance from most of the downtown hotels, so after the show you can choose a great meal without waiting 45 minutes for a table, your spouse will have had a great day shopping at The Rack (Nordstrom’s), or the Jazz Record Mart (the largest jazz and blues record store in the world), or take the fantastic river tour of some of the finest architecture America has to offer. In fact there is so much to do that many of the vendors stay extra days to enjoy the city and visit those “salt of the earth” mid-westerns. Like Tucson, this show is enjoyable for the customer, the vendor and anyone who wants to come along. I strongly encourage you to come next year if you missed this year’s show.

Moonstone and labradorite are still our strongest sellers. We recently received a new parcel of some of the largest, cleanest labradorite we’ve had in years. These pieces range from 15 to 20cts in size. I think some of the older European gem houses are cleaning out their vaults to encourage sales, and we are the benefactors of their spring cleaning.

Another great find for us was a parcel of the Tanzanian hot pink spinel at a very reasonable price. We have 5mm rounds, matched pairs of cushion, round, and trillions all from $300/ct and up.

Tucson or Bust

I think I can speak for most gem dealers when I say that if 2010 Tucson GemFair was anything like 2009, there would be some tough decisions ahead. Thank you all for making it a VERY solid show for us and many others. 2010 is at least starting with “pop” if not a “bang”!

Many retailers and designers used a lot of their overstocked inventory accumulated through the years to keep themselves afloat in 2009. We are very lucky to own the kind of inventory that not only doesn’t smell bad or go moldy when it’s old, but it usually gains value. Holiday sales were strong enough to have buyers coming to Tucson with expectations to replace stock with something new, exciting, and with not too high of a price point. This was the perfect formula for moonstone, our stone of choice. We had 26 feet of nothing but moonstone, but it was moonstone like no one has ever seen. Dividing the cases by origin gave everyone who stopped by an education on source, quality, and quantities available. To confirm our suspicions, 2010 gave us the largest number of sales ever in Tucson. We may not have had the largest dollar figure, but 30% more people bought from us than ever before. This means more designers, manufactures, and retailers will be showing moonstone than ever before. If you haven’t tried it…..you should.

SHOW STOPPER


The big question when we get home (other than “how was the show”) is always, “What gemstone was the highlight of the show? What stone stood out from all the thousands of gemstones at show?” This year it was definitely SPINEL.
Spinel, like the economy goes in cycles, and is usually related to ruby market. Even though spinel comes in almost every color, the reds are prized. In the late 70’s it starting to become popular because Burma ruby was scarce. Then the Mong Hsu mine was discovered in Burma, and with a little extra heating, there were enough rubies to supply demand and spinel once again went into the closet.
It has tried a few small comebacks, but has always remained the gem dealer’s favorite gemstone. The public has never quite realized the beauty they are missing. Today we have a new spectacular find of the hotter than hottest pink spinel from Tanzania that just cannot be ignored. It is incredible that this color comes out of the ground with NO enhancements from a laboratory. This gemstone pops in any light, any case, and any metal, anywhere. We have some great photos on our website. Check it out.