Wholesale gem and mineral buyers have been coming to the annual Denver Gem & Mineral Showcase in September for over fifty years. The gem, mineral, and jewelry shows in Denver have provided a plethora of autumn wholesale dealers from which buyers could stock up for their holiday sales inventory. For many years, Tucson has also hosted an autumn gem and jewelry showcase (not so many minerals) that features many wholesale vendors — the Tucson Fall Gem Showcase, held the week before the Denver Showcase opens. And now, there will be a new, unique, citywide gem and mineral showcase held in Tucson in the fall, on October 3-7. It’s being called the Dealers Tucson Fall Gem & Mineral Show, at which over 25 rock, gem, and mineral warehouses in Tucson, primarily wholesale businesses open year-round, are co-op’ing a new citywide autumn showcase.
The Wholesale Shows at the Denver Gem & Mineral Showcase (September 3-15, 2024)
Denver, of course, is by far the largest of the three autumn showcases, with virtually dozens of wholesale gem, mineral, and jewelry dealers to select from at eight separate show venues. Of these eight venues, two are exclusively rock and mineral warehouses that are strictly wholesale outlets — the Colorado Independent Warehouse Show, owned by The Rock Warehouse and Vicjon Enterprise and the JK Stone Denver Warehouse Show — and another show, the International Gem & Jewelry Show (Intergem Denver, see ad on pp. 8-9 and show info on p. 43), sells strictly to wholesale jewelry buyers. For these three shows, as well as for any wholesale purchases made at any of the other gem, mineral, and jewelry shows in Denver and Tucson, you must present a copy of your tax ID, EIN, or business license. It is illegal to make wholesale purchases in Colorado without proper re-sale identification and/or licensure.
The Wholesale Shows at the Tucson Fall Gem Showcase (August 29 – September 1, 2024)
The annual Tucson Fall Gem Showcase will be held this fall from August 29 – September 1. The Showcase features three reputable gem and jewelry shows that are basically smaller versions of the same Tucson shows that are held in January and February each year — the Gem & Lapidary Wholesalers (G&LW) Holidome Show (wholesale only) and two more shows that sell to both wholesale and retail buyers, JOGS Gem & Jewelry Show at the Tucson Expo Center and Colors of the Stone at the Casino Del Sol Resort. Jewelry retailers who have exhausted most of their February Tucson supply come to these late summer shows to stock up through the end of the year and into January ... until they come back to Tucson again in February. Be prepared for temperatures in the high 90s and frequently over 100, as early September is still summertime in this arid Sonoran Desert region of Arizona.
The Wholesale Shows at the new Dealers Tucson Fall Gem & Mineral Show (October 3-7, 2024)
Theoretically, the daily high temps in October should be about ten degrees cooler on average than September, but the new Dealers Tucson Fall Gem & Mineral Show opens on October 3 (the first week of October), so temps are likely to be about the same as September. Nonetheless, 25 to 30 Tucson business owners — specifically, rock, gem, mineral, and fossil dealers who store and sell their inventory from warehouses in Tucson — have banded together and organized a citywide show. These businesses will all be open at the same time, on the same days, and they’re inviting the gem and mineral world to Tucson to come see and buy. Most of the businesses sell wholesale only.
One of the biz owners, Bruce Barlow, owner of Barlow’s Gems at The Rock Yard, is the primary organizer and promoter of the new Tucson citywide “show,” which we at Xpo Press refer to more accurately as a “showcase.” *
Barlow and I chatted after I learned about this new, unique showcase set up in Tucson in October. I really wanted to help promote this event. It just makes sense. No city in the world has as many businesses that specialize in the warehousing and selling of rocks, gems, crystals, fossils, and minerals than Tucson. In the last five to ten years, there has been a significant migration of rock and mineral companies from all over the world that have purchased real estate in Tucson, relocated their inventory in the city’s warehouses, and taken up residence there. Why? Because all these companies for years, many of them for decades, have been making the trek to Tucson each January and February to sell their wares at the annual Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase. Tucson show sales accounted for a large percentage of these companies’ annual income. Even though their profits were usually very good during Tucson show time, expenses for travel, shipping, food, and lodging, year-long storage of inventory, and fees to the show promoters for booth, tent, or room space were enormous. To relocate to Tucson has simply helped increase these dealers’ bottom line. Many of these companies can now simply sell their inventory from their warehouses during the annual Tucson Showcase in January and February, continue to do business from Tucson year-round, and not have to fork out tens of thousands of dollars to do someone else’s show.
Which brings me back to my conversation with Barlow. He explained that not only are expenses enormous to sell at a Tucson show each year, but it’s also tremendously expensive to sell at the Denver Showcase in September. Barlow, for one, has decided not to travel to Denver any longer to sell his products. Several others who now own warehouses in Tucson, like Nader Kawar, owner of Enter the Earth, have made the same decision. The show at which Kawar sold for over twenty years in Denver, the JG&M Expo, shut down this year. He pur
Many eyes will be on this October Tucson wholesale showcase to see whether it will succeed. Will the buyers come? With the mass changes taking place with many of the top shows in Denver coupled with a solid group of wholesale rock and mineral dealers who make a living in Tucson year-round, could there be a shift in where buyers go in the fall to purchase their end-of-year rock, gem, mineral, crystal, and fossil inventory? September in Denver? October in Tucson? Both? Retail buying in Denver and wholesale buying in Tucson? We’ll see. Stay tuned and, in the meantime, enjoy your autumn gem and mineral shopping at the longstanding August-September showcases in Tucson and Denver. But don't miss the new Tucson showcase in October where you can spend a few more Ben Franklins as you stock up for the holiday season until the "really big show" in Tucson rolls around in January.
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* Xpo Press’s differentiation between a Show and Showcase: A Show is a solo event held at one venue that is promoted by one group. A Showcase is a citywide event where multiple shows, organized by different groups, are occurring at the same time. This is strictly an American gem show phenomenon. The Showcases in the U.S. are in Tucson (Feb. and Sept.), Denver, Las Vegas, Quartzsite, Ariz., and Franklin, N.C.