The Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show has been part of the Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase for fifty years and is known as one of the premier gem and mineral shows in Tucson. It is one of the five original satellite shows that began in 1965. This was a decade after the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show®, sponsored by the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society, launched the now world-famous Tucson Gem Show as a modest club event in 1955.
The Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show is hosted at the Ramada by Wyndham Tucson. In the 1990s, this hotel was known as the Pueblo Inn (hence the show name), and in the 2000s, it was called the Four Points and Riverpark Inn until 2020. The hotel is located on the prominent Tucson “strip” along the east Frontage Road of Interstate I-10, between Congress Street and 22nd Street (Star Pass Boulevard), where a string of hotels hosts gem and mineral shows during the January–February season. The Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show’s location is also part of the “golden triangle,” which includes the Tucson Convention Center—home to the AGTA GemFair™ Tucson and the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show® held within two consecutive weeks—and the massive Gem & Jewelry Exchange (GJX) tent, both located across the highway in downtown Tucson, making shopping convenient and within easy walking distance for most visitors.
Dealers and Products at the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show
The Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show is known for its “one-stop” shopping experience. Being one of the most diverse shows, it offers a wide array of products in terms of different types, sizes, quality, and uniqueness. Buyers will find almost anything and everything, from rough, polished, and cut stones to finished jewelry, crystals, beads, and so much more. Award-winning designers showcase their artistry and craftsmanship. But at its core, the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show is recognized for its dealers who offer high-quality lapidary rough for cabbing, carving, and faceting from around the world.
The show fills the first-floor rooms of the hotel, ballroom, Mineral Pavilion, Court Pavilion, Riverpark Room, Arrival Suites, and many tents in every corner of the eight-acre property, offering a very unique and warm indoor-outdoor atmosphere for all visitors. Shoppers can enjoy lunch on the patio at the Oasis Bar, visit and network with friends and vendors, take some rest time to jot down notes about their shopping day and soak up the warm sun during those good Tucson sunny days.
Every year, mega gem objects welcome visitors by the show’s front entrance for two weeks. Gigantic gem globes and spheres, gem bathtubs, mega quartz crystals, and amethyst cathedrals take visitor’s breath away and are a favorite photo-op.
The Company Behind the Show
The Tucson West Hotel Associates LLC company operates the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show with headquarters in Tucson. Wolter Mehring is the organizer; his team manages the company that owns and operates the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show. The company acquired the real estate about twenty years ago, together with the show. Mehring shared that “owning the real estate and the show together provides them with tremendous flexibility in managing the show.”
Tips for the Tucson Shows
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Limited parking is available at the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show, but you have to get there either early or, better yet, later in the day. If you use the shuttle buses, try leaving the shows at least one hour before closing, as the shuttle lines get long.
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Make a list of what you need to replace or replenish, but don’t stick to it. Be open to surprises. That is why you are attending the shows in person. Enjoy the indoor-outdoor atmosphere at the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show.
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Shop for the latest jewelry trends, cut gemstones, beads, and lapidary rough at the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show, and then visit southern Arizona’s scenic attractions. Tour the copper and gold mines, museums, historic towns, celebrated national parks, and rugged landscapes that made the West famous.
For information about the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show (venue addresses, contact info, dates, hours, admission, etc.), a list of vendors, photos, and Google-map directions to each show, go to Xpo Press’ Gem Show Search page and type Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show in the ‘Show Name Contains’ search box, click ‘Search’ then scroll down and select the relevant show.
Helen Serras-Herman, MFA, FGA, a 2003 National Lapidary Hall of Fame inductee, is an acclaimed gem sculptor with over 40 years of experience in unique gem sculpture and jewelry art and a graduate gemologist (FGA). See her work at www.gemartcenter.com and her business Facebook page at Gem Art Center/Helen Serras-Herman.
All Photos ©Helen Serras-Herman