I spent a week in Tucson this year buying and visiting, mostly visiting.  If you haven’t been to the Tucson Gem Show, you should at some point in your life.  It will blow you away!  I’ve been every year for 12 years and I have not come close to seeing it all.  Beyond the at least 20 nationally advertised shows, there has to be another 20 unadvertised shows, each with hundreds if not thousands of vendors.  Anybody that’s anybody in gems is there and many more that are just there to be part of the party.
   You’ll see pyramids of   Diamonds at one show and Amethyst cathedrals 2 stories high at another.  You’ll see buyers from all over the world looking for that one special gem or purchasing 32 gallon drums of Emerald for carving in China.  There are people from every continent and possibly every country.  The restaurants and bars are melting pots of culture and race. Forget the gems, it is an experience I wouldn’t miss.  I look forward to it every year!