Gemstones from Tucson - Part II

Continuing with yesterday's theme, here are some more of the lovely gemstones I found in Tucson.

Beautifully rich citrine teardrop briolettes, faceted marquis rose quartz briolettes and a graduated strand of labradorite teardrop brios.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a calibrated (as opposed to graduated) strand of gemstones???  All of the vendors told me that many designers prefer the calibrated stones, but very few gem cutters make them.  This seems to be a case of the supplier not fulfilling the demands of the marketplace.  One vendor mentioned that it is more efficient (in terms of rough stone usage) to make graduated gemstones.  This sort of makes sense to me, but I don't like it.  Not one bit.

Smooth moonstone brios, cute little kyanite brios and oh-so-useful peridot brios.

There will be one more post tomorrow with more stones.  Then, I really need to put them away and get back to work!

Tucson Gem Show Purchases . Part IV

I know for a fact that Brandi is not bored by these photos, so I'll continue, if only for her visual enjoyment.

There was a serious lack of quality carnelian, peridot and iolite in my stash.  I fixed it with these strands you see here.  Both the peridot and iolite are larger than those I usually see.

Now for some honey colored chalcedony and smooth labradorite briolettes.  Can't seem to get enough labradorite.  Anyone else have that problem?  I'm sure I'm not alone.

Now for the biggest splurge of all (right after that London Blue Topaz).  These sapphires are gorgeous and range in color from a traditional blue to greens to golden to pink to almost crystal clear.  I have no idea what I'll do with them ... yet ... and no, you can't have any.  They're all mine.  Mine.

There are plenty more gems, but that's it for the photos of them.  I hope you enjoyed the show!

Tucson Gem Show Purchases . Part II

I managed to take some more photos today and I'm still not done with all the sorting and cataloging of my new gemstones.

Dark pink chalcedony and bright green onyx, both in a generously sized briolette.

Convex cut whiskey quartz briolette and some petite rutilated quartz brios.  These smaller stones will make great earrings.  The definition in the rutiles is amazingly clear.

 Beautiful moonstone with plenty of flash and some really large labradorite briolettes.

While I visited some of my regular suppliers in Tucson, I was very pleased to find three new vendors.  Not that they were new to Tucson, just new to me.  The variety of stones available in Tucson always amazes me, as does finding a new vendor anxious to do business with a one-woman operation such as mine.  A friendly dealer who is willing to spend time answering my questions makes for such a pleasant experience.  Sometimes that personal touch really goes a long way in developing a good working relationship.  They know I'm not a huge customer (like a bead store in a big city), but they know I'll be back next year.

Tune in tomorrow for even more beautiful gem photos.  Then maybe I'll share some photos from the Desert Botannical Garden in Phoenix.

Tucson Gem Show Purchases . Part I

Carol & I landed at the Anchorage airport last night around midnight.  We had a fabulous gem buying trip to Tucson followed by an equally terrific visit to Scottsdale.  All together, we were gone 10 days.  It was a great way to spend Carol's milestone (50th !) birthday.

Now it's time to share some gem photos with you!  The primary gem in the photo is a strand of gorgeous London Blue Topaz briolettes.  Above you can see part of a strand of large labradorite briolettes.  

From top to bottom, here are quartz (whiskey or cognac) brios, deep turquoise apatite brios and long, large prehnite brios. (See this post from last year to hear about my theory of the variety of quartzes)

Stay tuned -- tomorrow, I'll share some more gem photos.