At Tucson’s newest Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase event, you can pick up a $2 crystal or spring for a 390-carat Burmese ruby crystal.
Tucson’s New Mineral Show, or TNMS, will start its one-week show on Tuesday, Jan. 31. According to show organizers Marcus Origlieri and Matt Pemberton, it’s the best destination for both buyer and seller.
“It’s a show for vendors put on by vendors” Pemberton said. “We weren't happy with any of the show fees and having to rent out hotel rooms. When you sell at other people’s shows it gets really expensive.”
TNMS is charging less than half of what their competitor show is charging to sell, allowing the vendors to pass those overhead savings onto the consumer, Pemberton said.
“If you can afford a coffee, you can afford a rock at our show,” Origlieri said.
This new show is one of only three shows in the Tucson showcase that specialize exclusively in minerals. Everything at TNMS will be naturally faceted, meaning not cut with a machine.
“These guys are real purists, you know,” Origlieri said. “They only want to collect things that are natural. It’s different than gems and jewelry because we like things in their natural state.”
The 390-carat Burmese ruby crystal featured on the front of TNMS’ flyer is a perfect example of what Origlieri means.
“I think it is beautiful as it is,” Origlieri said. “You could cut it into some other shape but it is just not the same as mother nature made it.”
Origlieri first attended the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in 1985, but he didn’t think about starting his own show. That is, until early 2016 when he was driving down Grant Road and spotted the perfect venue: an abandoned movie theater.
Starting a new show to add to the more than 40 existing shows is not an easy task, according to Origlieri. It involves the coordination of a lot of different moving parts. Yes, the process can be hard as a rock.
“You need to bring so many people together,” Origlieri said. “A show needs vendors so you need to already know some vendors. You need all kinds of help.”
Luckily, it’s not all work for Pemberton and Origlieri. They travelled to gem and mineral shows around the U.S, Germany, and Japan to spread the word about their show.
Origlieri will also be selling some of his own inventory at the show. Over the past 19 years of selling minerals, he has put wear and tear on his passport by searching for items to add to his own collection and to sell to others. Some highlights of his travels include Japan, China, Burma, Thailand and South Africa.
“Every time I go on a trip I’m looking for something but you never know what you’re going to find,” Origlieri said.
The TNMS is ideal for casual shoppers and resale experts alike, Origlieri said. Visitors can expect loose crystals and crystal clusters, crystallized copper nuggets from Michigan, intricate quartz and pyrite crystals and rare minerals.
As the final pieces of the show’s logistics come together, the pair are confident in the collection of minerals headed to their show from all over the world.
“I don't know that there is a better place in the world for minerals,” Pemberton said. “Tucson is definitely the epicenter. It’s the biggest show in the world."
If you go:
What: Tucson’s New Mineral Show
Where: 1055 W. Grant Road
When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Jan. 31 to Feb. 6
