Photos of the Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase through the years
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Rick Wiley
Photo editor
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The Tucson Gem Show is now among the largest of its kind in the country and the showcase has grown to include more than 50 satellite shows around the city.
The Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase started in 1955 as a small show organized by the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society at an elementary school. It was so popular, it became an annual event and moved to the Pima County Fair and Rodeo Grounds until 1972, when it moved to the Tucson Convention Center.
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Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase
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The 1967 show at the Tucson Rodeo and Fairgrounds drew a modest crowd. After its 1955 beginnings in a school auditorium, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society moved its annual show to the Quonset hut at the Tucson Rodeo and Fairgrounds on South Sixth Ave., at Irvington Road.
Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase
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Exterior of Quonset on South Sixth Ave site of Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase, 1956-1971.
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Louise Feller of Seattle looks for some gems at the Tucson Convention Center in 1991.
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Dealers preparing their displays near I-10 and Congress in 1991.
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Mike Donovan of Texas looks at a 20-foot Pleisiosaur at the Tucson Convention Center in 1991.
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Tucson Convention Center full of exhibitors and buyers in 1993.
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Nickolai B. Kuznetsov and Alexander O. Agafonoff from Russia prepare their exhibit in a room at the Best Western Executive Inn in Tucson in 1993.
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Dilip Shah of New York City conducts business while laying on his bed at the Discovery Inn in 1994.
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David Velk checks out some of the various Trilobites which were only one of many fossil exhibits at the gem and mineral showcase Fossil Exhibit at the Executive Inn in 1995.
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The first public day of the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society Show was a busy affair at the Tucson Convention Center in 1997.
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Gem show vendor Albert Volker, sits with his sizable collection of smokey quartz in 1998, mined by himself on his ranch in Montana. Vollker was one of the last participants doing business as most others packed up to leave.
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Tom Moore. Editor of the Mineralogical Record magazine, shows this drawer which has Apatite, Pyromorphite, Mimetite, and Vanadinite in 2005.
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Colored glass jewels glimmer with at least some of the sparkle of their rarer counterparts at the Globe-X Gem & Mineral show at the Days Inn Downtown in 2007.
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Yurie Ishizaka of Tokyo looks in display cases during the first day of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center on February 10, 2011.
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Rocks, shells, and minerals for sale at the Miner K booth at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center in 2011.
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Naoki Ninomiya examines a piece of Smithsonite from Mexico by putting it up to the light during the Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show as part of the 58th Annual Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase at the Hotel Tucson City Center in 2012.
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Mike Anglin from Mission Viejo, Calif looks at agate from Argentina at the STPGM booth during the opening day of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center in 2012.
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A variety of Rose Quartz, Crystals, Tourmaline and Red Jasper glisten in the sunlight at Jay Gems and Minerals as they are on display at the Riverpark Inn at 350 South Freeway for the upcoming Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase on Jan. 23, 2017.
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Robert Tapia, left, and Jason Fox, warehouse manager at Superb Minerals, set up for the annual Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase which begins on January 26 and ends February 11. The store located at 1243 N. Main Ave sells zeolites from India. January 02, 2018.
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Matthew Schmalz browses through polished agate geodes as he's framed by a slice of amethyst quartz in the Western Woods tent at the Pueblo Gem and Mineral Show at the Riverpark Inn, 777 W. Cushing Street, on Jan. 24, 2018, in Tucson.
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Scott Sprencz, right, and Ed Kloehn, haul in an onyx luminary for the "Art of Decor Onyx" booth at the Tucson 22nd Street Mineral and Fossil Show, located on the northeast corner of 22nd Street and Interstate 10, on Jan. 24, 2018, in Tucson.
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Mike Pendle, from the United Kingdom, scrutinizes a quart point at the Tucson 22nd Street Mineral and Fossil Show, located on the northeast corner of 22nd Street and Interstate 10, on Jan. 24, 2018, in Tucson, Ariz.
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Tsiriry Anjarihva sorts hand-carved decorative heart pieces for display while workers at the Madagascar Minerals Gem Show, 201 W. Lester St., prepare for the 2019 Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase, Jan. 23, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz. Eighty percent of the minerals on display at Madagascar Minerals are direct from the company's mines and factories in Madagascar.
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Zoey Petitt selects a bag of green opals to buy at the Madagascar Minerals Gem Show, 201 W. Lester St., Jan. 23, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz. Eighty percent of the minerals on display at Madagascar Minerals are direct from the company's mines and factories in Madagascar.
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Celia Tessier, left, and Emma Martinez, 16, huddle together and stay warm as they examine a crystal they are weighing for a customer in the Cristais Maia booth at the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase iin 2016. Martinez helps out at the Brazilian business annually during the show.
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Wade Leschyn, center, is dwarfed by the fossils of "Bob" the triceratops, left, and a wooly mammoth fossil from Russia at the GeoDecor booth at the Mineral and Fossil Co-op show, 1635 N. Oracle Road, Feb. 7, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz. The co-op's show, part of the the larger Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase.
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Kate Mull, right, and her daughter Grace, both visiting from West Virginia, sport their t-shirts Kate bought especially for the gem show as they browse the displays at Rosman Gems at the Mineral and Fossil Co-op show, 1635 N. Oracle Road, Feb. 7, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz.
Rick Wiley
Photo editor
As featured on
The UA's Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum is set to open by fall 2020 and will be located in the historic Pima County Courthouse in downtown.
The Tucson Gem & Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center is often referred to as the largest, oldest and most prestigious gem and mineral show in the world.
The American Gem Trade Association's GemFair has been part of the Tucson show for nearly 40 years.
