Tucson Treasures

Wow.  That's the only word I have for my recent Tucson trip.  Tremendous fun, intriguing, and totally overwhelming.  Several of you had said to me beforehand that you live through me vicariously, I just didn't know it was THIS many of you.  The number of convos and facebook comments I got was incredible.  I apologize if I didn't manage to fill all the requests and ship out on time, next year I will take Debbie, that should help.  I worked day and night getting listings out, and each time I sold stuff I went back to the vendors to buy more.  The nice thing for me was that the many sales helped me increase my purchasing budget for future listings and offerings, and I owe all of you who supported my shop during this time my deepest gratitude.

Your feedback also helped me focus one where and what to buy - this is crucial when you are faced with nearly 1000 vendors!

Many of you have been asking what I have brought, and what the highlights were.  This is hard to summarize, but I am going to try.

Red Beryl: finding red (I should really say "pink") "emerald" was a new thing for me, I had never seen it in person, and I didn't know anything about treatments.  There is apparently only one place in the world where it is mined - the Wah Wah Mountains in Utah.  I spoke to the mine owner to get educated (some photos of crystal formations below).  But because the mine owner's gems were 98% treated, I mainly bought from a new contact I had made who specializes in American gems (and who is also on the board of the AGTA).  Robert (Bob) lives on the North Shore of Oahu, loves surfing and only does the Tucson show, otherwise he ships to wholesalers like me, sometimes on memo.  His wife makes jewelry.  My impression of him was that he loves gems, is very knowledgeable, but has an established customer base and is not pushing for a lot of new business (he's in his mid 60's I would guess).  I once lived in Hawaii and my experience was that after some time there, you take life at a more relaxed pace.  I earned my stripes with Bob by purchasing five very expensive pieces of red beryl - I have one left - several pieces of paraiba, three of which are in the lab (the rest is sold), and a little Beniotite.  For some reason that hasn't sold.  I was surprised by that but then that was also a new gem for me. Bob has more pieces (see photo).  And he had some very pretty rhodochrosite which I didn't buy because they are hard to work with.  I may get some at a later point.

My Last Red Beryl

Benitoite and Rhodochrosite

Paraiba: aside from Bob, I found a wholesaler who had the melee I've been selling.  They had told me on the first day that I needed to buy at least one carat (ouch) but I did.  While I was there, another wholesaler was talking to the owner and I overheard that prices were being made for ALL the melee that was left.  That was red alert for me because after scouring two shows and calling around in NY, I found little to none, certainly nothing in that intense color.  So I bought another carat right away.  More ouch.  I listed it immediately because I was pretty worried about my financial exposure.  But it turned out demand exceeded supply.  So I went back three more times.  Overall I bought and pretty much sold 9 carats in about 14 days.  I am nearly sold out at this point.  I have no idea if the other deal went through, I found out at the end of the second day that it was to be conducted in NY, and that until the end of Tucson, I could buy what I wanted.  I have not yet contacted the dealer to see if there's more.  Unless you guys tell me otherwise, I feel like my small market is saturated.

I also found a New York seller with Paraiba, they had a bit more, some cabs too.  I bought what I thought were the nicest pieces, but I will probably make an appointment there in a few weeks, after the dust has settled from this adventure.

Hauyne/Hauynite: that was another lucky buy for me.  The guys with the lavender spinel from Vietnam, all of which is pretty much sold, had a 500 piece parcel.  I first bought some from Dudley who had also cut a lot, sold those, then saw these on day two.  I slept on it and then negotiated for the purchase of half.  By the end of the week I felt confident enough to buy the other half.  He really wanted to sell it all anyway, and there was no picking.  All, half, nothing.  I am still sorting these out, but they were roughly 1.5-1.9mm, with most of them 1.6-1.7.  You'll see listings for them over time.

Spinel: I did see one dealer that had Burmese spinels, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous bigger pieces.  For - wholesale - more than $7000 a carat for pieces over one carat.  I passed!  I bought quite a bit of Dudley's melee, which you are seeing in the shop.  I got lavender Vietnamese spinel, all sold, one pair a "maybe".  I have to rephotograph more violet colored spinel I listed.  The color is ridiculously off.  It's soo pretty.  I have one more pair in pink that I am debating over myself.  In Cobalt spinel (Luc Yen) I saw very little, some will be listed in a week or two (also out for inspection) and I have a cushion coming to me that I can put out.

Vietnamese Spinel

Burmese Spinel sadly too expensive :(

Ruby/sapphire: these are all from Dudley.  My only star ruby sold once and almost twice.  I have two more (mildly heated) ruby coming up, some Kenyan sapphires - gorgeous yellow with some blue, Madagascan (teal color), purple, blue, and blueish purple (Ceylon), and a breathtaking larger elongated emerald cut from Rakwana, Sri Lanka.  None are heated.  I'm already out of blue pairs, I'll have to ask for more in a month or two.

Madagascan and Sri Lankan Ruby (Left and Right)

Twin Star Sapphire (Sold)

Jaroslav Hyrsl Author of 'Minerals and their Localities'
I bought the twin star sapphire from him.

What else?  I've been selling down on the Kenyan Tsavorite (so pretty), I have just a few 3.5mm left to list I believe.  Then I just have some oddball stuff left.  I loved the twin star sapphire that sold right away.  That was a total novelty.  I saw some on eBay but none in that quality.

Kenyan Sapphire (on Etsy)

I don't know that I made a lot of new connections this time.  Just the one with Bob (from whom I bought a little bit last year).  But more important to me is to deepen the connections I have.  A lot of it is based upon creating buying power and lending power.  Making purchases, paying right away, not having checks bounce, not returning, not wasting time and fussing, knowing one's stuff.  Gem dealers have low markups and in the wholesale, they have to time for difficult buyers.  This doesn't mean you can't spend time selecting.  You should in fact.  You can show a little of your knowledge by commenting on gems and be honest when you don't know.  The good gem dealers appreciate it. You also never insult merchandise or prices.  You can say you are not interested, you don't have a market, you can't sell it at that price, you don't have that kind of budget.  That's all ok.

Well I think this is enough for today.  I'll leave you with some impressions of my two (half) days off after the show.  I took a trip into the Catalina Mountains, watching the sunset.  And my friend Jochen from Jentsch Mineralien took me to Karchener Caves, one of very few living caves around the world. If you like to know about minerals, then this excursion into geology is up your alley!

Until next time...

Yvonne (Cecile - that's my middle name) Raley (Designs)

My thanks again to Debbie and Karen, who put in extra days to keep the shop afloat, and to all of you who "accompanied" me on this trip!

Martin Zinn Exposition

Martin Zinn Exposition

Martin Zinn Exposition

Catalina Mountains

Catalina Mountains

Catalina Mountains

Karchener Cave - Photo from a Post Card

My Favorite Color Combos

Going gem shopping, for me, isn't only about chasing down the nicest and most unusual gems.  It can also be about finding colors that work well with my designs or my other gems.  I get very exited when I find a bright 1.2mm melee gem that still pops, like the amethyst I recently added to some of my designs.  Amethyst may not be an exiting stone, but having purple melee IS exciting.

So one thing I'll be looking for, both in Tucson and other upcoming shows, is more melee for my halos, petals, and earrings that take smaller gems.  I'm also going to look for gem colors that complement the colors I love.

Here are some color layouts I have been playing with that I really like.  The first shows some possible layouts for my nine stone ring, using zircon, tanzanite chrysoberyl and tsavorite.  The second is a mix of four different color sapphires, a mint, a tsav, and a tourmaline.

Tsavorite, Zircon, Tanzanite, Chysoberyl

Sapphire, Tsavorite, Mint Garnet, Tourmaline

Another interesting color to work with is purple.  I like seeing it with greens or pinks.  The first layout pairs a tanzanite with color change garnets, then two sapphires, then with hauynite and rhodolite.  Then I added spinel and then purple sapphire and alexandrite.

Tanzanite and Color Change Garnet

Tanzanite and Sapphire

Tanzanite, Hauynite and Rhodolite

Spinel, Purple Garnet and Tanzanite

Unheated Tanzanite, Alexandrite, Purple Sapphire

And here is a pretty blue, green, and purple combo that I recently made.  This is spinel, emerald and amethyst. Then Tsavorite garnet and Zircon. And more...

Spinel, Emerald, Amethyst

Tsavorite, Zircon

Zircon and Mint Garnet (or was it emerald?)

Zircon and Demantoid

Burmese spinel are also a fun design challenge.  Aside from yellow, you can add a chrysoberyl or a minty stone (I think that was a lighter Paraiba).

Spinel and Paraiba

Spinel And Chrysoberyl

Or you can go all out and mix every color. Can you guess what they are?

Tucson: The List

I don't think I've been this excited about a trip in a very long time - not even my Christmas trip home to Germany and France.  Going to Tucson is just different.  And expensive, lol.

I am slowly assembling a list of gems I want to look for.  Here is my progress.  Additional suggestions are welcome - if you have a specific order, let me know, suggestions are just that, I won't hold you to buying anything.  :)

Paraiba: Anything reasonable, but only from Brazil.  Melees.1-2mm rd.

Paraiba and Spinel

Emerald and Hauynite

Hauynite: 1-2mm round melee, maybe one larger piece (meaning 3mm or so).  They break easily so the investment is not a good one.

Burma Spinel: Melees and small baguette, there isn't likely to be anything larger that's good but I'll look.

Vietnamese Spinel: Matched pairs, elongated pear shape, lavender.  Maybe a color changer.  They also have pinks from Vietnam, nice color, no grey but less vibrant than Mahenge.  With Mahenges disappearing from the market, at least for the moment, I may buy though.

Vietnamese Cobalt Spinel: There isn't likely to be much, I heard there was little or no production.  But I will look.

Sapphire: Blue pairs, always. rich purple, color change, cool shapes.  Maybe stars (I could use thoughts on that, I'm iffy about whether I should buy).  Only no heat Ceylon of course, probably no other sapphire for me.  Melee - last year I got these nice lavender melees that I use a lot.  I will look for that seller, he also had the teal green rounds.

Purple Sapphire and Paraiba Tourmaline

Ruby: Maybe one or two pieces.  Madagascan has a nice blood red color.  So that's a thought.  Maybe a ruby star?

Aqua: Looking for nice baguette shapes.  At the moment aqua supply is low.  Prices have jumped up a bit.

Sphene: I'm totally out, but I will probably have to go for Sri Lankan stuff, which has more orange tones in it.

Tourmaline, other: not high on the list but if I see something nice I'm game.  Indicolite would be good.  Or a light seafoam color.  Afghani material.

Other: anything matched elongated pear (i.e. tourmaline).  Any other cool baguette shapes for my new pieces, larger ones for earrings.

What I'm not prioritizing: emerald (my supplier is in NY and last year nobody in Tucson had anything reasonable), Mahenge, Tsavorite, Mint and other Garnet (my supplier is also here).

There are three people I want to get to on the first day (tall order).  There is always a mad rush for the booths with more rare goods or good prices.  I remember one booth where I know the owner was over run.  You couldn't see anything.  Lucky for me that I knew them, so I put aside a small tray for myself and told them to do the invoice the end of the day.

Larger companies,like online retailers, often show up on the first day and buy a lot. They buy in big gobs and they seem to prefer to grab entire productions of something to corner the market.  That's what I saw in Tucson last year anyway.  Other companies send scouts, or hire gem buyers, to get them their goods.  So for certain things, there can be competition among buyers.  Other things seem to hang out the entire show and nobody buys them.  The trick is not to get caught up in the mad rush.

Vietnamese and Burma Spinel

Red Tourmaline

Again, let me know what, if anything, might be on the list.

Yvonne

Preparing for Tucson

Even though right now I am sitting in small hotel in France, sipping red wine and enjoying the holiday markets and wintry atmosphere during a much needed break, I am already thinking of warmer weather and of purchasing gemstones.

My Hotel Sitting Room in France

Holiday Spirit in Alsace, France

On February 1, when my home town New York will be in the thick of winter, I will be leaving for my annual trip to Tucson.  I am doing my final budgeting this month, and I've already placed some phone calls to check out who's there an who has what.  I'm mainly visiting the AGTA and the JCK shows, but I may try to browse others.  With over 60 gem, jewelry and mineral shows, there is a lot to choose from, but the two shows I attend are the main attraction for gem buyers.

Presumably, some of you need prepping as well, especially if you plan on making a purchase through me, so I need to get you acclimated to what's there and what isn't.

A longish phone conversation with one of my main suppliers who works out of Colorado has increased my expectations for some nice quality sapphire.  D. said that despite heavy buying competition in Sri Lanka, the family he has been working with over the past 30 years had collected quite a selection for him to choose from when he visited in November, and he purchased a lot.  He said there were not many rounds (so keep that in mind) but there are some matched round pairs for earrings, and there are more of the yellow Kenyan pieces that went in such a hurry last time I bought (last Tucson JTV just about bought them all).  I plan on grabbing what I can in blue matched pairs, and if I see matched purples I will buy those (last summer he had only one pair and I got that one).  I want some lavender pairs also if he has them at all.  D. also said he bought some nice star pieces. Some larger pads are also available, and some no heat rubies.  From my past experience, the main cuts will be ovals and cushions, almost no pear shapes, but some modified trillions and perhaps also some octagons.

Bright Yellow Sapphire from Kenya, Bi-Color Teal

Regarding larger purchases, if you plan on making any through me I prefer to know ahead of time. I can't front a huge amount of cash for you and buy stuff for you to choose and then maybe return, I'm simply not big enough for that - creating those types of choices requires a huge cash flow.  But I am going to bring my better camera and I'll be happy so let you see what I see through my eyes and thus limit both your financial exposure and mine.

As some of you may also remember from last year, I got these gorgeous emerald cut spinels from Burma, and some small melees (1.5-2.5mm).  D. purchased some more rough and is trying to have them cut in time for Tucson, but there will only be 1/2 tray and there are NO larger pieces.  He was offered but the prices were hideous so he passed.  And if he passes he is usually right.  Last year already, I saw extremely little Burma spinel and nothing in larger sizes.  

Burmese Spinel Emerald Cut/3x2mm

Cobalt spinel was also unavailable, and there was little from Vietnam.  I do have another source and maybe he fared better - I won't know until I'm there - but don't expect any more cobalts, I bought what D. had that I liked the last couple times I saw him, 

The same goes for Mahenge spinel.  I buy that from my NY source and right now there's very little new material.  I don't expect to see anything in Tucson, and certainly not at good prices because I was told by various sources that nothing good is out there and the mines are not producing much at the moment.  Half of it is, in fact, shut down until further notice.  

And the same goes for Tsavorite, though Mandarin and Spessartite Garnet are being mined again.  I may have good access to that as well as possibly some nice mints.  I should know that later in January.

My hauynite source from Germany is going to have some fresh cut materials for me.  Again, the largest size, and very hard to cut, is 3mm.  Expect more in the 2mm range.  Last October he was in New York but we didn't meet because he sold out in Hong Kong.  I may have to get to his booth early then again I want to go to ALL booths early and that's naturally impossible.  Selection takes time, and I can't and don't want to spend all my money the first day.  If you like some hauynite, please keep in mind that the material is very brittle and you need extra melee.  Also please let me know ahead of time what you'd like so I can put it on my list and purchase without having to go back and forth a lot.  Prices are $1400 per carat for medium blue with slight piques (that's the material I mostly buy) to $2000/ct for the cleaner and slightly lighter stuff.  If there are any 4mm pieces those will be priced individually.  But I kind of recommend against it since if that stuff breaks during setting you and I will both be disappointed.

Hauynite from the Eiffel in Germany

Paraiba Tourmaline Melee

Now on to my last topic, the famed Paraiba tourmaline.  First of all,let me explain how I got that material last February.  Last year I happened upon the brother of a dealer I knew from New York, and he had four trays of old inventory at ridiculously good prices by comparison even to Brazilian sellers in Tucson.  I bought a few pieces, stuck them on Facebook, and customers went wild.  So I bought and sold and bought and sold all week, bought some more before I left, and bought up the rest of the good stuff in the following few months.  There is literally nothing affordable left, and I didn't see anything anywhere else.  This dealer's brother may have some rough cut in melee sizes and I told him to let me know.  But don't have any expectations regarding other sizes at good prices.  That was a stroke of luck and the material is gone.

In melee I may do better.  At the GJX show last year there was a dealer from Brazil who had a lot of melee. The price was high and I wasn't overwhelmed with the quality, but there will be some more this year and if I can, and get enough demand for it ahead of time, I will buy a couple of carats in the 1-2 mm range.

This is it for my plans so far.  I am still investigating.  

I could use the following help from my readers at this point.  If you find particular gems of interest and would like me to look and see what's out there, let me know - this would help me decide what gems to concentrate on for stock items and purchases for the next few months.  Secondly, if you are seriously interested in something, let me know too, but you would help me greatly if you could research what I need to know to buy and trust me with your budget. I won't clean you out.  The Tucson gem show is 5 days, it is very busy and there are over 1000 booths for me to look at (booths, not gems, not gem varieties).  I select 8 hours a day, and some gem dealers are only in Tucson and never anywhere else.  They collect all year just for that show.  I am more than happy to purchase for you, but I need to know if I am really looking or just browsing, and keep in mind that for the most part, returns are not possible for me.

Tucson, for a gem buyer like me, can be paradise.  And it can be a gamble that can cost you your business.  Here's a simple example.  Say you have a budget of 10K - just to pick a number. That's a small budget for Tucson but it's roughly where mine is at.  Now say you see some things that YOU think are just amazing and rare and the price is great and you spend a lot of your budget on that materials.  Then it turns out that only you like this stuff and nobody else.  And then requests roll in for other gems, but you are out of money.  As I said above, for the most part gem buying in Tucson has no return options so if your buyer returns you are in the negative.  Here's another example.  Say you get a "call" for xyz but you don't know if is "a serious call" (that's our lingo for that type of thing).  So you act, spend your budget, and then the buyer loses interest, finds something better, or just doesn't like what you bought. Now you sit on the merchandise (also our lingo), being unable to buy more until you sell that material.  

This happens all the time!

So, I have to follow rules. Here are the ones I take very seriously: never spend all your cash on one thing.  Or on the first day.  Be willing to risk to lose an opportunity, others will come later.  Diversify and try to sell while you're there so you turn money over quickly.  Know which customers are serious, know their tastes, know them well.  Be conservative.  Develop good business relationships with sellers you can trust and with buyers who trust you.  Avoid disappointing either.

And here is my final rule - this one I have observed since day one and I can only pass it on to anyone who wants to be in this business, either for fun or for generating income.  NEVER buy goods on borrowed funds.  Never never.  Unless they are already sold (no returns) or you trust that person with your life.  If you borrow, then buy, and then can't sell, you're done.  So you have to say no to yourself, and sometimes lose a sale.  But it's the best protection you can have in the end.

Happy planning!

Holiday Shopping on Etsy

I don't know how many of you do holiday shopping via Etsy but I do my bit every year to promote some fellow shops that I like.

A big fashion item for me this year were leggins - they are just so comfortable, and I bought from two different shops both of which I was very happy with.

For the lower budget item, you can go to LazyDaisyLeggins, they ship quickly and their leggings are only $18 each.  I bought the skull leggins for Debbie and three more pair for me.  The leggings are super soft and stretchy.  Shipping was very fast.

If you like workout and yoga leggings, I recommend Narais. Sara also designs for bags and pillows, among other things, but my eye fell on the cat leggings which are just phenomenal.  Those took longer to ship but another set of leggings shipped right away.

For another snuggly winter item, I bought woolen slippers from MiasFelt 

From her I got blue woolen slippers which fit really nicely and shipped surprisingly fast from Lithuania (2 weeks I think).  My favorite are these here:

But for personal purchases and gifts, I went with the more conservative ones.

Next weekend I am going to a friend's pot luck wedding and I was tasked with making a cake.  I love baking German cakes, but I'm not so good with decor, so I went to Sugar Robot  and I got these incredible sugar butterflies, they look amazing.  Sugar robot also has leaves and other holiday decor items for cup cakes.  Shipping was next day, so there is still time.

Like most of you, I love holiday baking (though not the calories).  I think I recommended this shop last year, but I will do it again this year.  Go to Oma Gisi's bakery and get the Stollen confection

They are a taste of the real Germany, and they were a hit with all my friends. The shop does not ship quickly I'm afraid (my order took two weeks to make), but I realize the difficulty in baking to order, having it fresh, and meeting holiday deadlines.  It can't be easy.  I think Oma Gisi's stuff can be enjoyed anytime though.

Last but not least, I am going to blatantly advertise my aunt's shop - but for good reason: Silver Designs by Gitte. My aunt is a learned goldsmith.  In the late 1960s she was one of very few women in the industry, but she gave it up after experiencing the difficulty of working jewelry shops that mainly live off repairs and having to work assembly line under time pressure.  She had always hoped to make her own designs but it was far too expensive for my family to help her start her own shop, so Gitte looked for a regular ("money") job doing book keeping instead.  Now that she's retired, she's gone back to her roots. Every piece she produces takes an entire afternoon, and she charges essentially nothing for her labor (her pieces should cost $200-300 each).  She makes practically ever bezel, every accent piece, and sets all her own stones.  Here are some photos from her shop.

Silver Designs By Gitte - Shop Tools and Drawings

Before, After, and in Between

My Aunt's Work Bench and Some of her Silver Pieces

I'm really proud of Gitte for having found her way back to her girl dreams, and I only wish my grandparents could see it (Grandpa passed a few years ago and Grandma is in a home with dementia, she's still really lovely and misses us, but she can no longer retain what my aunt learned or did when she was younger).  Go Gitte.  Please help me promote her shop. www.etsy.com/shop/SilverDesignsbyGitte

My Aunt's Studio where Creation Happens

Happy holidays everyone!

Yvonne
+ Cecile Raley Designs Staff