January/February 2003 • To the Finish • Economy Dominated Jewelers Sales in 2002 • News & Updates • In This Issue

The mood at the close of the Tucson 2003 gem shows was upbeat, with sales inexplicably beating expectations.

Coming off a flat holiday season and a slow January, most vendors were braced for a bad show. While traffic seemed a bit off, the two main gemstone shows — the American Gem Trade Association's (AGTA) GemFair and the Gem and Jewelry Exchange across the street — saw excellent opening days with serious buying. Other shows, most notably the Atrium Productions show at the Pueblo Inn, started off slowly but had sales pick up a few days later.

While no one was quite sure what sparked the buying activity, speculation was that retailers needed to restock after nearly two years of little to no buying. This year also saw the return of Japanese gem buyers who had been largely absent from the shows for the past two years.

Vendors reported that their customers were being conservative in their purchasing, not stocking up on any one item in particular. Retail jewelers in particular seemed to gravitate toward either the very high end of the market or the low end, especially inexpensive but interesting items that could be used to create unique jewelry with attractive price points.

Pastel gems such as aquamarine, morganite, and chalcedony seemed to do well, as did the bright, beautiful oranges of spessartite garnet and earthy greens of peridot. In pearls, again, buyers went either for the high-end South Sea and Tahitian pearls or the inexpensive Chinese freshwater pearls, with little interest in between.

One of the most interesting new finds at the show was a dark pink morganite from Madagascar that cuts nice cat's-eye cabochons. The material contains cesium and possibly other elements not usually found in beryl, which gives it odd readings on specific gravity and refractive index. There was little material available at the shows — mostly in rough form — but the area is still being mined, and more may be forthcoming.

Another new find came in the form of andesine, a type of feldspar, coming out in large sizes in an attractive red color with just a hint of orange. The origin of the material, sold by some dealers as "Congo Sunstone," is currently under debate, some claiming it is from the Congo, and others China.

In the pearl world, Chinese freshwater pearls were being sold in even larger sizes — 11 mm and 12 mm being relatively common, and some strands up to 15 mm. The quality of the pearls has continued to improve, with the color and luster on the best strands rivaling Japanese akoyas or white South Sea pearls. More and more dealers were carrying "metallic" Tahitian black pearls, whose bright colors and high luster were attracting attention wherever they were found.

While the 2003 shows were far from being the best ever, most people said they were running about even with 2002, and were content with that. However, few thought that prospects for the future would improve as long as the war with Iraq and the related economic uncertainty continued to cast its shadow over the United States.

For a full report on the Tucson 2003 gem shows, see the March/April issue of Colored Stone.

Posted: February 14, 2003