Web lets Tucson event cast global net

For years, the Tucson gem shows were the only place a buyer could find rocks from every forgotten corner of the Earth.

And then came the Internet.

Bob Keller, operator of the Web's most popular site for rockhounds, first realized the threat the Internet posed to the traditional bazaar style of mineral selling a few years ago when he met a top show promoter for dinner. After a bit of standard shop talk, Keller's dining companion leaned across the table and asked, "What's going to happen to my Tucson shows?"

"That was the big question," Keller said. "We kicked it around for a while. Everyone wanted to know what the ultimate impact would be and whether it was going to hurt them."

The very first Web sites hawking specimens for sale were compiled by Web masters more interested in computers than crystals. But when serious dealers started establishing themselves in cyberspace, Keller said, show promoters got the jitters. Suddenly, collectors from Toronto to Thailand had instant access to world-class lepidolite.

"Portals were opening up directly into the Tucson show," Keller said. "You can browse specimens here from anywhere."

The Internet is easy, convenient, and, for the buyer who just wants a geode for his desk, irritatingly comprehensive. But most promoters long ago filed away their eulogies for the Tucson shows. There's just no substitute for actually getting their hands on a specimen, they say. "People like to handle minerals and fossils," said Marty Zinn, promoter of the Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show.

"The guys selling rocks online aren't really selling rocks. They're selling pictures of rocks," Keller said. "There's something about being able to look at rocks. A show like Tucson provides unparalleled opportunities for that."

Rather than emerging as competition, commercial Web sites may turn out to be the shows' biggest boosters. Keller believes the Internet is creating a new generation of rock lovers eager to get their fix in Tucson.

Keller knows devoted rockhounds will scout out a stone no matter where it is: His site, "Bob's Rock Shop" at www.rockhounds.com, got its start as a parody site to teach other Internet users about the pitfalls of Web design. His dummy photos, drawn from his own rock collection, were discovered by rockhounds who clamored for more. He now works full time on his Web site.

"Many visitors to my Web site are not hard-core rockhounds," Keller said. "They're educated Internet users, and many of them are nature appreciators. And lo and behold, they develop a serious interest."

Living alongside a quarry is no longer a requirement for amateur rock collecting, Keller said. His Web site readers hail from all around the world. "They don't call it the World Wide Web for nothing," he said. "The Internet has greatly extended the market to people who are remote and removed. A lot of people being reached this way are not globe-trotting folks."

Keller said rock collectors can uncover some impressive deals on the Internet. Every year, he said, rockhounds die, leaving their collections uncataloged. Their heirs, unsure what to do with tons of unlabeled rock, often unload them for ridiculous prices online.

But there's also plenty of fraud in cyberspace. As investors have driven up the prices of nearly every specimen, the consequences of old-fashioned cons have become more dire. While Keller has abandoned the dealing end of his Web site to concentrate on his Web 'zine for rockhounds, he said he often hears from people who lost hundreds of dollars to advertisers in his classified pages.

"If you're a good photographer and you know the tricks, you can make any rock look good online," Keller said. "It may be too obvious, but if you find a deal too good to be true, it probably is."

Keller still believes the good of Internet dealing - there are tens of thousands of specimens available online - far outweighs the bad.

"I don't think the ultimate impact of the Internet is harmful," Keller said. "It's stimulating interest at the beginner level. And dealers selling to those collectors online have to buy somewhere. Guess where that is? Tucson."

Area mineral museums dig the gem shows, too

Mineral-minded museums around town are jumping on the gem-show bandwagon.

Organizing special events and exhibits for aspiring rockhounds, the Flandrau Science Center, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and the Asarco Mineral Discovery Center are all hoping to entice shoppers into taking educational breaks from their browsing.

"I think there's a lot of science behind the gem and mineral show that doesn't really get discussed," Flandrau director Alexis Faust said. "This is an opportunity to learn before you go."

"Flandrau Rocks! Minerals, Meteorites and Mining," will open at Flandrau Feb. 3. The exhibit will feature a 64-square-foot rock pile for children to explore, interactive demonstrations led by experts and a few massive minerals.

One of the most important specimens being rolled out for the show is the Zagami Meteorite, a chunk of Mars that narrowly missed landing on a Nigerian farmer in 1962. Faust said the meteorite is one of only 18 worldwide whose fall to Earth had a known eyewitness.

Flandrau spokeswoman Mary Cox said the show will rely heavily on the University of Arizona Mineral Museum's collection of 15,000 cataloged specimens. Most of the minerals in the collection - the longest continually curated university mineral collection west of the Mississippi - are usually kept in storage.

"It's a fabulous collection," Cox said.

While Flandrau has never before attempted a tie-in with the gem shows, the Desert Museum will be mounting its eighth annual "Mineral Madness" showcase and sale this weekend. Proceeds from the gem, fossil and mineral show benefit the museum, spokeswoman Mary Rowley said.

Rowley anticipates many gem show shoppers will be interested in the museum's permanent display of minerals. The collection includes minerals of every shape, color and size drawn from the Sonoran Desert, she said. Museum docents will be available this weekend to answer questions about all things geological.

The Desert Museum is also hosting two educational booths at the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase at the Tucson Convention Center. One of the booths, debuting this year, will focus on Ice Age fossils from Avra Valley.

Rob Vugteveen, director of the Asarco Mineral Discovery Center, said his museum doesn't need to spice up its offerings too much to attract gem show shoppers. Its tours of a working copper mine, grinding mill and a reclamation project are always popular this time of year, he said.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

2021 N. Kinney Road.

883-2702

Every day, 8:30-5

Showcase and sale runs Sat. 9 -4, Sun. 10-3

Adults, $9.95

Children, $1.75

Children under 6, free

www.desertmuseum.org

Flandrau Science Center

1601 E. University Blvd.

621-STAR

Monday-Wednesday 9-5

Wednesday-Saturday 7-9

Sunday 1-5

Adults, $3

Children, $2

Children under 3, free

www.flandrau.org

Asarco Mineral Discovery Center

1421 W. Pima Mine Road

625-7513

Tuesday-Saturday 9-5

Last tour leaves at 3:30 p.m.

Adults, $6

Seniors, $5

Children, $4

www.mineraldiscovery.com

Interest in gems crystallized at early age

Colorado resident David Wilber's place in the gem and mineral world started small.

As a tyke, his parents bought him one of those little white cardboard boxes with polished rocks glued inside the bottom. From there, his passion for collecting rare minerals ballooned.

Wilber, 63, who has attended the Tucson gem show for 36 consecutive years, just completed one of the most important events of his career.

For the last four months, Wilber acted as a consultant for a Sotheby's sale of a world-class collection that he helped put together for businessman Joseph A. Freilich, he said.

The collection pulled in more than $2 million, Wilber said.

But more important, it was groundbreaking work, given that mineral auctions are almost unknown, said Wendell E. Wilson, editor and publisher of The Mineralogical Record, a bimonthly international collector's journal. In collectors' circles, an agent will usually pre-sent a client with one specimen at a time in a method known as "silver-traying."

"He was always a pioneer," Wilson said. Not bad for a man who dropped out of high school to help support his family.

One of his career highlights was a three-minute conversation about a star sapphire ring with Princess Diana at a fine- antiques show, Wilber said.

Wilber credits his early success in building a well-recognized mineral collection to several factors. He met an elderly man during the uranium boom of the 1950s who suggested that Wilber quit overspecializing in radioactive minerals and branch out into a variety of worldwide specimens.

He also studied minerals at the world's best museums and by querying the great curators.

His other great decision, he said, was to work lots of overtime in his jobs with Prudential Life Insurance. "I saved all my money to buy mineral specimens," he said.

* Contact reporter Jeannine Relly at 573-4213 or by e-mail at jrelly@azstarnet.com.

Tohono Chul Park offers quick getaway from crowds

Tohono Chul Park

7366 N. Paseo del Norte

742-6455

It's a great escape from the body-to-body contact of the gem-shows crowds. And it's a short drive from downtown Tucson to this northwest desert preserve.

A short nature trail on 49 acres wends past cactus gardens and flowers.

Another small trail is left undeveloped on the property.

In the center of the park, visitors can explore an art gallery, a gift shop or a 1930s house converted into an exhibit hall. A nearby greenhouse sells native cactuses, trees and wildflowers.

Tohono Chul Park opens daily at 7 a.m. and closes at sunset. The requested donation is $2.

The exhibit house, gallery and gift shops are open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Artisans will talk with visitors Feb. 11 from 1 to 4 p.m. in the performance garden. The artisans will engage in cowboy crafts such as cutting and braiding rawhide and engraving silver for bridle bits and spurs.

Tohono Chul Park Tea Room

7366 N. Paseo del Norte

The restaurant and gift shop is a former hacienda-style home with patio dining. It serves breakfast and lunch. The offerings include a kids menu, an all-day brunch, wine, beer, a few specialty alcoholic drinks and afternoon tea with finger sandwiches and scones.

Hearty breakfasts range from Irish oats to regional favorites such as breakfast burrito, huevos enchiladas and huevos rancheros.

Lunch begins at 11 a.m. There are about a half-dozen salads. For sandwich lovers, there are fillings that include turkey, burger, eggplant-pesto and the traditional chicken and egg salad. Lunch specialties are regional and traditional from tortilla soup and grilled raspberry chipotle chicken to broiled flank steak and grilled salmon served with side dishes.

The restaurant is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and takes checks, MasterCard and Visa credit cards. Attire: Tucson casual. For groups of six or more, call 797-1222 for reservations.

How to get the park:

Drive north on North Oracle Road. Turn left on West Ina Road and then take a right at the first stoplight, Paseo del Norte. Take a right at the second driveway on your right, which is the entrance to the park.

Where to park

Here's a listing of the public shows, coupled with parking tips for each.

Congress Street Expo at
Tucson Electric Park

Tucson Electric Park,
2500 E. Ajo Way

Ample parking is available in the Tucson Electric Park parking lot.

Globe-X Gem, Mineral, Fossil & Jewelry show

Days Inn, 222 S. Freeway Ave.

The best spots to park are the Days Inn parking lot, or the Tucson Convention Center for $4.

International Gem & Jewelry Show/Intergem Tucson 2001

700 block of West Congress Street, west of Freeway Avenue

Parking along Congress Street in front of the tent is the best way to go.

Rapa River

292 S. Freeway Ave.

Parking is available, but it costs $5 in the show lot.

Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show

Four sites:
* Ramada Inn University,
1601 N. Oracle Road
* Best Western Executive Inn, 333 W. Drachman St.
* InnSuites Hotel,
475 N. Granada Ave.
* Mineral & Fossil Marketplace, 1333 N. Oracle Road

Look for spots on the sides of streets if you can't find them in the hotel lots.

American Indian Exposition

Flamingo Travelodge,
1300 N. Stone Ave.

The Travelodge parking lot provides some parking. During the weekends, you can park at Pima Community College's Downtown Campus on Stone north of Speedway.

La Quinta Group

La Quinta Inn,
665 N. Freeway Ave.

If the La Quinta parking lot is full, you'll have to scavenge.

Atrium Productions

Four Points Hotel by Sheraton, 350 S. Freeway Ave.

Chances are the Sheraton lot will be full, so it's best to park at the TCC.

Trade Shows International Tucson Gem & Jewelry Show

Gem Pavillion,
450 S. Freeway Ave.

Officials say there will be ample parking in the lot behind the show scene.

Dell Productions

Tucson Scottish Rite,
160 S. Scott Ave.

If you can't find a spot on the side of the street, there's a lot south of the building that charges $2.50.

Beaucoup Congé

335 E. Fort Lowell Road

There are a few spots in front of the store, but your best bet is to park along North Geronimo Ave.

Crystal Myths Inc.-Best Bead Show

Kino Veterans Memorial Community Center, 2805 E. Ajo Way

Parking is ample at the site of the show.

The Whole Bead Show

The Windmill Inn of Tucson, 4250 N. Campbell Ave.

There is plenty of parking in St. Philip's Plaza.

Rio Grande Catalog in Motion Jewelry Equipment Showcase

Hilton Tucson East,
7600 E. Broadway

The hotel parking lot is the best place to park for this show.

47th Annual Tucson Gem & Mineral Show

Tucson Convention Center,
260 S. Church Ave., 322-5773

Phil Villarreal