AGTA GemFair 2020 at the Tucson Gem Show

Obsessed with fantasy cuts — this one was my favorite for sure. A blue topaz cut by Darryl Alexander.

Feeling the opal magic wearing loads of opals from Parle Gems

A stack of antique bracelets found at Goldstein Diamonds — love that AGTA has several estate dealers

I love stopping by Pala International — these three tourmalines caught my attention right away. The carved frog is so cute!

I chose all phenomenal gemstones — like cat’s eye chrysoberyl, moonstone, and alexandrite from Omi Prive

Moroccan amethyst from Azurz — their booth is a dreamland

Mosaic pearls from Eliko Pearl Co. — each South Sea Tahitian pearl is hand decorated by using a combination of Urushi lacquer, 24k gold powder, and abalone shell.

Too many pretty pieces to choose from at Erica Courtney’s booth. The big ruby ring is a Greenland Ruby (yes, rubies come from Greenland).

Touching all the grey spinels at Kimberly Collins’ booth 😉

Speaking of Kimberly Collins, her line of rainbow jewelry is such a great addition to any jewelry store’s inventory. Lots of fun pieces at great price points.

Mayer & Watt’s tagline this year may have been #SpotTheGecko but I found something else at their booth — this drool-worthy watermelon tourmaline slice. It came with a matching suite of others.

An up-close shot of the Erica Courtney earring set with a fiery Fire Opal

A cold morning arriving at AGTA GemFair!

Two bucket list jewels from Under the Crown — a diamond riviere necklace and a gorgeous Edwardian diamond necklace

This necklace by Erica Courtney gives me chills!

Ten out of ten for these rings from Parle Gems

A major amethyst cut by Zava Mastercuts

Too much dreamy Suzy Landa, I couldn’t choose just one

An up-close look at this earring by Parle Gems

SPONSORED BY AGTA I’m back from Tucson and excited to share more from my time spent at AGTA GemFair 2020. This year, a few things were new for me — the first being my Instagram takeover I did for AGTA’s account as a Gembassador™ and the second was maneuvering the show while being a breast-pumping mom. This was the first time I’ve ever left Gino since having him eight months ago, so I was very nervous for both myself and him back home. Luckily I over-prepared and spent so much time planning for this trip. There are a couple things that made this trip possible, and that’s my husband being able to take four days off from work to be with Gino, as well as my time waking up in the middle of the night every night during the entire months of October & November to pump and save milk to make this happen. So thankful that I did!

With things kicking off on February 4th at Tucson’s Convention Center, the excitement was still buzzing even on the second day, when I finally arrived to the show. The day before was filled with travel delays and cancelations, lots of sitting in the airport, pumping in the nursing pod in Phoenix, and driving down in our rental car. I brought along my photographer Lauren Newman again this time and we were both looking forward to seeing so many incredible pieces and people. With over 7,500 buyers in attendance this year, gem fever was spreading quickly with no cure in sight. The mood was electric and contagious, with people wanting to buy, learn and see things they’ve never seen before!

As with most trade shows, I don’t go in with a plan — I see where the day takes me, following my instincts with what booths to visit and what items catch my attention. I started out at the Gem Hall, which is the main buying floor, with exhibitors sprawling from aisle 100 to aisle 1600. So much to see! Upstairs in the ballroom featured lots of finished jewelry, from both artisan designers, antique & estate pieces, and diamond jewelry. Tools, appraisal services, inventory management software, insurance, photography, metal refining, gem labs, and SO many more companies made up this section. I love how diverse and expansive AGTA is.

Hope you enjoyed my recap this year — you can read the captions below each photo to learn more about what is pictured as well as the booth/vendor. If you have any questions about the show, my experience, or recommendations, I’d be happy to answer. Let me know!

All photos shot by Lauren Newman for Gem Gossip.