Mit Paloma in Tucson Arizona

At the beginning of February 2025, I was able to meet up with my friend Paloma Sanchez at the world-famous gemstone fair in Tucson, Arizona.

Gemstone&Mineral Fair – Tucson/Arinzona

Paloma is a gemstone dealer and jewelry designer in Beijing, and has been going to this fair for 30 years. So she was able to show me around expertly for two days.

On the first day, we wandered through the stalls selling mass-produced goods. Jewelry designers were stocking up for the year. There were mountains of stones on display and it seemed to me as if our entire earth must have been hollowed out for this, so much was on offer.

Gemstone&Mineral Fair Tucson Arizona 2025

In the afternoon, however, Paloma took me to 3 galleries that exhibit unprocessed mineral collections and art with stones. These galleries are located on Granada Avenue in Tucson/Arizona and are also named as such (Granada Gallery), but are only open during the fair.

Mineral Specimen Art Gallery in Tucson/Arizona

These so-called specimens are rough and uncut stones, as they occur in nature. I was fascinated by the fact that certain minerals always form the same shapes, such as cubes or rhombuses, and only grow in this way. The colors are also stunning.

n the last room of one of the masonary style villas, a large mosaic installation could be seen around a reflecting hemisphere. Natural stones such as lava, travertine, agate and many more are lined up around the reflecting sphere with a diameter of at least one meter. The dark and earthy color scheme has a noble and mystical effect.