gem show revisited

so today . . . i went back to the gem show. it was fun to be there yesterday with rollie, but when i'm with someone else, i look at things differently than when i am alone. i notice things that are unusual or that i think they will find interesting, but i move through pretty quickly and don't really get to spend the time i want just looking at things. so today i went back by myself to wander about alone.

(photo disclaimer--i know these photos are not very clear, but there was a "no photos" sign at the gate, so i had to sneak these pictures with my phone--i should be a spy!)

as i entered the gate, i was handed a fabric shopping bag. i thought, "how nice," and put it over my shoulder. but as i walked up and down the aisles, i knew why they gave me that bag. it was just begging to be filled up!as i said yesterday, gem shows are different now than they used to be. this show had lots and lots of finished jewelry, ranging from inexpensive silver rings to very expensive gold and gemstone pieces. at this booth, i saw a little girl, who was about 5, choosing a ring to take home. this vendor had tiny little silver rings with stones in them for just a few dollars. she looked and looked, finally making her choice, and then bounced up to the cash register to hand over her money so she could head home with her treasure. and then there were the beads . . . they were everywhere . . . rows and rows of them. there were beads made from every stone i know, and some that were new to me--and they came in all shapes and sizes. there were pearls dyed in every color of the rainbow--large pearls, small pearls, coin pearls, baroque pearls, button pearls, and mabe' pearls. there were faceted gemstone beads and swarovsky crystals (which, btw, were blinding!) it was amazing and overwhelming all at once, but i managed to choose a few strands to bring home.

another thing i noticed was how often organic materials were used. as i said, there were miles and miles of pearls. and many different kinds of shells. this is the coolest thing i found--although i was very tempted by the pendants and bracelets made out of spotted shells . . .the best thing that happened to me occurred right before i left. i had been looking at moonstones all day, but they were just too expensive for me--i was on a limited budget. but on my way out, i found a silver ring with a nice sized moonstone for only $10. i was so excited, until i found out that the vendor couldn't process debit cards, and i only had $8 in cash. he kindly took my $8, and i left with an empty wallet and a cool moonstone ring. (i tried to take a picture, but it just didn't capture the luminescence of the stone.)

but my favorite moment of the day happened at a real rock booth. this little area was different from the rest of the show. the tables were covered in black cloth with natural crystals on display. there was a boy about 11 or 12 looking at the rocks. he picked up a piece of iron pyrite and handed it to the owner of the booth. when he found out he could own that excellent rock for only $4, he was ecstatic! it's been a long time since i've seen a kid so excited about a rock--even a very cool rock like iron pyrite!

rock shows seem to be in the process of being taken over by people looking for finished materials to use in jewelry making. and that's ok, i guess--there were a lot of pretty things to look at. but i like that sometimes, rock shows are still about kids (and maybe some grown-ups) getting excited about rocks.