It’s a commonly held belief among colored stone dealers that Bangkok is the gemstone capital of the world.

            While that might be true for most of the year, for at least two weeks each February, Tucson runs away with Bangkok’s title.

            This year was no exception, as thousands of gem and jewelry dealers from all over the world converged on the Arizona city, which boasted a grand total of 21different shows running concurrently over the first two weeks of the month, these ranged from major events like the conventions run by the American Gem Traders Association (AGTA) and the Gems and Lapidary Dealers Association (GLDA) to smaller gatherings like the Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show and the Show of Integrity, which was held at a tiny local church called Scottish Rite.

            While the GLDA show was the original show that put Tucson on the map of international colored stone dealers, the mammoth AGTA event is now clearly the main attraction of any visit.

            The show, which was held at the Tucson Convention Center, attracted a total of 10,732 visitors—up slightly from 10,381 in 1994.

            “I really am pleased about the new additions to the show this year,” said Mary Low Keen, trade manager for the show. “I feel we were really able to present the best of Tucson.”

            So, what was new at Tucson this year?

            Well, that depends on who you talked to. At times in Tucson, it seemed that the only consensus between gem dealers was that there was no real consensus.

            “As the business becomes more and more competitive, everybody is specializing in something different,” said John Bilbault of Kaiser Gems, an American company which has a cutting factory in Bangkok with 150 workers. “It’s very difficult to be everything to everybody.

            Amnon Gnessin of Colgems concurred. “Colored stones have become very much a custom requirement,” he said. “A lot of people are going off in different directions.”

            Of course, there were some trends that could not be denied, like the continued popularity of tanzanite. At gem shows over the past two years, the popularity of the stone has become almost a cliché. At one noteworthy event in 1994, buyers were actually running up and down the aisles, screaming “Does anyone have tanzanite?”

            While this scene was not repeated at Tucson, prices for this popular gem were up more than 10 per cent from last year, and are expected to rise even further. Bill barker of Barker & Co in Scottsdale, Arizona said prices may go up by as much as 50 percent in the next year, if production does not increase. At the show, prices ranged from $140 to $200 per carat for one to two-carat sizes. While the smaller stones were easily available, designers had a tougher time finding larger, non-calibrated sizes.

            “People are worried that tanzanite will price itself out of the market,” said Bilbault.

            In the current environment, stone producers are being cautious when taking orders for their clients—accepting orders for 100 of 200 pieces at a time, instead of 1,000 to 2,000, “Then, they’ll see how it goes,” said Bilbault.

            Aside from the dangerous world of tanzanite, Bilbault was not shy about speculating on what else will be hot this year.

            “I think it’s going to be a good year for pink tourmaline,” he said.

            According to Bilbault, pink tourmaline is still readily available in sizes like 5x3, 6x4 and 7x5—with orders of 1,000 to 2,000 pieces easily filled. Bigger sizes are available, though in much smaller quantities.

            Other stones eliciting discussion from gem dealers were Turkish diaspore, am trine, apatite, mandarin garnet, chrome diopside, benitoite, and a new bi-color topaz.

            Previously, Turkish diaspore had been mined only in Turkey and South Africa. However, a new deposit has been found in India and supply seems to be ample. The stone, which has a Mohs’ rating of 7, ranges in color from pink champ age to raspberry and changes to a yellow or bluish green under incandescent light. Smaller pieces are selling for about $200 per carat, while the larger pieces can go up to about $825 per carat. Currently, the distributor of the stone, Golden Land Trading Co of Clinton, New Jersey, is conducting a contest to rename it.

            Chrome diopside is a brilliant green gemstone that is available for prices as low as $15per carat. In the past, buyers have been cautious of chrome diopside due to its relative soltness, with a rating of only 5.5 on the Mohs’ scale.

            The stone is being mined in Russia and thus far, supply has been inconsistent, according to Bilbault. “I think, however, that since it’s cheap, people will give it a try,” he said.

            The bi-color topaz being marketed by the Russian Colored Stone Co of Golden, Colorado, had several buyers excited.

            The color of the stone runs in a gradient from deep topaz to a dusky blue. Apparently the changes have been affected without heat treatment, though one source said he was eager to test that claim.

            While undoubtedly a beautiful gem, others say the bi-color topaz is unlikely to make much of an impact on the gem market.

            “It’s very expensive,” said Julius Faham of Ambros, a New York company which has a cutting factory in Bangkok, “It’s not commercially priced. This is a collector’s stone.”

            The same could be said for benitoite, a gemstone being mined in the San Bernadino, California area. Previously, benitoite was only found in blue color and small sizes. Now, with heat treatment, orange-, pink and topaz-colored varieties are available on the market. The price of an orange-blue bi-color stone can go up to $1,000 a carat.

            “They’re getting some unusual looks out of it,” said Richard Drucker, who tracks the prices of colored gemstones with his regularly updated industry pricelist, called The Guide.

            Colgems was marketing mandarin garnet from Namibia at the Gems and Jewelry Exchange tent just outside the Tucson Convention Center. Upon its first appearance several years back, the stone was called Hollandine in honor of the Dutch royal family. But, according to Gnessin, consumers preferred the name mandarin garnet, due to the stone’s color similarity to the mandarin orange.

            The stone, which is found in cubic crystal form, has a specific gravity of 4.1, a refractive index of 1.8 and a Mohs’hardness rating of 7.5. Though it is available in any size up to ten carats, the average size of cut stones is one to two carats.

            Buyers seeking the newest and latest were also asking for orthoclase—a bright lemon-colored feldspar available in large sizes—and hessonite, a yellowish garnet out of Africa that some are calling “chardonnay garnet”. Chardonnay garnet is only available in small sizes, ranging from 7x5mm and down.

            Aside from these oddities, many dealers also reported revived interest in traditional stones like ruby, sapphire and emerald. One surprising trend mentioned by several stone-watchers was the popularity of yellow sapphires—particularly with Asian buyers.

            “That’s one of the things people are most interested in,” said Mongkol Perdkiri of Siam Color, a Los Angeles company run by two natives of Thailand.

            However, other market watchers said this trend would be short-lived, if it really was a trend at all. “I don’t understand why Asian buyers would want yellow sapphires,” one source said. “Yellow doesn’t look good with their skin.

            This sort of difference of opinion could also be found when talking to dealers about the quality of the shows at the various sites around Tucson. While some were happy with their show and their sales, others most definitely were not.

            Teresa Kristal of NAFCO Gems in nearby Scottsdale, Arizona had nothing but praise for the AGTA affair. “This is a great show,” she said. “Everything is meticulously organized. Only the creams of the cream dealers are here.”

            “We’ve done very well,” said Nick Kollias of Olympic Opal from Adelaide, Australia, which was set up in a booth at the GJX tent. Kollias’company found success selling rough opal in the red range, which was fetching prices of up to $2,500 an ounce. “People are snapping it up,” he said.

            In fact, some people were so eager to get first crack at Kollias’ opals that he was met at the Los Angeles airport at the end of his flight from Australia by several buyers. “This is a big thing in the United States,” he said.

            However, not everybody had a success story to tell. “It’s been very slow,” said Mongkol of Siam Color, who was situated in the GLDA show. “I don’t think that anybody knows what they want right now. They’re just looking to see what everybody else was buying.”

            “Nothing new, nothing exciting,” said Faham, whose company was located at the GJX tent. “Everything’s been seen before.”

            At the end of the show, many buyers weren’t sure what to make of their visit to Tucson.

            “I don’t know if it’s been a successful trip or not,” said one shopper, as she carried her purchases out of the Tucson Convention Center and onto the bright sunshiny streets of the city. “I’II only know if I did well when I mange to sell all this stuff I bought.”