Rock and MIneral Shows in Colorado #amethyst

Seems more and more rock and mineral shows are being run with minimal Club oversight.  Last weekend there were 3 shows all within about 15 miles of each other.  How does that work?  Who does the advertising or is it all social media now?  The weekend before I went to the Buena Vista show, which appears to be slowly turning into a large flea market. No information booth, little for kids and more non rock/mineral material for sale than I can recall.  

Looks like a flea market to me... even got a canon

I went to both the Buena Vista show and Woodland Park show this past month and found attendance down at the Buena Vista show from prior visits and the Woodland Park show seemed somewhat quiet as well.  I’ve noticed internet sale sites seem to be flourishing so perhaps the hobby is going through some changes as younger folk get more involved in the hobby/business.  Personally I like to take a real good look at anything I purchase unless I know the dealer.  I’ve seen too many fakes, to include oiling and waxing minerals as well as trimming and reshaping crystal terminations. 

This young lady seemed embarrassed to be seen here haha, or maybe
she was looking at a mineral using a black light under the blanket

I’ve been hearing now that the professionals are sealing minerals to preserve them…  Caveat Emptor I guess.  So the Buena Vista show was a hodgepodge of everything from antiques, antler horns, beads, jewelry, rocks and of course crystals and minerals. The number of dealers and customers seemed to be down a bit especially for a Saturday afternoon. There were 4 rows of dealers and I spent about an hour per row though I think I speeded up the last row as I was getting a bit tired and glazed over in the bright sun. The Buena Vista show is an outdoor event and can get quite hot, windy or wet.  The day I went was pretty nice and I think it stayed in the low 80s with a light breeze. I didn’t purchase much but was drawn to some amethyst on one guy’s table. I was wondering if this stuff was somehow enhanced but with flats of various hues of amethyst and a careful inspection of the material I decided that as far as I could tell this was just some real top-shelf amethyst

These amethyst really popped and I couldn't resist snapping up a couple of these nearly pristine specimens

The amethyst had some of the best color I’ve ever seen and were not blocky like the slabs of amethyst from Brazil, but nicely defined crystals.  The location of these amethyst was one I’d never heard of before from a silver mine in Estado de Mexico.  After some negotiating I finally got a 25% discount on two specimens I had selected.  I really wanted a flat of the amethyst but was not willing to spend $600.  Sheesh it’s still just purple quartz.  The dealer did have some flats from $200-$400 but it was not as brilliant in color or as undamaged, so I cherry picked from the best flat and paid for it accordingly. I noticed something new, or at least new to me.  A number of dealers had amethyst crystal plates with the exterior wrapped in metal. Looked different but not my cup of tea.

It reminded me a bit of crystal trees made out of wire and crystal pieces that were very popular a few years ago.  There was one concession booth and it was doing a brisk business, despite the slim crowd as he was the only vendor there.  

The Woodland Park show was more of the same only half the number of vendors.  This show seems to have peaked in attendance somewhat from prior years as well though I was only there for a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon.  There was a children’s activity area and a number of food and drink vendors.  The show also seems to be a little truer to the selling of minerals, crystals and jewelry than the Buena Vista show.  Most of the dealers at this show were the same ones with the same material I had seen at the Buena Vista show.  My wife went with me this time but neither of us bought anything, though some jewelry caught my wife’s eye it needed some serious cleaning. We hit a nearby Sonic and enjoyed some cool drinks to finish off the afternoon.  Next show is the Sep Denver show and I'm pretty sure there will be a number of interesting items there.