Vegas Second to Tucson, Dealers Say

Las Vegas—In the Venetian Grand Ballroom adjacent to this city's Sands Convention Center, wide aisles, high ceilings and full-blast air conditioning recall the atmosphere of the Tucson Convention Center, where the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) stages its annual GemFair in February. But for those who attended the JCK Las Vegas 2001 show at the Sands in early June, the similarities between the two shows ended there.

"Vegas is no Tucson" was a refrain heard throughout the AGTA pavilion in the Venetian Ballroom, as colored stone and cultured pearl dealers hawked their wares during what was rumored to be a poorly attended trade show.

"Prior to today, it's been a bomb," said Richard Hughes of Fallbrook, Calif.-based Pala International, on the third day of the show. Others were less blunt but echoed that sentiment, saying the reason Vegas pales in comparison to Tucson is because it is a finished jewelry show, while Tucson is a stone lover's Shangri-La. For obvious reasons, gemstone dealers don't do as well here.

The show kicked off on the wrong foot when a conflict with an earlier buying show in the same ballroom forced AGTA exhibitors to stay until the wee hours on the night before opening day so they could set up their booths.

However, most people recovered from that frustration and managed to turn the show into a steady stream of business.

"It's not how many people come to the show but how many serious buyers there are," said Bill Barker of Barker & Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz. "Traffic is down but sales are consistent."

Many dealers said top goods were moving, and that their buyers who deal with wealthy clientele were suffering less than their counterparts who sell at the low and middle ends of the price- point spectrum.

In general, the hot stones at the show were the new Madagascar rubies, which were on display at a handful of booths. Tom Cushman of Allerton Cushman & Co. in Sun Valley, Idaho, sold his biggest stone, a 1.6 carater, for more than $1,000 per carat, while other dealers seemed to have trouble nailing down a price for the rubies as they continue to stream out of eastern Madagascar by the kilo.

"By early next year, we should know what the response is and prices will bottom out," said Ron Rahmanan of N.Y.-based Sara Gem, as he showed off one of his own Madagascar stones.

Talk of tanzanite was also on people's lips, if not their buying lists, as news of African Gem Resource's (AFGEM's) troubles in Tanzania spread to dealers on the show floor. (The South African mining company has endured a spate of bad press for allegedly monopolizing the tanzanite trade through the use of terror tactics against small-scale miners in and around its Block C mines.)

Prices on the violet-blue stone have been falling, say dealers, because of slackening demand. However, there was a disparity on exact numbers. Some dealers said gemmy material in 3- to 5- carats was selling for $350 to $400 per carat, while others said the top goods were still going for $500 per carat.

Fancy-colored sapphires in purple were also sought after, said Simon Watt of Mayer & Watt in Maysville, Ky., "although that's nothing new."

On the cultured pearl front, comments from dealers were confined to generalized statements about quality triumphing over price point. Fran Mastoloni of N.Y.-based Mastoloni & Sons said he had adjusted his expectations for the show so they were aligned with the current economic climate and was consequently "pleasantly surprised" by his performance.

Ralph Rossini of New Yorkbased Honora said the single biggest change in the freshwater pearl business during the last year has been a growing fondness for "funky shaped" pearls like rondelles, buttons and potato shapes.

Rossini said business for Honora was better than expected. "In this economy, these pearls are becoming even more valuable to jewelers," he said.