We are currently preparing for our yearly Tucson Gem Show, so I’m using this opportunity to invite you to come and visit our booth at the GJX tent from January 31st to February 6th.
For us the Tucson Gem Show has been a tradition since we began exhibiting in 1994. We still remember our first exhibit at the “Rodeway Inn” under the banner of the G&LW, when most of the product we had to offer were our Mabe Pearls…fast forwarding to 2011 when our main sales at the GJX show consists of high-grade cultured loose pearls. So, this year marks our 18th straight year at the Tucson Gem Show…many stories & “adventures” to tell, as well as many fond memories.
Definitively: the Tucson Gem Show has remained as our only international gem show venue, and this is for many reasons: it is close to our headquarters (just a 6 hour drive), the climate is similar to ours, no jet lag, they have REAL Mexican food in Tucson, I’ve got family up there, the Mountains are beautiful…really much better suited to us than the shows we did in Guadalajara, Denver, Basel & Hong Kong. Then again: we always enjoy seeing the friends we’ve made over the years.
Below, you see a photo of our booth at the “Holidome” in September 1995. I am taking care of a plastic container while Sergio Farell unpacks other items, closely inspected by Manuel Nava and our friend Alejandro Rodríguez.
The next year we had the chance of exhibiting at a big flop called “Atrium” and this is our booth. In those days we sold a lot of Sterling Silver & Cortez Mabe Pearl jewelry. Not a good show for me –personally- since I had to rush back to Mexico to my grandmother Emma’s funeral.
Some years later, we finally managed to move from the “Holidome” to the G&LW show. These are Enrique Arizmendi & Rodolfo Bracjich at our booth back in 1999.
And one friend we miss seeing at the Gem Show is Richard “Bo” Torrey, former editor of “Pearl World”. Lots of fond memories with Bo…here with Enrique Arizmendi.
Placing the memories behind, let us fast forward to 2012.
The Cortez Pearl @ Tucson
We can once more be found inside the GJX tent (across from the Tucson Convention Center) in booth #508. This year we have a couple of things to show our visitors, including a magnificent multi-colored Cortez Pearl necklace: the first one for the year 2012. This particular necklace (code 2012-A) was on the designing table since 2009 and our associate Manuel Nava found the necessary pearls to finalize it just this new year. Although it does not contain any pearls from this year’s harvest, we decided to give it this year’s blessings.
We will also have our usual assortment of loose Cortez Cultured Pearls, Mabe Pearls (including some blisters) and some Silver Jewelry items. So, come on over and check out our unique pearls, learn how difficult it is to grow these Fair Trade beauties and get all the information straight from the oyster’s mouth: we’ll be happy to share a moment with you.
Hope to see you at the Gem Show!
I believe that throughout the years we have been able to rely on the helping hands of many people in order to continue our journey trough uncharted waters. Yes, we have been fortunate enough to have found more friendly faces on our path than sour and dour ones, but this is not the Time -although it is indeed a good place- to Thank everyone that has made it possible for us to survive in this exceedingly difficult task of “reviving” the Legend of the Sea of Cortez Pearl, but rest be assured: we will give proper thanks to everyone. Now, since this is a very recent event we do owe a BIG THANK YOU to Monsieur Hubert Bari (French Gemologist and Curator of the Pearl Exhibit at Doha, Qatar), for his invitation to join him at Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art for his “Pearls” exhibit. Our “Sea of Cortez Pearls” are now part of a very exclusive group of pearls (including many fantastic pieces of pearl jewelry and rare natural pearls), amongst which the visitor may admire the following:
- 5 “AA” grade Cortez Mabe Pearls
- 5 Natural Pearls (measuring 4-7 mm)
- 10 “Gem Quality” Cortez Cultured Pearls (9-11 mm)
- 1 blue colored Cortez Pearl Ring, set in an 18K Gold & Fair Trade Diamonds design by TriGem Designs.
Enrique Arizmendi, our General Director, traveled to Doha to be at the inauguration of the Museum Exhibit and also for another grand event: the presentation of Monsieur Bari’s and David Lam’s new “Pearls” book (to be sold at stores this summer). The book is surely to become the most sought-after reference book in all Pearldom: its information is both detailed and scientifically precise, but written in layman’s language. It also has some of the most beautiful photos of pearls, paintings and pearling I have ever seen in one single book, the diagrams are crisp and detailed. A masterpiece with over 330 pages and 3 kilos in weight. A most serious contender for Elisabeth’s Strack’s “Perlen” book.
This superb book includes a special chapter called “Gentlemen Farmers” that includes a more detailed explanation on the operation of several important pearling ventures such as: Japan’s “Mikimoto Pearls”, Indonesia’s “Atlas South Sea Pearls”, the Philippines’ “Jewelmer” and Mexico’s “Perlas del Mar de Cortez”. The book points out how our operation is the only one in the world that has been able to utilize a Pteria genus pearl oyster (as opposed to the Pinctada species employed by all other salt-water pearl farmers).
Also, I wanted to also thank our photographer friends Paco de la Rosa of Cancún and Alberto Tirado of Guaymas for the excellent photos they took and that now embellish this incredible book. Kudos!!!
Welcome to our “Sea of Cortez Pearl” Blog-site. We are a group of Pearl Farmers located inside the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California, Mexico) and our plain intention is to open up a channel of communication between us and those of you that have been -or will be- our guests-visitors at our website and pearl farming facilities, a place where we can talk about subjects that revolve around our beloved marine gem: the environment, quality, cultural heritage, stories & myths, jewelry and jewelry designers, pearl farming and our pearl oysters.
Welcome! and stay tuned for new posts.
- How do pearl farmers look like?
Manuel, Douglas & Enrique – Owners and Founders of Perlas del Mar de Cortez
Douglas