9 Tucson Spots To Get Rocks, Gems And Jewelry — Even When The Gem Show Isn't In Town | Entertainment

Apatite, Marcasite, Shuttuckite and other minerals are on display at Arizona Lapidary and Gem Rough.

Various rocks, gems and geodes on display at DAH Rock Shop, which has been in business for almost 50 years. The shop also has unique finds such as Himalayan salt lamps.

A variety of turquoise at Tucson Turquoise inside the American Antique Mall: Bisbee, top left; Royston, bottom left; Sleeping Beauty, top center; classic Kingman, bottom center; Kingman waterweb, bottom right blue; Number 8, bottom right green; Carico Lake, right green; and Black Diamond, upper right corner.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, David Smith, owner of the BeadHoliday store, set up an outdoor market so customers can shop safely.

For the first time in 23 years, Geoffrey Notkin isn’t gearing up for Tucson’s massive gem showcase.

Notkin, owner of meteorite company Aerolite Meteorites, started attending the gem show first as a visitor and enthusiast.

The showcase made him “utterly smitten with Tucson,” eventually leading him to move from New York to Tucson in 2004.

“For me, Tucson is inexplicably linked with the gem show,” he says. “Even when the gem show isn’t running, I’ll drive down I-10 and say, ‘That’s where the fossil guys are.’ In my head, the map of Tucson is built around the gem show.”

With many events for Tucson’s annual gem showcase postponed, Arizona Lapidary and Gem Rough is among several shops around the Old Pueblo that can fill the void.

But this year is different. Many shows in Tucson’s Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase, which would normally be happening right about now, have postponed until April.

Lucky for Tucsonans, though, the Old Pueblo is filled with year-round shops that can help fill the void of this winter’s missing event, which draws thousands from around the world in search of gems, minerals, fossils, jewelry and other interesting finds.

7320 E. Broadway, 399-6641, arizonalapidary.com

Linus and Lesli Keating dub their shop, Arizona Lapidary and Gem Rough, “Tucson’s year-round gem show.”

Their venture started on eBay in 2005 — eventually taking over a closet, leading the Keatings to open a location on Pima Street and later a larger space on Broadway, where the shop currently sits.

“I’ve wanted to have a gem shop since I was about 5 years old,” says Linus Keating, a University of Arizona graduate who has his doctorate in geology. “And Lesli’s family has a mining background, and she liked to go out digging.”

Arizona Lapidary and Gem Rough owners Lesli and Linus Keating dub their shop “Tucson’s year-round gem show.”

Though the shop puts an emphasis on local items such as handcrafted jewelry made by artist John Poole, Arizona Lapidary also sells rough rock that comes from all over the world. Also in the shop: cabochons, mineral specimens and a selection of metaphysical products.

“The beauty that comes out of the Earth — it’s just astounding. It’s amazing,” says Tucson native Lesli Keating. “We get a lot of people who come in here, and they don’t know about rocks and they’re just like, ‘Wow, this comes out of the Earth? This is natural?’ ”

Mike Davis took over his stepfather’s rock shop — which has been around since 1972 — about 35 years ago.

“I had no idea what rocks were when I got here. I had no idea what this was,” Davis says. “I had to study from Day 1.”

His stepfather, though, was a mining engineer and loved rocks and minerals, starting DAH Rock Shop as a hobby shop in a Quonset hut.

Mike Davis’ DAH Rock Shop, 3401 N. Dodge Blvd., carries gems, jewelry and more, and features an outdoor lapidary.

“It was a hobby shop, but then I said, ‘Come on, let’s make it into a business,’ ” Davis says, eventually expanding the shop to what it is now.

Davis, who grew up in Japan and lived in California before moving to Tucson, also changed the name of the shop — which was then called Discount Agate House. But Davis kept the acronym, which also happens to be used as “the” in Hawaii.

The shop feels like a mini gem show — from the pyrite and rose quartz sitting on shelves to the fossilized coral and oysters. There’s also jewelry, an outdoor lapidary and finds such as Himalayan salt lamps.

“We’re really happy to be here,” Davis says. “We know people that came here when they were small, and now they come with their kids who are small.”

When Richard Ratkevich was about 10 years old, his dad had a rock shop in the basement of their Long Island home.

The family eventually moved to Tucson, where Richard Ratkevich’s dad — Peter Ratkevich — opened Tucson Mineral and Gem World in what used to be a house.

Richard Ratkevich took over the family business — which has now stood for 57 years — about 30 years ago, after his dad died.

Richard Ratkevich says he always has had an interest in natural science — from working at a museum to digging for fossils in Wyoming as a high schooler.

“We’ve never, for any extended length of time, not been around natural science,” Richard Ratkevich says of himself and his brother.

“It’s the love of nature,” Richard Ratkevich says. “It’s fun. You’re looking at something, and it’s real.”

Tucson Mineral and Gem World sells everything from aragonite and malachite to necklace pendants to dinosaur teeth to geodes — big and small, inexpensive and more pricy.

3870 W. River Road, 744-4402, spiritschild.com

When Aitreyia Reifsnyder opened Spirits Child in 2002, her goal was to create a space for people to get away from the world, complete with a meditation room for visitors to unwind.

Spirits Child focuses on metaphysics with an emphasis on people’s health and wellbeing. The shop hosts events and classes such as discussions about planetary effects on our energies, energy grids with crystals, meditation and tarot.

The shop sells crystals, jewelry, incense and other natural products.

Reifsnyder says she gets to know her vendors personally — many of which are local or small, she says.

But more than anything, Reifsnyder hopes Spirits Child is a “respite place” for Tucsonans.

“To us, it’s not about ‘let me sell you something,’ ” Reifsnyder says. “It’s about ‘here, let me help you feel better.’ ”

Geoffrey Notkin has been involved in the meteorite world for about 25 years as a collector, hunter, writer and host of “Meteorite Men,” a TV show that aired in all seven continents.

It all began when Notkin was a kid in London who loved to visit a geological museum. He was fascinated by the fossils and gems, but the “whole allure was always the meteorites,” he says.

“I found it utterly astonishing you could see — in real life — these rocks that had journeyed here from outer space,” he says. “I have always tried to share that experience with others.”

Aerolite Meteorites is owned by Geoffrey Notkin, a meteorite hunter, collector, writer and TV host. Notkin sells high-end meteorites but also others for as low as $10.

Notkin started Aerolite Meteorites in Tucson in the early 2000s as a way to generate funds to cover the costs of meteorite expeditions and research.

Aerolite Meteorites sells and trades meteorites of all types, in addition to meteorite jewelry, knives, cuff links and other finds.

“Typically, in many people’s minds, there is this idea that meteorites are unaffordable, and only scientists would have them,” he says. “I wanted to change that perspective.”

While the business does sell high-end meteorites, Notkin says he also wanted to offer meteorites for as low as $10.

“When I was a kid, I dreamed of having a meteorite — and it was not possible for me to get one,” he says. “I wanted to make the dream that I had come true for other kids.”

Notkin, who also has an art background, says he also wanted to improve the “visual perception of the field.”

“I want to accurately present the wonder of this collectible to people and share this fascination I have in a sophisticated way,” he says.

Although Notkin, who is also active in the space flight world, won’t have the gem show experience this winter, Meteorites will be hosting a series of virtual events in February. Visit facebook.com/AeroliteMeteorites for details.

3130 E. Grant Road, 419-1270, tucsonturquoise.com

In 1990, Dwight and Christy Schannep opened an antique shop, later attempting to join one of Tucson’s antique malls.

“We went to join, but there was a two-year waiting list,” Dwight Schannep says.

Tucson Turquoise, owned by Dwight Schannep, sells turquoise from Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Mexico.

Instead of waiting, the couple opened an antique mall of their own — American Antique Mall.

The mall is home to Tucson Turquoise, which the Schanneps also own. The store sells all kinds of turquoise from Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Mexico. In addition to rough rock, there are cabochons and turquoise jewelry — and lots of vintage finds.

“When I grew up, I collected rocks, and my family always thought I was going to be a geologist,” Dwight Schannep says. “It’s kinda like gold fever. People can’t get enough of it. I’m kinda like that with turquoise.”

355 E. Fort Lowell Road, 696-0032, beadholiday.com

David Smith remembers his first bead experience.

“We were poor, and (my mom) liked to travel,” says Smith, owner of bead store BeadHoliday. “We would camp up the coast of California and go from campground to campground to campground. She had three kids with her and she had to keep us busy.

“So we went into a bead store in like 1974,” he says. “She probably thought, ‘I can keep these kids busy for like $3.’”

David Smith, owner of BeadHoliday, right, talks with Andrea Romero, a jewelry maker, in his outdoor bead market at 355 E. Fort Lowell Road.

Smith created a necklace with the beads he selected.

“Now, just to look back and see what I had on my neck and where it’s from and the history of it, it’s kinda like going full circle,” he says.

When Smith started selling beads 26 years ago, he traveled in a camper, selling to stores in 42 states.

“That was pre-internet,” he says. “So, I would stop at a library, and they would have a rack of Yellow Pages for all over the country. I would look on the map and say, ‘OK, I’m headed into Georgia,’ and find all the pages along my route and look up (bead stores). And I couldn’t take a picture with my cell phone, so I had to write them down, then go to a pay phone to call them.”

Smith, an Arizona native, eventually stopped traveling and decided to open a retail store. He estimates that BeadHoliday sells around 40,000 unique items from around the world, from vintage beads to beading supplies — even interesting finds like Boyz II Men pendants.

“To me, that’s my art — to find that amazing bead and curate this amazing collection,” Smith says.

littletorodesigns.com, instagram.com/littletorodesigns

Tawney Weir started jewelry business Little Toro Designs in 2013 when local art markets opened her eyes to the “possibilities of making a living at this craft,” she said in an email.

Weir works mostly with metal, handcrafting and selling bracelets, earrings, rings and necklaces.

“My style of taking simple shapes but ramping the design up with size and color, I would describe as minimal maximalism,” Weir says.

Weir finds herself inspired by the desert — “I think it’s difficult to live and create here and not somehow be influenced,” she says.

“But I also find the cultural fabric of our community to be equally inspiring,” she says, adding that modern art and design is also a source of inspiration.

2400 E. Grant Road, 327-3306, macsindianjewelry.com

In the 1970s, Mac and Karen McPherson started selling Native American jewelry at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet, leading them to eventually open a brick-and-mortar shop.

The majority of the jewelry sold at Mac’s Indian Jewelry is handcrafted in Arizona or New Mexico by Indigenous artists.

The jewelry selection ranges from rings and bracelets to belt buckles and watch bands. But the shop sells more earrings than anything else.

“Everywhere I go — Sedona or Scottsdale or Tucson or Tubac — Native American jewelry is everywhere,” says Mac and Karen McPherson’s son Shane McPherson, who now owns Mac’s Indian Jewelry.

“I think of the Southwest, and I think of Native American jewelry — and cactus.”

For the latest on the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase, visit to tucne.ws/gmfs.

The 1967 show at the Tucson Rodeo and Fairgrounds drew a modest crowd. After its 1955 beginnings in a school auditorium, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society moved its annual show to the Quonset hut at the Tucson Rodeo and Fairgrounds on South Sixth Ave., at Irvington Road.

Exterior of Quonset on South Sixth Ave site of Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase, 1956-1971.

Louise Feller of Seattle looks for some gems at the Tucson Convention Center in 1991.

Dealers preparing their displays near I-10 and Congress in 1991.

Mike Donovan of Texas looks at a 20-foot Pleisiosaur at the Tucson Convention Center in 1991.

Tucson Convention Center full of exhibitors and buyers in 1993.

Nickolai B. Kuznetsov and Alexander O. Agafonoff from Russia prepare their exhibit in a room at the Best Western Executive Inn in Tucson in 1993.

Dilip Shah of New York City conducts business while laying on his bed at the Discovery Inn in 1994.

David Velk checks out some of the various Trilobites which were only one of many fossil exhibits at the gem and mineral showcase Fossil Exhibit at the Executive Inn in 1995.

The first public day of the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society Show was a busy affair at the Tucson Convention Center in 1997.

Gem show vendor Albert Volker, sits with his sizable collection of smokey quartz in 1998, mined by himself on his ranch in Montana. Vollker was one of the last participants doing business as most others packed up to leave.

Tom Moore. Editor of the Mineralogical Record magazine, shows this drawer which has Apatite, Pyromorphite, Mimetite, and Vanadinite in 2005.

Colored glass jewels glimmer with at least some of the sparkle of their rarer counterparts at the Globe-X Gem & Mineral show at the Days Inn Downtown in 2007.

Yurie Ishizaka of Tokyo looks in display cases during the first day of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center on February 10, 2011.

Rocks, shells, and minerals for sale at the Miner K booth at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center in 2011.

Naoki Ninomiya examines a piece of Smithsonite from Mexico by putting it up to the light during the Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show as part of the 58th Annual Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase at the Hotel Tucson City Center in 2012.

Mike Anglin from Mission Viejo, Calif looks at agate from Argentina at the STPGM booth during the opening day of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center in 2012.

A variety of Rose Quartz, Crystals, Tourmaline and Red Jasper glisten in the sunlight at Jay Gems and Minerals as they are on display at the Riverpark Inn at 350 South Freeway for the upcoming Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase on Jan. 23, 2017.

Robert Tapia, left, and Jason Fox, warehouse manager at Superb Minerals, set up for the annual Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase which begins on January 26 and ends February 11. The store located at 1243 N. Main Ave sells zeolites from India. January 02, 2018.

Matthew Schmalz browses through polished agate geodes as he's framed by a slice of amethyst quartz in the Western Woods tent at the Pueblo Gem and Mineral Show at the Riverpark Inn, 777 W. Cushing Street, on Jan. 24, 2018, in Tucson.

Scott Sprencz, right, and Ed Kloehn, haul in an onyx luminary for the "Art of Decor Onyx" booth at the Tucson 22nd Street Mineral and Fossil Show, located on the northeast corner of 22nd Street and Interstate 10, on Jan. 24, 2018, in Tucson.

Mike Pendle, from the United Kingdom, scrutinizes a quart point at the Tucson 22nd Street Mineral and Fossil Show, located on the northeast corner of 22nd Street and Interstate 10, on Jan. 24, 2018, in Tucson, Ariz.

Tsiriry Anjarihva sorts hand-carved decorative heart pieces for display while workers at the Madagascar Minerals Gem Show, 201 W. Lester St., prepare for the 2019 Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase, Jan. 23, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz. Eighty percent of the minerals on display at Madagascar Minerals are direct from the company's mines and factories in Madagascar.

Zoey Petitt selects a bag of green opals to buy at the Madagascar Minerals Gem Show, 201 W. Lester St., Jan. 23, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz. Eighty percent of the minerals on display at Madagascar Minerals are direct from the company's mines and factories in Madagascar.

Celia Tessier, left, and Emma Martinez, 16, huddle together and stay warm as they examine a crystal they are weighing for a customer in the Cristais Maia booth at the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase iin 2016. Martinez helps out at the Brazilian business annually during the show.

Wade Leschyn, center, is dwarfed by the fossils of "Bob" the triceratops, left, and a wooly mammoth fossil from Russia at the GeoDecor booth at the Mineral and Fossil Co-op show, 1635 N. Oracle Road, Feb. 7, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz. The co-op's show, part of the the larger Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase.

Kate Mull, right, and her daughter Grace, both visiting from West Virginia, sport their t-shirts Kate bought especially for the gem show as they browse the displays at Rosman Gems at the Mineral and Fossil Co-op show, 1635 N. Oracle Road, Feb. 7, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz.

Contact reporter Gloria Knott at gknott@tucson.com or 573-4235. On Twitter: @gloriaeknott

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Gloria was born and raised in Tucson and is a 2018 University of Arizona grad. From wildflowers to wildlife, she loves all things Tucson and hopes to share her love of the city with readers ✨

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