Live from Tucson: The week kicks off with JCK

At JCK Tucson, Effy is showcasing many of its best-selling gemstone collections including opal, rubellite and aquamarine, gemstones which the brand says continue to do well for them.Tucson, Ariz.--Monday marked the first official day of the buying and selling activity that happens every February in Tucson, starting with the JCK-run show at the JW Marriott. 

During the week, the city of Tucson will become awash in a wide variety of colored gemstones. And while attention will shift to loose stones as more shows open over the next few days, JCK also had many booths of finished jewelry. 

Lena Agdere, whose father designs the Lord Jewelry brand, said Monday that JCK Tucson show attendees did seem to be interested in colored gemstone pieces but also noticed a positive response to their collection of one-of-a-kind pieces. “People are always so excited to be able to offer unique pieces that no one else has, and we're seeing a very positive reaction so far at the show.”

The Effy brand brought to Tucson the line of emerald jewelry that it launched in celebration of its 35th anniversary, and which Lloyd Ebrani told National Jeweler has continued to do very well for them. 

They also had on display the gemstone lines that continue to be in high demand, including rubellites, opals, aquamarine and morganite as well as staples like blue topaz.

“We love this show. Tucson is a great market and everyone who is interested in gemstones is here, so we’re looking forward to it,” he said.

The Izi Creations team said that their line of morganite also was garnering a lot of attention, though not as many were buying it, which could’ve been because of the large sizes of stones used in the collection. 

What was popular, however, were precious stones such as emeralds, sapphires and rubies.

Similarly, Zahid Syed at Americas Gold said that the larger, chunkier stones that are popular with their Caribbean customers aren't getting the same response at this show. Rather, they’re finding that the U.S. buyers like one of their newest products, a line of rainbow sapphire jewelry.

At the Chanmel Gems booth, much of the interest from the first day of the show also was for loose sapphires, both the classic blue tones as well as pink hues, according to N. Chandimal.

Lauren Schumann of Jordan Scott added that the first day had been