Each visit to Tucson is a little different from the others. This time, the first few days were lovely, fairly warm but dropped by 25 degrees. Rosanna and I arrived bright and early at 2:30 a.m. 1/28 on the Amtrak train from NorCal and spent the day at The Gem and Jewelry Show on Grant. Always excellent with world class dealers of collectible, antique and ancient beads! We also visited the show at the Howard Johnson, the Pueblo show, the Gem Mall, and African Village. It was great to see my African trader friends from 10 - 15 years ago (how time flies!) when I used to sell on eBay. Not only do I miss those times, I miss those prices.

Tonight David did a few nice images for me of the sweetest of my 2016 "finds"....

A gift from Saibo Tunkara at the Gem Mall, a nice pink 7 layer Chinese chevron, circa 2008. About 25mm x 30mm. These were never as plentiful as the standard colors and are generally not around anymore. Thank you, Saibo!

I had a nice visit with Kamol and Becky from Seattle. They do 2 bead shows a year in our N. California area, and shows all over the U.S. The first time I met Kamol was at the fondly remembered Marin City flea market, approx. 1994. Their setup at the Gem Mall is nice and large, with a varied selection of everything from ancient beads, Thai silver, nice quality new ethnic beads and wonderful Thai raw silk scarves. And more! These brass beads from Nepal with coral chip inlay are very neat - they are pleasing to the touch as well. About 12mm x 15mm.