I went down this year to renew some contacts, make some new, and to see what was cool in the business this year. I attended both the AGTA and GJX shows. I know that means I missed way more than I saw, but at least I wasn’t tempted to buy anymore then I did at the 2 shows I went to. It is a recession after all.

Unfortunately the effects of the recession could definitly be seen. There were fewer booths and fewer buyers then in previous years. The technology pavilion at the AGTA show was at least 1/2 of what it usually is, for example. Despite this, there was still plenty to see and do.

Paraiba Tourmaline

Every year there seems be the ‘in’ stone that everyone is pushing. The last show I went to the popular stone was Tanzanite. While tanzanite is still a popular stone, it was easy to see that this years ‘in’ stone is Paraiba Tourmaline. Paraibas are a very, very rare blue-green colored stone that come from Brazil and Africa. It is so rare to find 1 karat Paraibas that the ones that are mined cost 5 digits per carat! I have to wonder, because they are so rare, if some of the stones that were shown as Paraiba, were actually a blue tourmaline that was close in color, but not actually a Paraiba.

Turquoise in a pearl

Another interesting idea I saw was in the Galatea booth. They have a new line with turquoise beads inside pearls. They get them by placing a turquoise bead in an oyster and waiting a year. After the oyster has had the time to make a pearl over the turquoise, they take it out and carve designs into the pearl so the turquoise shows through. They can also set a diamond into the pearl to create something I have never seen before.

Overall it was a great show. I had an excellent time seeing all the sites, made some great business connections, and got some great deals on stones to use in some design ideas I have. Stay tuned to see what I come up with!

Instead it was a group of people who wanted nothing more than to work together to get through the next few months until business picks up or at least until everyone can get caught up. It was so fun to hear what other retailers are doing to drive business and what lines are working for different people. It was also fun to see how the vendors are hunkering down and working on inexpensive but super pretty merchandise to sell while people are watching their pennies.

It will be interesting to see how the economy effects the mood at the show. I know that the company I am going with has NO budget but I wonder about how everyone else is going to approach this.

Update: I have written a follow-up CBG article with my post-show thoughts.