AGTA’s Tucson INSPIRE Seminars and Demonstrations: Plan Ahead
It’s January and that means we are all planning our daily schedules for our days in Tucson, Arizona at the gems & minerals shows. (Check out our Trade Show Calendar here!)
The Tucson weeks one can schedule seem to fill up rapidly, so one must have some discipline to accomplish everything anticipated.
Plan Ahead
For the Roskin Gem News Report, we are not only looking for the best gem materials to discover, but to also attend the most important seminars and demonstrations, all to pass along to our readers.
INSPIRE Seminars and Demonstrations
Attendees will have the opportunity to meet and participate in the AGTA’s INSPIRE Seminars and Demonstrations, Wednesday February 5 thru Friday February 7, 2025.
Seminar presentations by some of the world’s leading experts in gems and jewelry, sponsored by the American Gem Society (AGS), include notables such as Angela Hedges speaking on Harry Winston, Vincent Pardieu presenting his experiences from years of gem explorations, and an amazing panel discussion with award winning jewelry designers: Adam Neeley, Adam Neeley Designs, Jennifer Rabe Morin, George and Jennifer Rabe Jewelers, Victor Velyan, Victor Velyan Designs, Susan Helmich, Master Goldsmith and Designer, Susan Helmich Designs, and Zoltan David, Master Goldsmith, Designer & Innovative Metallurgist, Zoltan David Designs.
There will be LIVE demonstrations in cutting, featuring Gen-Z’er Nadine Marshall of ilovegreenrocks, and award winning lapidaries Steven Tyler and Brett Kosnar, as well as MJSA’s jewelers bench demonstrations with award wining artist Rémy Rotenier on sketching the perfect design, and Melissa Muir on techniques in metal texturing and engraving.
Location – Where in the TCC?
All of the seminars, including live gem cutting demonstrations and jewelers bench demonstrations, will take place in the Tucson Convention Center (TCC) during the AGTA’s GemFair (Monday, February 3, thru Sunday, February 9, 2025). Follow the map below to meeting rooms 201-203, in the TCC’s recently remodeled event space on the main entry Galleria level, just steps away from the grand lobby registration area.
REMINDER – New Dates!
Check your Calendar, Airline Tickets, and Hotel reservations!
The 2025 GemFair runs from Monday, February 3, thru Sunday, February 9, 2025.
Seminars
Seminars take place from Wednesday, February 5, thru Friday, February 7.
Coffee
Coffee will be available in Room 205 from 8 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. every morning during the seminars, just ahead of the day’s talks, which start at 9 a.m. [The last session begins at 3 p.m.]
Renowned gemologist Gary Roskin of the Roskin Gem News Report will once again serve as the emcee.
Shelly Sergent
Returning this year is the INSPIRE series of seminars sponsored by the American Gem Society (AGS) and curated by Somewhere In The Rainbow’s Shelly Sergent.
Wednesday February 5
9:00 – 9:55 am
John Ford with Saville Stern
Kicking off the series at 9 a.m. on Wednesday is a seminar on the state of the colored gemstone market with AGTA CEO John W. Ford, Sr., and Saville Stern, Chief Operating Officer of RapNet, the Rapaport Group’s trading network.
An exclusive seminar unveiling the RapNet Gemstone Trading Network,
a transformative platform for buying and selling loose gemstones from AGTA members.
10:00 – 10:55 am
Robert Weldon
Afterwards, recently retired GIA photographer Robert Weldon speaks to showgoers in “Images of a Lifetime and Their Stories.” More industry personalities, including Brandee Dallow, Ethical Metalsmiths, and Chris James Boehner, Chris James Gems, will give presentations later that day.
Thursday, February 6
9:00 – 9:55 am
Stuart Robertson and Brecken Branstrator
On Thursday, the always anticipated “Colored Stone Price and Market Trends” takes place at 9 a.m. with Stuart Robertson, President of Gemworld International, and Brecken Branstrator, Editor in Chief, of Gemworld’s GemGuide magazine.
Richard Hughes of Lotus Gemology speaks next in “Describing Color in Gems, A Fool’s Guide,” and four other speakers—including Branko Deljanin on synthetic diamond detection, Sarah Caldwell-Steele on Witchcraft and Jet, Kevin Reilly and Josh Helmich of Platinum Guild International, and Jennifer Shaheen on Navigating AI, head up their own talks later that day.
Friday, February 7
Friday – GIA’s James Shigley
Finally, on Friday, Feb. 7, Dr. James E. Shigley, Distinguished Research Fellow, GIA, starts the day’s events with “The Changing World of Gemology: A Look Back and a Look Forward.”
The American Jewelry Design Panel
Following Dr. Shigley is a panel discussion about American jewelry design with a host of talents including Adam Neeley of Adam Neeley Designs, Jennifer Rabe Morin, George and Jennifer Rabe Jewelers, Victor Velyan, Victor Velyan Designs, Susan Helmich, Master Goldsmith and Designer, Susan Helmich Designs, and Zoltan David, Master Goldsmith, Designer & Innovative Metallurgist, Zoltan David Designs. This panel is moderated by Sergent and designer Eddie Sakamoto.
Museum Experiences influence Buyers and Collectors: Panel of Museum Curators
Another panel discussion about museum experiences, including Dr. Gabriela Farfan, Curator, Smithsonian, Violetta Wolf, Director of the Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum, Kimberly Vagner, Executive Director, Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals, Raquel A. Perez, Curatrix- Mineralogical & Geological Museum, Harvard University, and Eloïse Gaillou, Director and Curator, Mineralogy Museum.
Panel of Journalists: From Science to Social Media
In the final session of the INSPRED Seminar Series, journalists will talk how they cover the gem and jewelry industry in “From Science to Social Media: How Trade Media Engages with and Covers the Jewelry Industry.” Participants on the media panel include The Journal of Gemmology’s Brendan Lars, AGTA’s Jennifer Heebner, GIA’s Aaron Palke, and INSTORE Magazine’s Eileen McClelland. Gary Roskin, Roskin Gem News Report, serves as moderator.
LIVE Cutting Demonstrations
LIVE Gem Cutting Demos – 12:00-12:55 pm
Live gem cutting returns on Wednesday, Feb. 5 and continues through Friday, Feb. 7, and is sponsored by Tucson Todd’s Gems.
The presenter on Wednesday will be Nadine Marshall of @ilovegreenrocks on Instagram and Tumbled Upon Faceting, LLC. Marshall has been cutting gems since age 12—she’s now 18—and will lead “Bespoke Gemstone Cutting.”
Then on Thursday, we have a live cutting demo by Steven Tyler.
And on Friday, our final live cutting demo with Brett Kosnar
LIVE Bench Demonstrations
LIVE Jewelers Bench Demos
More demonstrations take place courtesy of MJSA Journal Live Jewelers Bench, sponsored by A & A Jewelry Supply, from Wednesday, Feb 5, through Friday, Feb. 7, 4 p.m. to 4:55 p.m. daily in Meeting Room 204.
Sessions include:
“Colored Pencil Techniques for Gemstones” with Rémy Rotenir, – Wednesday ONLY
“On the Surface: Techniques for Texturing Metal”
and “Mark of Imagination: Engraving Jewelry Designs,” both by Melissa Muir. – Thursday and Friday
For ALL the Details!
For more information about the seminar series, click here or contact AGTA at [email protected].
