The Olson's have numerous fine wulfenite and several pink fluorite specimens from Switzerland that Ernie self collected. A must see room is room 189.

While visiting Francois Lietard I noted he had a striking specimen of andradite var. demantoid in his inventory.  I enquired and he pointed me down the hall to Frederic Gautier - Little Big Stone.  There was a new find of demantoid made at Antetezambato, Ambanja, Antsiranana, Madagascar recently that was first seen at the Ste Marie Show last June.  This was the first time I have seen them and in my opinion they pretty much redefine what a good demantoid is.  The largest crystals I saw were in the 1 to 1.5 cm range but the vast majority are in the 0.5 to 1 cm size class.  The colors are deep but vary from where they occurred in the deposit.   Frederic mentioned that the deposit is next to the sea so recovery has been difficult. He also mentioned that the government prohibits anyone not of Malagasy descent from working the mines.  He is unsure if the deposit will be an extensive one given the proximity to the ocean and the almost "whack a mole" approach being employed to recover specimens and cutting rough. Little Big Stone is in room 282.

This poorly lit specimen was the best in his case and offered at $10,000. Sorry about the poor colors but I was using ambient lighting...

This is a 3.5 cm specimen of gem demantoid with crystals to 1 cm that I bought from Frederic.  Available for $650.

There was a buzz around Tucson last February over some new cuprite crystals from Rubtsovsk, Rudniy Altay Mts, Russia.  A couple of dealers - notably KARP - have some new copper specimens many with cuprite associations that are very reminiscent of Tsumeb copper/cuprite combos.  I picked up the better part of a dozen including - according to Ivo - unique specimen of copper and silver pseudomorphing a brilliantly lustrous cuprite crystal.  Below is an average specimen of the copper/cuprite combos and the unique pseudomorph. KARP is in room 190.

 
Two views of an 8 cm specimen of crystalline copper with crystals of cuprite set on it.

That occasional dred-lock wearing hippie from Greenwood Village, Colorado - Dennis Beals - had some interesting silver species available in his room from Fresnillo, Mexico.  I picked out three specimens - a stephanite, acanthite and pyrargyrite - from his specimens on display.  The quality and prices were not what you would normally expect if you wandered around some of the other rooms.  Dennis has an excellent supply of fine amethyst and other notable species from Mexico at pricing that might make you feel like it's 1999 instead of 2009. Check him out in Room 180!

 
3.5 cm crystal of pyrargyrite from Fresnillo.  I am not sure what the light surface coating is but will probably be able to remove it when I get home.

Brazilian dealer Luciana Barbosa has some interesting polished quartz with stars of bright rutile included in her room from Minas Gerais, Brazil.  I usually don't look at quartz of any kind but these are really quite appealing.  Room 206.  Two of her polished quartz crystals:

Brazilian dealer Luiz Menezes had some specimens of cuprian elbaite from Parelhas, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.  These things never form attractive crystals and the copper rich areas are almost always restricted to the outer layer. If you want to get one of the rare varieties of elbaite this is your chance.  I bought two pieces but he has more available.

A 4 cm specimen of cuprian elbaite.

Luiz also had quite a nice supply of Sapo mine apatites and brazilianites from Linopolis all reasonably priced. He is in room 108.

While on Brazil I should also point out discussions I have had with several Brazilian dealers here regarding the recent appearance of violet colored hydroxylherderites from the Xanda mine in Virgem de Lapa, Brazil.  The miner, who finds these states categorically that they are gray in color.  Yet, when they reach the market they are violet. The only way this happens is through an irradiation process and the source of the irradiation seems to be coming from a dealer in Govenador Valadares.  The asked that I publish a warning to customers who are offered these. The violet color is a false color and it will fade over a relatively short period of time back to the normal gray color.  Be advised....

Lastly, there are many fine specimens of the Chinese rhodochrosite available from Collector's Edge and Mineral Search.  Everyone knows that these will never compare to the specimens found at the Sweet Home mine but I have to tell you the quality of some of the pieces becoming available now are just a small percentage point or two below "average" Sweet Home specimens.  The prices are almost too good to believe also so I have obtained a dozen or so that will be posted when I get home.  Below is one of the average specimens recently obtained.

6.5 cm specimen of crystalline rhodochrosite with traces of paler silica rich zones.

The view on I-70 headed west to Golden from Denver. There was a charge in the air yesterday...

There will be a lot more to come in the next week so stay tuned for new finds from here in Denver, Colorado!