That includes gemstone, mineral and jewellery exhibitors from over 25 international locations, trade-oriented and tutorial lectures plus museum-quality reveals and youngsters’s actions, the second version of HardRock Summit concluded its 2022 occasion with a 50% enhance in complete attendance over 2021’s figures.

The four-day occasion ran from September 8-11, 2022 at Denver’s Colorado Conference Heart, and in response to Wolter Mehring, one of many two co-founders of the HardRock Summit, “Constructing on the momentum of final 12 months’s occasion, we expanded our attain and welcomed a wider vary of attendees to our present. These included unbiased boutiques and specialty shops, together with massive field, on-line, and key regional retailers.” Whereas the present’s dynamic programming and entry to members of the commerce made it an unparalleled occasion for the general public, the multi-modal present additionally served retailers seeking to fill up upfront of the vacation purchasing season.

Through the summit, over 6,000 individuals engaged with firms exhibiting advantageous jewellery, vintage jewellery, gems, minerals, meteorites, vintage cash and extra. Together with first-rate gemstone, mineral and jewellery sourcing alternatives, the Summit additionally supplied attendees of all ages the possibility to view museum-quality reveals, whereas instructional gemstone, gold and diamond-themed seminars had been open to these 14 and up. A commerce present and interactive instructional expertise multi functional, the HardRock Summit featured three key areas for attendees to discover.

For instance, the Evolution realm supplied a number of the rarest and best minerals and gems ever unearthed from a world array of sellers. Sparkle & Pleasure introduced advantageous jewellery, excessive jewellery, artisanal jewellery designs and high-grade gems with the cooperation of AGTA GemFair™ Denver and Brazil’s IBGM.

The Denver Gem & Mineral Present (DGMS) featured gems, minerals, fossils, jewellery, beads, décor and metaphysical merchandise. For many years, the DGMS has introduced instructional reveals and this 12 months’s providing included interactive activations designed for households, resembling dwell gemstone chopping demos, a black-lit fluorescent mineral exhibit room plus for kids, there have been rock searching video games and a gold panning room the place little ones labored in simulated river circumstances to seek for gold.

“Whereas this 12 months’s Summit included many extra designers, museum curators and collectors seeking to purchase and supply,” Mehring stated, “it additionally attracted scores of gemology fans, rock hounds and households who seen and/or bought a number of the uncommon and treasured gems, jewellery and minerals on view.” The HardRock Summit’s environmental, client, cultural and worldwide networking choices makes it one of many world’s extra related and worthwhile jewellery commerce exhibits in lots of respects.

For instance, one of many extra intriguing talks introduced in the course of the HardRock Summit included “Gem Legacy: A nonprofit’s story and successes supporting growth for East African artisanal gem mining communities,” introduced by Rachel Dery-Merisheki. Gem Legacy is a Michigan-based, non-profit group of jewelers, jewellery designers and others who’re dedicated to supporting artisanal coloured gemstone mining areas.

A key drive within the realm of sustainable and moral gemstone mining, Gem Legacy was based on the assumption that gems possess the potential to vary lives for the higher, and thus positively have an effect on the communities the place they’re mined and lower. Thus, Gem Legacy works to enhance working circumstances and wages for miners and their households. What’s extra, it additionally expands the pure advantages of gemstone mining on surrounding communities by means of long-term help to youngsters, training, and entrepreneurship for miners and their households. Whereas 100% of Gem Legacy donations are returned on to the communities, the group’s donors embrace U.S. jewelers resembling Pocatello, Idaho-based Parlé, which was additionally exhibiting on the HardRock Summit.

Different necessary and value-added talks included these introduced by John Pollard of the Worldwide Gemological Institute (IGI), a diamond-grading, coloured gemstone grading and completed jewellery grading laboratory that operates 20 grading amenities and 14 gemology colleges around the globe. Pollard, who’s IGI’s Senior Director of Schooling, delivered one presentation on the advertising and marketing of pure diamonds and one other concerning lab-grown diamonds, which although comparatively cheaper than naturally mined diamonds, can range extensively by way of high quality, environmental influence, and naturally, worth. (In 2005, IGI was the primary laboratory to begin grading lab-grown diamonds and furnish experiences on similar.)

Relating to the exhibitor expertise, AGTA member Robert Bentley, proprietor of New York-based Bentley Gems, enthused, “I’m having fairly an excellent time at this present as a result of it’s well-timed within the calendar 12 months. I’ve even have made some new shopper connections with those that admire the weird gems that I supply.” Justin Thomas and Ruth Benjamin-Thomas, co-owners of the heritage firm Black Opal Direct, got here all the way in which from Australia to point out their Lightning Ridge opals, which possess such beautifully lovely and hanging attributes that this author had issue tearing herself away from the Black Opal Direct sales space. “We’re thrilled to be right here as we’re all the time seeking to increase our world wholesale and retail enterprise,” stated Benjamin-Thomas.

Poetry In Stone’s Tarun Adlakha journeyed from Delhi, India to point out his different and extremely useful collections. These included uncommon asteriated hydrogen-rich diamonds, which embody very advantageous but extremely graphic star and cross designs deep inside them. Together with dendritic agates, which seem to include miniature landscapes, forests and different pure options inside their depths, Adlakha additionally confirmed fossilized spiralite gem shells, which embody crystals, gems, fossils and shells multi functional pure artifact. “These I discovered myself whereas mountain climbing,” Adlakha associated, marveling at his glorious luck. Together with being a printed creator, Adlakha additionally offers in varied Indian antiquities and pure gold, historical Indian cash from nice eras of Indian historical past.

Coming from Canada, Ashkan Asgari, Founder & CEO of Misfit Diamonds, introduced an enormous number of naturally mined diamonds, together with these which can be repurposed, having been extracted from classic jewellery, together with these hailing from Canadian mines. (As a result of Canada has a number of the world’s most stringent environmental rules, their mining trade is comparatively much less eco-damaging than many different diamond mines in varied nations.) Misfit Diamonds is notable for embodying an environmentally accountable and ethically involved mission. As Asgari relates, “It’s a matter of public file that the majority diamonds within the provide chain lack a documented proof of origin. Though the Kimberley Course of Certification Scheme, established in 2003, was created to forestall battle diamonds from coming into the worldwide provide chain,” he explains, “it nonetheless by no means addresses diamond origin, mining labor practices or the environmental requirements at any and all mines.”

In response to Asgari, who’s quickly to open a London department, “At Misfit we consider establishing documented origin is likely one of the first steps to creating transparency within the diamond trade. We provide our prospects diamonds which have proof to help their factors of origin and we’re pursuing the opportunity of stocking third-party licensed, sustainability-rated diamonds.”

One other thrilling sales space within the HardRock Summit occurred to be that of Mason-Kay, a Colorado-based jeweler. Primarily based in Centennial, Mason-Kay focuses on jade and is a second-generation, family-owned firm that offers solely in pure, untreated jade of spectacularly top quality. This author spoke with co-owners Jeff and Kristina Mason, who between them have over 60 years mixed expertise within the jade jewellery enterprise. “The HardRock Summit has been nice for us as our retailer is conveniently near Denver. This present brings us involved with retailers, designers, jewelers and media from all around the world,” stated Kristina Mason. The Mason-Kay vary of treasured lavender jade, white jade and apple inexperienced jadeite jewellery gave attendees the possibility to view and purchase museum-quality carved jade pendants, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings.

Probably the most compelling elements of the Summit concerned a particular exhibit of greater than 60 California Gold Rush-era gold and gemstone rings, gold nugget stick pins and gold quartz cuff hyperlinks that had been recovered from the 1857 shipwreck of the S.S. Central America. This steam ship sank 7,200 toes to the underside of the Atlantic Ocean off the North Carolina coast throughout a hurricane in 1857. Voyaging from Panama to New York carrying tons of California gold cash, ingots, and gold mud from Northern California, the Central America wreck took the lives of 425 of the ship’s 578 passengers and crew members. What’s extra, the lack of gold cargo triggered the USA’s economically devastating monetary panic of 1857. (In 1988, over 7,000 gold cash had been recovered from the S.S. Central America, 131 years after it sank. The Central America’s recovered artifacts are being supplied in public auctions in October and November 2022 by Holabird Western Americana Collections.)

As Christoph Keilmann, a co-founder of the HardRock Summit associated, “We love having the ability to supply attendees the possibility to fulfill with internationally esteemed gem sellers and jewelers plus view historic artifacts and nice jewellery up shut and private. A few of our different uncommon reveals embrace these from the Scottsdale, AZ.-based instructional non-profit Someplace In The Rainbow,” Keilmann associated. “Their professional Shelly Sergent displayed a uncommon 1920 Cartier Paris Artwork Deco diamond headdress that transformed into a number of different diamond jewels whereas a guard stood by.” On mortgage from the Houston Pure Historical past Museum was the stupendous crystallized gold boulder generally known as the “The Dragon” which radiated golden mild from its show case. Additionally enchanting guests was the golden “Ausrox Nugget”. Weighing over 52 kilos, that is the world’s third largest gold specimen. “The Crystal” and the well-known “Ram’s Horn” from Harvard’s Mineralogical & Geological Museum additionally graced showcases.

“It’s nice to see the momentum that American Gem Commerce Affiliation (AGTA GemFair™) Denver and the HardRock Summit are gaining,” stated coloured gemstone seller Kimberly Collins, who can be the AGTA President. “This present has such a constructive and alluring ambiance, and it occurs on the excellent time of the 12 months for retailers to stock-up for the vacations.”

AGTA CEO John W. Ford added, “I believe the HardRock Summit system proved to achieve success for all of us. We had an thrilling mixture of patrons and exhibitors, who can’t wait to do all of it once more subsequent 12 months!” The HardRock Summit will return to Denver in September 2023. Dates and particulars might be introduced within the close to future at www.hardrocksummit.com