The 22nd Street Show is one of the most visited satellite venues operating during Tucson's annual gem and mineral week, held each year in late January through mid-February along a stretch of 22nd Street in Tucson, Arizona. Organised under a series of open and semi-enclosed tents, the show runs concurrently with the main Tucson Gem and Mineral Show and dozens of other satellite events that collectively transform the city into the world's foremost wholesale and retail gemstone marketplace for roughly two weeks each year.

Format and Character

Unlike the more formal hotel-ballroom venues that house higher-end dealers during Tucson week, the 22nd Street Show operates in a distinctly informal, market-stall atmosphere. Dealers set up beneath canvas and shade structures, displaying their wares on folding tables and in open trays. The layout encourages browsing, negotiation, and direct comparison of material across adjacent booths — a format that suits buyers accustomed to evaluating large quantities of rough or cut stones quickly.

The show draws a broad cross-section of the trade: small-scale miners selling direct, overseas rough dealers, bead and strand merchants, lapidary material suppliers, and specialist cutters offering finished parcels. This diversity of vendor type is one of the venue's defining characteristics and distinguishes it from more curated shows that focus on fine single stones or high jewellery.

Material on Offer

The range of material at the 22nd Street Show is deliberately wide rather than selectively deep. Buyers can typically find:

• Rough gemstone material, including tourmaline, quartz varieties, garnets, and semi-precious rough from African, South American, and Asian sources
• Calibrated and free-form cut stones in commercial to fine grades
• Bead strands and drilled material in a wide variety of species
• Mineral specimens and lapidary rough
• Cabochon material, including jaspers, agates, and opaque ornamental stones

Volume parcels — lots of matched or assorted stones sold by weight or piece count — are a particular strength of the show, making it a practical destination for jewellery manufacturers and designers sourcing in quantity rather than cherry-picking individual gems.

Position Within the Tucson Ecosystem

Tucson gem week comprises well over forty individual shows, each occupying a distinct market niche. The 22nd Street Show occupies the accessible, high-volume end of that spectrum. Its competitive pricing reflects the tent format's lower overhead and the direct-from-source nature of many vendors. For buyers who have already visited the more formal venues — such as the AGTA GemFair or the GJX show — the 22nd Street Show offers a complementary experience oriented towards discovery, negotiation, and the occasional unexpected find of unusual or undervalued material.

The show is particularly well-regarded among lapidaries, bead artists, and collectors of mineral specimens who may find the pricing and selection at hotel-based venues less suited to their needs. It also serves as an entry point for newer buyers learning to evaluate rough and commercial-grade material in a real-market context.

Practical Notes

The show typically operates during the core days of Tucson gem week, with peak attendance in the first full week of February. The open-air format means that conditions vary with the desert weather; early mornings can be cold and afternoons warm, and dust is a perennial feature of the environment. Most transactions are cash-based, though card payments have become more common. Serious buyers generally arrive early in the week, as the best parcels and unusual material move quickly once the show opens.