Second Annual HardRock Summit Presents Gem And Mineral Treasures Plus Educational Experiences

Featuring gemstone, mineral and jewelry exhibitors from over 25 countries, trade-oriented and academic lectures plus museum-quality exhibits and children’s activities, the second edition of HardRock Summit concluded its 2022 event with a 50% increase in total attendance over 2021’s figures.

The four-day event ran from September 8-11, 2022 at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center, and according to Wolter Mehring, one of the two co-founders of the HardRock Summit, “Building on the momentum of last year’s event, we expanded our reach and welcomed a wider range of attendees to our show. These included independent boutiques and specialty stores, along with big box, online, and key regional retailers.” While the show’s dynamic programming and access to members of the trade made it an unparalleled event for the public, the multi-modal show also served retailers looking to stock up in advance of the holiday shopping season.

During the summit, over 6,000 people engaged with companies exhibiting fine jewelry, antique jewelry, gemstones, minerals, meteorites, antique coins and more. Along with first-rate gemstone, mineral and jewelry sourcing opportunities, the Summit also offered attendees of all ages the chance to view museum-quality exhibits, while educational gemstone, gold and diamond-themed seminars were open to those 14 and up. A trade show and interactive educational experience all in one, the HardRock Summit featured three key areas for attendees to explore.

For example, the Evolution realm offered some of the rarest and finest minerals and gems ever unearthed from an international array of dealers. Sparkle & Joy presented fine jewelry, high jewelry, artisanal jewelry designs and high-grade gemstones with the cooperation of AGTA GemFair™ Denver and Brazil’s IBGM.

The Denver Gem & Mineral Show (DGMS) featured gems, minerals, fossils, jewelry, beads, décor and metaphysical products. For decades, the DGMS has presented educational exhibits and this year’s offering included interactive activations designed for families, such as live gemstone cutting demos, a black-lit fluorescent mineral exhibit room plus for children, there were rock hunting games and a gold panning room where little ones worked in simulated river conditions to search for gold.

“While this year’s Summit included many more designers, museum curators and collectors looking to buy and source,” Mehring said, “it also attracted scores of gemology enthusiasts, rock hounds and families who viewed and/or purchased some of the rare and precious gems, jewelry and minerals on view.” The HardRock Summit’s environmental, consumer, cultural and international networking offerings makes it one of the world’s more relevant and worthwhile jewelry trade shows in many respects.

For example, one of the more intriguing talks presented during the HardRock Summit included “Gem Legacy: A nonprofit’s story and successes supporting development for East African artisanal gem mining communities,” presented by Rachel Dery-Merisheki. Gem Legacy is a Michigan-based, non-profit organization of jewelers, jewelry designers and others who are committed to supporting artisanal colored gemstone mining regions.

A key force in the realm of sustainable and ethical gemstone mining, Gem Legacy was founded on the belief that gems possess the potential to change lives for the better, and thus positively affect the communities where they are mined and cut. Thus, Gem Legacy works to improve working conditions and wages for miners and their families. What’s more, it also expands the natural benefits of gemstone mining on surrounding communities through long-term support to children, education, and entrepreneurship for miners and their families. While 100% of Gem Legacy donations are returned directly to the communities, the organization’s donors include U.S. jewelers such as Pocatello, Idaho-based Parlé, which was also exhibiting at the HardRock Summit.

Other important and value-added talks included those presented by John Pollard of the International Gemological Institute (IGI), a diamond-grading, colored gemstone grading and finished jewelry grading laboratory that operates 20 grading facilities and 14 gemology schools around the world. Pollard, who is IGI’s Senior Director of Education, delivered one presentation on the marketing of natural diamonds and another regarding lab-grown diamonds, which though relatively less expensive than naturally mined diamonds, can vary widely in terms of quality, environmental impact, and of course, price. (In 2005, IGI was the first laboratory to start grading lab-grown diamonds and furnish reports on same.)

Regarding the exhibitor experience, AGTA member Robert Bentley, owner of New York-based Bentley Gemstones, enthused, “I am having quite a good time at this show because it is well-timed in the calendar year. I have also have made some new client connections with those who appreciate the unusual gemstones that I offer.” Justin Thomas and Ruth Benjamin-Thomas, co-owners of the heritage company Black Opal Direct, came all the way from Australia to show their Lightning Ridge opals, which possess such superbly beautiful and striking attributes that this writer had difficulty tearing herself away from the Black Opal Direct booth. “We are thrilled to be here as we are always looking to expand our global wholesale and retail business,” said Benjamin-Thomas.

Poetry In Stone’s Tarun Adlakha journeyed from Delhi, India to show his varied and highly valuable collections. These included rare asteriated hydrogen-rich diamonds, which embody very fine yet highly graphic star and cross designs deep inside them. Along with dendritic agates, which appear to contain miniature landscapes, forests and other natural features within their depths, Adlakha also showed fossilized spiralite gem shells, which embody crystals, gems, fossils and shells all in one natural artifact. “These I found myself while hiking,” Adlakha related, marveling at his excellent luck. Along with being a published author, Adlakha also deals in various Indian antiquities and pure gold, ancient Indian coins from great eras of Indian history.

Coming from Canada, Ashkan Asgari, Founder & CEO of Misfit Diamonds, presented a vast variety of naturally mined diamonds, including those that are repurposed, having been extracted from vintage jewelry, along with those hailing from Canadian mines. (Because Canada has some of the world’s most stringent environmental regulations, their mining industry is relatively less eco-damaging than many other diamond mines in various nations.) Misfit Diamonds is notable for embodying an environmentally responsible and ethically concerned mission. As Asgari relates, “It’s a matter of public record that most diamonds in the supply chain lack a documented proof of origin. Although the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, established in 2003, was created to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the global supply chain,” he explains, “it still never addresses diamond origin, mining labor practices or the environmental standards at any and all mines.”

According to Asgari, who is soon to open a London branch, “At Misfit we believe establishing documented origin is one of the first steps to creating transparency in the diamond industry. We offer our customers diamonds that have evidence to support their points of origin and we are pursuing the possibility of stocking third-party certified, sustainability-rated diamonds.”

Another exciting booth in the HardRock Summit happened to be that of Mason-Kay, a Colorado-based jeweler. Based in Centennial, Mason-Kay specializes in jade and is a second-generation, family-owned company that deals only in natural, untreated jade of spectacularly high quality. This writer spoke with co-owners Jeff and Kristina Mason, who between them have over 60 years combined experience in the jade jewelry business. “The HardRock Summit has been great for us as our store is conveniently close to Denver. This show brings us in contact with retailers, designers, jewelers and media from all over the world,” said Kristina Mason. The Mason-Kay range of precious lavender jade, white jade and apple green jadeite jewelry gave attendees the chance to view and buy museum-quality carved jade pendants, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings.

One of the most compelling aspects of the Summit involved a special exhibit of more than 60 California Gold Rush-era gold and gemstone rings, gold nugget stick pins and gold quartz cuff links that were recovered from the 1857 shipwreck of the S.S. Central America. This steam ship sank 7,200 feet to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off the North Carolina coast during a hurricane in 1857. Voyaging from Panama to New York carrying tons of California gold coins, ingots, and gold dust from Northern California, the Central America wreck took the lives of 425 of the ship’s 578 passengers and crew members. What’s more, the loss of gold cargo triggered the USA’s economically devastating financial panic of 1857. (In 1988, over 7,000 gold coins were recovered from the S.S. Central America, 131 years after it sank. The Central America’s recovered artifacts are being offered in public auctions in October and November 2022 by Holabird Western Americana Collections.)

As Christoph Keilmann, a co-founder of the HardRock Summit related, “We love being able to offer attendees the chance to meet with internationally esteemed gem dealers and jewelers plus view historical artifacts and great jewelry up close and personal. Some of our other unusual exhibits include those from the Scottsdale, AZ.-based educational non-profit Somewhere In The Rainbow,” Keilmann related. “Their expert Shelly Sergent displayed a rare 1920 Cartier Paris Art Deco diamond headdress that converted into several other diamond jewels while a guard stood by.” On loan from the Houston Natural History Museum was the stupendous crystallized gold boulder known as the “The Dragon” which radiated golden light from its display case. Also enchanting visitors was the golden “Ausrox Nugget”. Weighing over 52 pounds, this is the world’s third largest gold specimen. “The Crystal” and the famous “Ram’s Horn” from Harvard’s Mineralogical & Geological Museum also graced showcases.

“It’s great to see the momentum that American Gem Trade Association (AGTA GemFair™) Denver and the HardRock Summit are gaining,” said colored gemstone dealer Kimberly Collins, who is also the AGTA President. “This show has such a positive and inviting atmosphere, and it happens at the perfect time of the year for retailers to stock-up for the holidays.”

AGTA CEO John W. Ford added, “I think the HardRock Summit formula proved to be successful for all of us. We had an exciting mix of buyers and exhibitors, who can’t wait to do it all again next year!” The HardRock Summit will return to Denver in September 2023. Dates and details will be announced in the near future at www.hardrocksummit.com