The Road to Tucson: Where the Search Begins
- Annabelle Choong
- Mar 16
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 21
A Different Kind of Colour
It’s that time of the year again.
While others are busy checking their lucky colours for the new year—choosing shades that promise prosperity, harmony, or love—I find myself drawn to a different kind of colour. Not the ones dictated by zodiac charts or tradition, but the ones waiting for me at the Tucson Gem Show. The unexpected hues of sapphires, the rare glow of Paraiba tourmaline, the deep fire of garnets.
That thought alone excites me more than anything else.
Seven hours from Singapore to Tokyo, and the moment I step off the plane at Narita, the winter air greets me like an old friend—cold, sharp, yet strangely nostalgic. I’ve made it. I’m halfway there.
I spend a week in Tokyo, catching up with the team, preparing for what’s ahead. Then, finally, we take off for the land of cacti—Tucson, Arizona.
Girl from the North Country
This year, our route takes us from LA to Phoenix. Instead of waiting for the long connecting flight, Kengo-san—our gemologist and, more importantly, our trusted driver—decided we’d drive from Phoenix to Tucson instead.
I love road trips in the States. (Though to be fair, I’m never the one driving—just navigating from the passenger seat.) There’s something about sitting there, watching the sky stretch endlessly above the road, that makes the world feel different. The first time I came here, I remember thinking—the sky can be this wide? And for the first time, I felt it. That what I had been looking at for the past twenty-something years was just a tiny sliver of the world, and that so much more was waiting beyond it.
As we leave the city behind, the desert landscape unfolds before us. With every passing mile, the cacti multiply.
Tall. Still. Almost watchful.
They stand like old friends, welcoming us back.
Vast land stretches endlessly at both ends of the highway, painted in warm, golden tones. The desert glows under the afternoon sun, a quiet contrast to the deep blue sky above.
We turn on the radio—some old ’60s songs playing through the static. I don’t remember exactly what played that day, but as I write this now, Girl from the North Country echoes in my mind, triggered by a recent film I watched, A Complete Unknown.
I’m not sure if I’m exactly from the North, but coming here—driving through this endless stretch of desert, yellow and sun-drenched—I feel it.
That slight sense of being out of place, yet somehow, inexplicably, at home.
A Desert Full of Treasures
Seeing that first glimpse of the gem show tents stretching across Tucson—it gets me every time. The adrenaline kicks in, and just like that, I’ve long forgotten about the jet lag.
“What stones are waiting for us inside this year?”
Feeling all excited, we join the queue with the rest of the gemstone hunters, waiting for the show to begin.
The show hasn’t started yet, but in a way, it already has. The familiar faces, the subtle nods exchanged between traders, the murmurs of last year’s best finds—it’s a world of its own. A world we step into, year after year, drawn back by something we can’t quite put into words.
There are gem shows in Hong Kong four times a year, and the journey there is much shorter. No jet lag, no long flights. But still, every year, thousands of gemstone sellers and suppliers choose to gather here—in the land of cacti.
Tucson has a special place in our hearts. It’s more than just a gem show. Every year, the city itself transforms into a global hub for gemstones. Unlike Hong Kong, where everything is neatly packed into convention halls, Tucson feels like a treasure hunt—one where every corner holds something waiting to be discovered.
From sapphires and diamonds to rare gems like Paraiba tourmaline, sphene, and mineral specimens you don’t see every day—you can find them here in Tucson. Strange, isn’t it? Of all places, why a desert city? Why not somewhere more polished, more predictable? And yet, it’s this very desert city that excites us gemstone hunters the most.
Here, we get to meet the miners and cutters themselves—the ones who pull these treasures from the earth and those who transform them into beautiful cut gems. Seeing the gemstone suppliers and miners, the way their eyes sparkle as they show us their stones—“Look. My stones are gorgeous. Aren’t they?” That look of pride, of passion—it resonates with us, an unspoken connection between those who find gemstones and those who cherish them.
There’s something about Tucson that feels different. Maybe it’s the way the city embraces the gemstone world so naturally, or maybe it’s just the way this place feels like it was meant for this.
Then, I remember something from the drive from Phoenix—something I hadn’t thought much about before.
I had always assumed that cacti thrived everywhere in Arizona. But along the way, something felt different—there weren’t nearly as many cacti. In Tucson, however, they flourish in every corner, every part of the city.
And maybe—just maybe—like how the cacti choose Tucson, we gemstone hunters choose Tucson. For its warmth, its people, and for the search. The search for that one stone that speaks to us every year.
A Journey That Feels Like Home
To be honest, I look forward to this trip for reasons beyond just the gemstones.
It reminds me a little of a high school trip. Not in the sense of where we’re going, but in the way we live together for those few days—under one roof, in an Airbnb instead of a hotel, cooking meals every night after the show. There’s something comforting about that routine. Coming back from a long day, unwinding over dinner, sharing stories. A simple rhythm, but one that stays with me.
You don’t really get to travel like this once you start working. Not like this, with colleagues who span across generations—our chairman, who’s been coming here for nearly 20 years, and the rest of us, in our 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. But somehow, despite the age gap, we connect so easily over food, wine, and the stones we’ve spent the day searching for.
And then there are the conversations.
Not the kind you have in the office, with schedules to follow and emails waiting to be answered. These happen in quieter moments—over a late dinner, a glass of wine, or simply in the pauses between stories. Someone shares a memory, a thought about a gemstone, a lesson learned from years in the trade. You listen. You take it in. Not everything needs a response.
Some things, you only come to understand in moments like this.
So, why Tucson?
Maybe that’s why. It’s not just about the stones, but everything else. The people, the atmosphere, the way this trip makes me feel. Every year, I leave with something more than what I came for.
And honestly? I’m already thinking about next year.
Fujimori Kajita will be holding our annual Gem & Jewellery Affair this April. Stay tuned for more details—coming soon with the final Tucson blog post.
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