Jewelry Making

Rings & Things annual Bead Show Tour schedule has started up! It kicked off in Tucson, AZ with the big Gem and Lapidary Wholesalers show. In the Southern California area, the following two shows are coming up:

You can check out the Rings & Things jewelry site for a full listing of shows. I’ve been to the Costa Mesa show last year, and they had a really good selection of semi-precious stones and beads. They basically lay out tons of stuff on about 100 tables in a room. Picked up some pearls and carnelian drops. Prices are discounted something like 40% off the stickered retail prices, but everything actually turns out to be close to their catalog prices. However, the most important thing to note is that you can actually hold the gemstones and the beads in your hand so you can see firsthand the quality of what you are getting. Buying large quantities wholesale through their catalog or site is often a bit dicey as I find that (through no fault of their own) the gemstones and beads aren’t exactly what was depicted in the pages in both color or shape.

Note that you need to bring the invite card that they send out or your resale ID in order to get into their shows. If you do have a resale number, you can avoid sales tax as well!