Intergem National Harbor report

[Jereni]

So I went to my first Intergem on Friday and I thought I'd share The show was/is at the Gaylord hotel in National Harbor, MD.

The main thing is that the show was surprisingly small. From what I'd heard, I was expecting to go in and be completely overwhelmed, but I walked up and down all the aisles in about 10 minutes or less and that was it I went through it again, more slowly, stopping at the booths I scoped the first time, but all in all I only found 3 booths that were selling loose colored gems. Maybe I didn't look hard enough.

The best hands down was Prima Gems, I talked with Jaimeen a bunch and he is so nice! I learned a lot from him. Overall, they seemed to have a great selection of Mahenge spinels, tanzanite, zircons, and garnets. Not so much sapphires, rubies, emeralds, or tourmaline.

S & S Gems had a large booth with a large number of loose stones out, but nothing really spoke to me there, and the guy at the booth was a little bit overbearing and flat with me. They did have a lot of sets of small, matching colored stones, so I guess useful if you are making a cluster ring or a colored stone band?

The third was a vendor called K&K International. I'm kind of excited to have found them - they seemed to have a lot of 'old stock' gems. I'm not entirely sure I understand what that means, but they had a lot of nice looking stones. Among their wares:
- Gorgeous emerald cut fuchsia-pink sapphire (looked totally saturated, although I could see through it a bit when I put it on my hand)
- Stunning looking padparadscha sapphire. Medium sized (at least 9x7mm), great size for a ring. I wish I was in the market for one.
- Strong blue aquamarines in a variety of shapes
- Variety of nice blue sapphires
I'm really sorry I didn't take pictures of these. Amateur! But the good news is - they are local to my area, and he's going to bring in some apatite for me to look at this week. So I'm going to go to his shop, and I'll try to take some pictures of some of these stones. I checked for their website, but it's not up yet.

Next up - the stones I scooped up from Prima

 

[Jereni]

Alright, here is my big score from Prima Gems - a gorgeous hot pink Mahenge spinel. I can't say enough about this stone. I've seen the Mahenges posted on PS and thought they were lovely, but I was unprepared for them in person! They just GLOW.

This stone is 2.24cts, 6.7x8.8mm. I can't wait to set it but I'm going to have to wait til Feb/Mar, probably.



Next to some of my other goodies


In direct sunlight

 

[Jereni]

This is another Mahenge from Prima that I am thinking about. It's a slightly warmer pink than the oval, also fully saturated (or at least, looked that way to my untrained eye), and the shape of the pear is just really nice. I'm basically obsessed with Chrono's pear Mahenge, and I couldn't stop looking at this.

3.21cts - forgot to write down the dimensions. Unfortunately, sooo hard to take a picture under their lights.

 

[Jereni]

Last one - an adorable blue zircon that I couldn't pass up. Super vivid, love the fat shape of the pear, and a good price.

I think I have a weakness for softer stones, which is probably not good. I may do a pendant with this but still tempted to do a ring and just be really careful with it.

Edited to add: this is 4.8cts

 

[minousbijoux]

Nice haul! While I think the Mahenge is very pretty, that zircon is gorgeous and looks simply maaahvelous on your hand with your skin tone!

 

[GregS]

Nice haul! I've been holding out for the Dulles show. I wasn't even aware that there was one in the Harbor. Which is probably a good thing, saying as I shouldn't be spending any money.

 

[GregS]

Nice haul! I've been holding out for the Dulles show. I wasn't even aware that there was one in the Harbor. Which is probably a good thing, saying as I shouldn't be spending any money.

 

[wordie89]

The Mahenge looks better in shade of your hand than fully exposed to light. I have similar but not as big. I agree with minousbijoux that zircon is gorgeous. Ive avoided them cuz they're softer and i don't wear necklaces or pins....

 

[aviastar]

Thanks for the report! I've been tempted to check that show out, but heard it was very small and parking was expensive (true?), so I also tend to hold out for Dulles- which is pretty big, although you do get a mix of beads, costume stuff, and the fine stones and jewelery.

And if you have a vendor there that you would like to go see specifically, they often have free tickets to give away to their clients, so I always check with my local guy who goes and they usually have them.

Love the stones you picked up, especially the zircon!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Lovely choices! In pairs, both of those would make smashing earrings!!!

cheers--Sharon

 

[chrono]

Nice stash of gems. To get an idea of how vivid you should aim for in any stone, just look to your own zircon as an example stone. The colour just shouts out across the room and a fine Mahenge (or any gem, really) should do the same. What are your plans for the stones?

 

[Jereni]

Thanks so much for the kind words on the stones everyone!!!

Greg, you are probably smart to hold out for the Dulles show. Every vendor I talked to was like, 'you gotta come back in December!' On the other hand, I think this show is much better for someone totally new to gem shows, as I was because I didn't feel overwhelmed or that I missed anything.

Wordie89, the spinel looks closer to the color in the shade, maybe with a touch more red to it. It was really bright today in DC so aiming the stone straight into the sun was a bad idea. Glad you liked the zircon!

aviastar, it's true that parking was expensive. I didn't park in the Gaylord, but in an outside garage, and it was $9. But I was really going for the experience, so it was ok with me this time.

Chrono, as always thanks very much for the info. The zircon is definitely a fun find - I must not have taken very good pictures of the oval Mahenge because it is really really gorgeous and vivid too. The picture of the pear is terrible, it actually looks a lot like the first picture of the Mahenge but slightly redder. I wanted it just as much as the oval but it was more expensive.

In answer to your question, I am going to set the Mahenge east-west in a gorgeous filigree diamond setting that I saw at Boone & Sons (can't find pic on their website), but I need to budget for it appropriately so it will be awhile. The blue zircon I have no idea! I was thinking JKT maybe. Someone in another thread mentioned that she knows how to handle softer stones.

 

[chrono]

If nothing else, the Mahenge's saturation should amp up under the bright DC sun if the has fluorescence. Does it have fluoro?

Yes, JKT has set many softer stones, including zircon so that is a good choice. The only downside is that she has a super long waiting list that is a few months long. Best to ask her and find out for sure.