The Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil showcase was filled with gems that sparkled so much, you might have had to wear glasses just to take a look at them.
Those gems can be very pricey and Michal Mael, who calls herself the Queen of Rocks definitely rocks when it comes to catering to all kinds of people.
She smiled proudly as she said hi to customers and showed off an ornate dragon piece that was filled with Uruguayan amethyst. It loomed up at about twelve feet tall and eight feet wide, weighing a total of over 8 thousand pounds!
Its the only twin geode in the world, the largest twin geode. Most of these big geodes take over two years to pull out of the mine, Mael said.
The director of the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil showcase and convention services said Mael has some of the most expensive products out of the entire showcase.
How much does the big dragon cost? A whopping $750 thousand! Mael said at least five people were interested in buying the piece!
Everybody asks us about the beautiful dragon, but who would really come is retreat people, casinos, very large conglomerate, big developers, she said.
However, for Mael, the showcase isnt just about making money for herself. She was also asking for donations from people who took selfies with her pieces and did a few raffles that are going to benefit the non-profit Track. She said shes donating about $3,600 to them.
Charles Vargas is another vendor who owns Apache Gems and is also the CEO of the Chiricahua Apache Nde Nation.
His boulders were turquoise in color and he said selling them helps Native American people by promoting self-reliance.
These boulders run from 30 to 60 thousands per piece. As we polish them, they turn into gem stones, and so actually if we cut up one of the boulders, it would yield hundreds of thousands of karats, he said.