Here is yet another snippet……

Just Friends.   One of the best parts of the Tucson show is catching up with long-time acquaintances and industry colleagues.  Pictured are two of my favorite people.  Shirley Mitchell (left) is one of the most accomplished jewelry appraisers in the U.K. (or anywhere else, for that matter).  We actually met on line (wife knows), hit it off and correspond regularly on all sorts of gemmological (two m’s in the UK) and other sordid topics.  Dr. Cigdem Lule is a very serious archaeogemologist most of the time, passionate researcher and my “Wild Turk” counterpart (my Grandpa was Greek).  She has the 2016 Bonanno Award, so I will defer to her greatness, give her a wide berth, but still engender age-old rivalries.