Promoter Kaleidoscope Gem Shows recently held its Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show on August 27th & 28th, one of a trio of annual events they host at the Freeport Recreation Center. Catering to rock hounds, collectors, jewelry enthusiasts and more, the event the show boasts just about anything you could want of a sparkly nature, offered by some of the most well-established names in the field with decades of experience.  

Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show promoter Ralph Gose of Melville with his wife Evelyn, a long-time jewelry dealer.

For a man running a popular and long-standing gem and mineral show, you’d probably be surprised to learn that promoter Ralph Gose of Melville himself has very little experience in the jewelry field. What he does have, however, is a background in Wall Street, where he honed his business acumen for many years before finally retiring in 2002.

Promoter Kaleidoscope Gem Shows recently held its Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show on August 27-28 at the Freeport Recreation Center.

Beautiful minerals on display at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

“It's not so much that I know what these people selling, but I know how to promote a show,” he said. “This came along almost by accident, actually. My wife is a jewelry dealer and had a booth at the show...I was living as a retired person and the people who previously owned the show asked if we'd be interested in taking it over. We found out how lucrative it was, and we said okay. It's only a part-time job...about 90% of the work I do from my living room.”

Promoter Kaleidoscope Gem Shows recently held its Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show on August 27-28 at the Freeport Recreation Center.

Gose holds three gem shows a year at the Freeport Recreational Center, located at 130 East Merrick Road. The shows are staged every August, October, and April, take place on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and feature a venue packed with unique and varied vendors, all dealing extensively in all manner of things both interesting and beautiful. The October show will be held on October 29th and 30th at the Freeport Recreation Center located on 130 East Merrick Road in Freeport.

A fossil on display at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

The show features vendors spanning five different item categories: minerals and rocks, jewelry (both high and low end), fossils, beads, and findings–which consist of items such as metal loops and wire used to complete hand-made jewelry. The show had about 28 vendors, with an attendance of over 1,000 people over the course of the weekend.

Colorful beads of every kind at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

Gose notes that the shows are a long-standing tradition in the Freeport area, and every year he puts in plenty of work to make sure that they not only remain as such, but continue to grow and attract new patrons as well.

Promoter Kaleidoscope Gem Shows recently held its Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show on August 27-28 at the Freeport Recreation Center.

“Once I've scheduled the venue, I start polling the vendors to find out who is going to be available to do a given show,” he said. The April show is our oldest, at 41 years and running. The October Show is 20 years old, and August is 25. So we have been doing the shows for a long time, and we have a seniority list…the vendors at the top of the list get invited first. And we're always full... If somebody can't make it, we always have a line of people waiting to replace them to help get some new blood in here.”

A fossil on display at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

Mark Newman of Port Jefferson was the sole fossil dealer this past weekend, but the quality and quantity of the wares he brought to the show more than made up for this fact. A paleontology enthusiast all his life, most of the items he had on display were procured with his own two hands, he said.

Shark teeth on display at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

“I go out and I dig and I find the majority of the items that I sell at the shows. I was just in Utah for the past 2 weeks...it's Jurassic out there, millions of years old, and I just brought back items like an Allosaurus rib as well as other bones,” he said. “I do this all for free...in 30 years I've never taken a penny from anyone. I donate much of what I find to museums...I find pieces that are one-of-a-kind, and it's a very difficult process. I'm always working in 100 degree weather, and it's not like on television...you're not using a little brush to sweep aside sand, there's usually a mountain on top of the dinosaur you looking for, and it's usually only a little piece sticking out. It's tremendous work, but I love it.”

Beautiful minerals at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

Muhammad Saad of Queens has been a vendor at the gem show for the past two years, and uses it to show off his unique work- intricate items carved out of a stone called lapis, which is imported from Afghanistan.

Muhammad Saad of Queens has been a vendor at the gem show for the past two years.

We make a number of different things from lapis, including chess boards, jewelry boxes, pyramids, elephant figurines, and jewelry as well,” he said. “They're very good sellers, especially here in Freeport at this show…we sell a lot here.”

A chess board and pieces carved out of a stone called lapis, which is imported from Afghanistan.

Henry Laskowski of Henry's Gems makes the trip down from Pennsylvania every year for this show; he's been doing it for nearly 30 years, and has no plans on stopping anytime soon, he said.

A customer admiring beautiful minerals at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

“We mostly deal with 14 karat gold, plus a lot of sterling silver, platinum, as well as diamonds and gemstones as well as estate items and repair work,” he said. “We love coming to the show because our customers are loyal here...Long Islanders are interesting, because it's hard to break in with them, but once you do they’re customers for life.”

Henry Laskowski of Henry's Gems makes the trip down from Pennsylvania every year for this show.

Joe DeCristoforo of Albertson, owner of Amazon Imports, has been in the jewelry business for over 38 years, and has been a loyal vendor last for the past three decades at the Gem Show in Freeport.

Joe DeCristoforo of Albertson, owner of Amazon Imports, has been a loyal vendor last for the past three decades at the Gem Show in Freeport.

“We mainly deal with stones, plus some jewelry just to be able to show people what the stones look like when they're set, as opposed to just laying there in a display case,” he said. “The stone business is very international these days, so I get stones from Brazil, East Africa, Thailand, East Asia, and many other places. You really have to spread yourself around the world to get the best sources for certain stones."

Pyramids carved out of a stone called lapis, which is imported from Afghanistan.

Eye-catching stones at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

“I don't go to as many shows as I used to, but I still go to this one all the time…the attendance is always great, and Ralph does a great job promoting and running it,” DeCristoforo continued. “We have a great clientele base here, and while you're always looking for repeat customers, we also get a lot of new business here at the show also. So it's a great place to go if you're a vendor or a buyer a seller. I'd really recommend it to anyone interested in jewelry in any way.”

Beautiful minerals at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

Over the years, Gose said that he has grown very close with the vendors who attend his shows, and that the people at these events are no longer simply customers or co-workers, but a family, with each event a heartfelt reunion of sorts that always serves to remind him he continues to work hard instead of simply living the easy life of retirement and nothing else.  

Customers admiring the many wares available at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

Hand-made jewelry at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

“My wife has been a jewelry vendor doing the show since 1992, and there are hundreds of shows across the country. Some of our vendors here do 40 or 50 shows a year,” he said. “When you do shows for that long, you become friends with the dealers and you know their kids, and watch them grow up, and the shows become as much a social gathering as a business arrangement...we’ve formed a nice little community of sorts.”

A customer admiring the many wares available at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.

A vendor assisting customers at the Freeport Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show.