Tucson Mineral & Gem World
Second-generation rock shop and cabinet of curiosities on the west side of Tucson
- Where
- 2801 S Kinney Rd, Tucson, AZ 85735
- Sells
- Arizona and world minerals, fossils, dinosaur bones and teeth, meteorites, petrified wood, geodes, crystals, artifacts and gifts
- Stock
- More than 100,000 items
- On Kinney Road since
- 1968
- Phone
- (520) 883-0682
Tucson rock shop open since 1968, with over 100,000 items
Shop with a storefront
In Tucson, Arizona.
What they sell: Mineral specimens · Fossils · Meteorites · Petrified wood
Where to use your gear near Tucson
10 gem and mineral spots on open public land with no claim on record, within 50 miles.
Nearest open public land on our fossil and meteorite map: about 147 miles away.
There are more on the map, some of them with a possible mining claim.
About Tucson Mineral & Gem World
Tucson Mineral and Gem World began with rocks in a basement. Peter Ratkevich sold rare specimens out of the family home on Long Island while he worked as a film editor; after the family moved to Arizona he opened the shop in a former house on Kinney Road, where it has stood since 1968.
His sons grew up in it. Ron Ratkevich joined the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum as staff paleontologist in 1989 and in 1995 led the volunteer dig that recovered Sonorasaurus, a dinosaur new to science that later became Arizona's state dinosaur, while staying a fixture behind the shop counter for decades; he died in November 2025. His brother Richard took over running the shop after their father's death.
The old wooden storefront, flanked outside by a canvas teepee and a bright red tyrannosaur, is closer to a cabinet of curiosities than a showroom. The family counts more than 100,000 items: minerals filed alphabetically in drawers, Arizona and world specimens, fossils and dinosaur teeth, meteorites, petrified wood, geodes, crystals and oddities. Teachers and school groups have long been regular visitors.
The shop is on Kinney Road near Ajo Way, on the way to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Old Tucson, which makes it an easy stop on a day out west of the city.
Clubs and places nearby
- Desert Gold DiggersClub · 9 mi
- Tucson Gem and Mineral SocietyClub · 12 mi
- Old Pueblo Lapidary ClubClub · 12 mi
- Gold Prospectors Association of Tucson (GPAA)Club · 13 mi
- Pinal Gem and Mineral SocietyClub · 60 mi
- Huachuca Mineral and Gem ClubClub · 65 mi
Other shops and gear makers nearby
- The Rock Yard (Tucson)Shop · 8 mi
- Raining RocksShop · 9 mi
- The Wizard's WorkshopShop · 69 mi
- Desert DryWashersOnline shop · 74 mi
Access
2801 S Kinney Rd, Tucson. Check opening days before going.