My son and I just got back from the NC mountains. We went to a gem mine and the employees got really excited over the size of the sapphire my son found. they said it was the biggest one they have seen in over a year. i asked them what they thought it might be worth. they said probably over $300 cut. They are cutting it for me. Does anyone know anything about this kind of thing? They seemed ligit but who knows? DB's wife
Did they tell you how many carats they thought it'd be worth? Which mine did you go to? Got any pics?
I think they did but...now I cant remember!!! duh! it was kinda of a whirlwind! I do have pics and will post them later today. We went to Doc's Rocks which is right next to Mystery Hill. Here is a link to their website: http://docsrocks.net/ DB's wife
My wife and I have made several trip to Franklin for gem mining, with some very nice finds of both star sapphires and star rubies, and one very nice garnet. Most of the mines are legit for mining. However, we always take our finds to Ruby City for getting the raw stones cut. The owner is very professional and experienced. Ruby City was also featured in the TV shows "Treasure Hunting in America" and "Cash and Treasures" on the Travel Channel.
I would get it checked. In North America, sapphires have been mined mostly from deposits around Helena, Montana. A few gem-grade sapphires and rubies have also been found in the area of Franklin, N.C. I did the gem mining thing once and i got several sapphires, rubies, emeralds and even tanzanite. Of course, none of them were actually what i was told. Tanzanite? From the NC Mountains? Please.
Doc is an ex special forces guy and is as honest of a person you can find. When he got out of the military he became a doctor at a hospital. Long story short, he decided that the high six figure salary wasn't worth the deceptful treatment patients he was being forced to offer from the higher ups in the hospital. He knows his gems and how to cut them. Let us know what it turns out to be. For what its worth, the largest cut emerald ever found in North America was found in NC.
That looks like fun!! Might have to try that out one weekend. http://docsrocks.net/ Thanks for posting!
This WAS so much fun for both the adults and kids. Totally recommend it. Especially this particular place. They will even ship ore to you to do for birthday parties. My son loved this so much I am seriously considering doing this for his birthday. Now...how would I make a flume? Nothing too complicated. Any ideas? DB's wife
just got the sapphire in the mail. it is 7 1/2 karats. It looks so small compared to the uncut version. hope they didnt ripe me off. db's wife
have you figured out how to post pics yet? Would love to see it, i love sapphires and no i have no idea how to post pics either
