Previously I wrote about Diamonds Found in The U.S.A. found here: https://www.barlowsgems.net/stones-and-jewelry-bl...

And Pearls Found in the USA found here: https://www.barlowsgems.net/stones-and-jewelry-bl...

But what other gemstones are found in the United States?

Plenty! Including agates, jaspers, turquoise, petrified wood, and so much more. But in this month’s blog, we are going to talk primarily about high-end or “precious gemstones”, think diamonds, rubies and emeralds, etc., that are usually translucent to transparent and are used for faceting.

The United States actually has a good variety of precious gemstone sites, however the quantity produced is still relatively small and undeveloped. Production in the USA is hampered by high labor cost, the high cost of production, government regulations, and environmental concerns. Most of the gemstones found in the United States come from very small mines or are found by rockhounds. Even though more gemstones are actually sold in the United States than in any other country in the world, over 99% of the precious gemstones sold here are imported.

Some of the precious gemstones found in the United States include:

Aquamarine- Aquamarine is the light blue variety of Beryl and the birthstone for the month of March. Aquamarine has been found at many locations in the United States, but the most common spots to find this gem include the summit of Mt. Antero in the Sawatch Range, in central Colorado and the beaches of North Carolina. To date, almost all of the production has been from small-scale mining, often where multiple minerals are being found. Aquamarine is the official state gem of Colorado.

Emeralds- the green variety of Beryl and the birthstone for the month of May. This beautiful gemstone can be found mainly in North Carolina. Some of the rarest and biggest Emeralds can be found in this state. The Carolina Emperor which is one of the largest Emeralds found in North America came from North Carolina.

Garnet- Garnet occurs in many colors. Garnet is the birthstone for the month of January. You can find garnet specimens in about 21 states across the U.S. The best place to find garnets in the U.S. is in Idaho. Fine qualities garnets are still commercially mined in Idaho and there are three mines that produce industrial garnets. The state’s official gemstone has been the star garnet since 1967. Utah is the second-best state in the U.S. to produce garnet specimens, especially the beautiful pyrope variant. Idaho, Utah, Connecticut, and Nevada are also states with lots of garnets. You can also find garnet gemstones in states such as Oregon, Tennessee, Kentucky, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, Texas, and California, among many others.

Opals - Opal, though not usually faceted, or still considered precious gemstones and the birthstone for the month of October. A nice precious opal can flash every color of the spectrum with an intensity and quality of color that surpasses the fire of diamond. Opals are mainly found in the states of Nevada, Oregon and Idaho, but Opal has also been found in Louisiana, California, Arizona, and Texas. In Virgin Valley in Nevada there are black fire opals.

Peridot- Also known as the mineral Olivine is a very popular green gemstone and the birthstone for the month of August. Much of the world's peridot used in mass-production jewelry is mined at the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona.

Red Beryl- Emerald, aquamarine, heliodor, and morganite are the most popular varieties of beryl, but a rare form of Red Beryl is found in the Wah Wah Mountains of Beaver County, Utah.

Rubies -Ruby is the red corundum variety and the birthstone for the month of July. Good quality rubies are quite rare. One of the places you can find them is in Franklin, North Carolina. They have also been found in South Carolina. Mining for ruby and sapphire began in Macon County in 1870. Called corundum, low grade rubies and sapphires were mined commercially for abrasives (i.e. sandpaper). Corundum and other minerals such as mica and kaolin, were hauled to the railroad by horse and wagon and shipped out of Macon County in large quantities. William Earl Hidden, for whom the mineral “hiddenite” is named, was sent from New Jersey by Thomas Edison to North Carolina to find sources of industrial minerals. W.E. Hidden is credited with the discovery of the variety of garnets known as Rhodolite, which he found during his explorations of the Cowee Valley. Tiffany’s purchased the entire Cowee Valley in the 1890’s, and then two other companies, American Prospecting & Mining Co. and US Ruby Mining Co., also began work hoping to find the source of the extremely high-grade rubies and sapphires found within the corundum mines.

Sapphire- The name “sapphire” applies to any corundum that’s not red and doesn’t qualify as a ruby. They range in color from pure blue, to greenish blue to violet. In Montana, the Yogo Gulch sapphire locality, and the Gem Mountain sapphire locality produce beautiful sapphires that are a unique blue-green color. The Eldorado Bar and Spokane Bar mines in Montana produce sapphires as well as many other gemstones. The Eldorado Bar Mine is private property, but you can call them to reserve digging time during the summer. The Spokane Bar Mine offers digging options too. Sapphires (along with rubies and emeralds) are also found in the Cowee Valley situated in Western North Carolina, near the town of Franklin, NC.

Topaz - Topaz is the birthstone for the month of November. The purest form of a Topaz gemstone is clear, but they can also be found in light blue, yellow, brown and red. Natural blue topaz is extremely rare and is usually pale blue. Almost all of the “blue topaz” offered in stores today is colorless topaz that has been irradiated and then heated to produce a blue color. In the United States, some topaz is produced in Utah, where it was named the state gemstone in 1969.

Tourmaline – Tourmaline is a large group of boron silicate minerals and a beautiful gemstone that comes in many colors. Tourmaline is the birthstone for the month of October. In the U.S., tourmaline is found in Maine, Minnesota, California and New Hampshire, but the most important source of tourmaline in the United States is the tourmaline mines of southern California. Tourmaline has been mined there since the late 1800s. Most of this production occurred over 100 years ago in Riverside and San Diego Counties. In the first part of the 20th Century the USA was the top producer of Tourmaline in the world.

Though commercial mining of fine gemstones is very limited in the United States, there are operating mines that you can Pay to Dig at. Here are a few we know of:

Oceanview Mine in Pala, California (Tourmaline)

The Oceanview Mine allows you a unique view of the only actively working underground mine in the world-famous Pala Gem mining district and a chance to find your own gems—tourmalines, kunzites, morganites and more. Guests also get a jeep tour of Chief Mountain where you can see all of the currently active mines and prospects, as well as views of the famous the Pala Chief Mine- which also offers Pay for Dig, the Tourmaline Queen, and other historic mines.

Emerald Hollow Mine, North Carolina (Emeralds)

In 1879 W.E. Hidden went mining for platinum in White Plains for Thomas Edison's longer lasting light bulb. Unfortunately, no platinum was ever found but they did discover emeralds! Now the Emerald Hollow Mine is the only emerald mine in the world that is open for Pay for Dig. It is located in the foothills of the beautiful Brushy Mountains near the town of Hiddenite, North Carolina. Here you can find more than 60 different types of naturally occurring gems and minerals! Many of these are very rare and include emerald, aquamarine, sapphire, garnet, topaz, amethyst, citrine, rutile, and tourmaline. Hiddenite is the 4th rarest gemstone in the world and this is one of the few places on earth it can be found.

Cherokee Ruby Mine, North Carolina (Rubies and Sapphires)

The Cherokee Ruby Mine is situated in the town of Franklin, North Carolina and it is a place where people can Pay to Dig for world class rubies and sapphires. Each year, thousands of people from around the world flock to the popular Cowee Valley gemstone locality of Western North Carolina to experience the thrill of finding rare gemstones in the rough.

Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine, Montana (Sapphires)

The Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine is one of the largest, oldest, and best sapphire mines in the World. It has produced over 180 million carats of sapphires for over 130 years. Mining first started in 1892 with large stones exhibiting good color and clarity faceted as finished gemstones. The small and fractured stones were sold by the ounce for industrial purposes. Following WW II, Gem Mountain began Pay for Dig for sapphires. In the mid 1960’s the owner formally opened the Chausee Sapphire Mine and began bringing sapphire gravel to the store. The name was changed to Gem Mountain in the early 1980’s.

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Check back next month as we will be talking about Semiprecious Gemstones found in the U.S.A.!