Rocks In My Head

We went gem-hunting last weekend in Hiddenite, NC. This is a gem mine where a very rare mineral called hiddenite was found years ago. This mineral has only recently been found in Madagascar, but otherwise, it is unique to this particular place in North Carolina.

We sluiced for gemstones, and didn't find much, however, Papa Lau found a large garnet that the lapidarist on site said could be cut into two 3-carat stones. They had a 6-week backlog, so we told Papa to take it back to Malaysia and to get it cut there (Malaysia has a large gem-cutting industry and it could be done quite cheaply). Papa thought he wanted to keep the stone rough, but Mama got a look at an example of what it would look like when it was cut, and I think she'll win the argument. The Chinese believe that garnets cleanse the blood if worn as jewelry.

Bernie and I both have fascination for gemstones, so we have been to three different gem mines now over the summer and here's what we have found:


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I like the black tourmalines best, and Bernie likes the quartz and amethysts. I won an auction on ebay to get a vibratory polisher, so I'm going to try to polish these guys and see what they look like then. The pictures don't do them justice color-wise, and they look best when they are wet. Most of them have bits of granite attached to them, so polishing them will get rid of that and let the color come through.