Uncut sapphire - worth anything??

[Michaelbenedict]

Hello,

So I am new to jewels, have been a precious metal collector for years. Went to a gem mine in Boone, NC last week and found 2 rubies, and a sapphire I am having cut. I also found this smooth, nicely shaped sapphire that I didn't want cut. It is shaped like an arrow head, beautifully shaped with almost perfect edges. Is there any value to it? I do not have a scale but am estimating it weighs an ounce. It is about an inch and a half long, an inch wide, and a quarter inch thick. Would there be more value if I had it cut?

 

[Edward Bristol]

I think if you have it polished and cleaned or cut the base you can set it in a nice pendant as one natural piece.

I have done that with bg crystals and it is always fantastic. wild but very unique and people attribute healing powers to full crystals.

From the photo I can however not see if it is corundum or not.

 

[LD]

The value depends on whether it could be cut and when cut what it would look like, the size, the clarity, the colour etc. Not all stones can be cut and it depends on what's going on internally.

The stone looks very shallow so perhaps might not cut to a gemstone suitable for jewellery or if it did, it might be quite small to maximise the best cut. At the end of the day the price could range from $5 to $50,000 depending on what happens during the cutting process!

 

[chrono]

How sure are you that it is a sapphire? From the back view, it looks too included to be facetable. Note that there is usually a 70% loss of material during the faceting process.

 

[Barrett]

How to put this gently..... it's worth pretty much nothing. Especially if you went to a gem mine in Boone, N.C. Why?
Because only two commercial Open-to-the-public operations exist in Western N.C. that mine native sapphires/rubies...and Boone, sad to say, doesn't have one of these places anywhere near it. What this means is your stone most likely originated from some country that don't speak "American" (Yes, I said "American" and not "English"...have to stick with the self-proclaimed stereotype, ya know)
Anyways, your stones were most likely tossed into a 55 gallon drum and shipped via freightliner to one of the many "gem mines" in N.C. mountains. Franklin, N.C., seems to be the mecca for these barrels of booty. Someone had to physically toss in that sapphire and that includes everyone else's corundum they found that day and the week and months prior. Typically the folks that due that have years experience...but most likely generations worth of experience in the gem trade....so....they don't let anything worth any value over $10 or so, slip past them, and they sure s heck don't let $100's to $1000's of dollar stones into pay-to-dig jumbo buckets headed to North Carolina. Trust me on this, as I have been round and round with this discussion many times with the most experienced gem hunters in North Carolina, mine owners, and rockhounds and posted many post just like this one crushing the hopes and dreams of many who thought the fat bald man in the "vintage "No Fear" t-shirt sitting on his stool must know what he is talking about when he said the stone in your wife's hand was worth xxxx amount of dollars. It's all hogwash and marketing ploys because if it was easy to pull out hundred dollar, or even fifty dollar sapphires and rubies from some easily sifted gravel in buckets then why re they offering up these pay-dirt buckets to anyone who walks by?
Hell it's much more fun to dig them than it is to watch some Dunwoody housewife, from Atlanta, bitch and moan about the bugs or the weather, all the while wondering ,as a gem mine owner in N.C., if that "$20 gem jubilee" bucket she bought was really worth your time and patience. I would go and sift sapphires by the pool... while drinking Mai Tai's and smoking N-Joy smokeless cigarette's.
If it was easy everyone would be doing it.
If these stones they tell you are good for cutting, and worth so and so amount of dollars, then next time take said stone, and then take their price they told you it was worth, and cut the price in half...no..no make it 70%...well shoot...let's do 80% off the estimated retail price any Gem N' Grubbin' mine(except 2 of them) tells you a certain stone is worth and see if they won't buy that stone right from your hand. At 80% off the price then it should be a no brainer for them to buy it on the spot. Let me know when and where, in the next 50 years, you or anyone else see's this happening.

I hope you know I am being overly dramatic and doing little over-the-top-creative writing directed at the business in general and not singling you out . Heck, you have no idea what something is worth and you did the smart thing and came and asked the experts on Pricescope! I have had to break so many people's hearts time and time again over the years letting them know their ruby, emerld, or sapphire was not worth any money really...but...they are worth something much more valuable...the fun you had finding them with your kids or parents, wife or husband, friend or co-worker and the memories that will last longer than any money would have if people truly did find fantastic gems in the "$100 Grande super bucket" at Gem Mountain outside of Hiddenite, N.C....no the other Gem Mountain over on Hwy. 76, not the one next to Piggly Wiggly.

It's not a bad looking piece of corundum...has good growth lines and some blue to it. Looks a little translucent too!
If you got the bug from digging that day in Boone and want to parley that "G-fever" into more fun and adventure then look into joining a rockhounding club or researching the real, gem mines around the south-east. Georgia, N.C., and S.C. have lots of them to boot.
What you went to was what is referred to as a "salted" mine.
Don't let anyone fool you about any of the public roadside gem and sluice places in N.C. and whether they are salted or not. They are all salted to some degree...except for 2 of them. Lies will be told, and stories will be spun, by many that Emerald Hollow, Sheffield's, or so and so's place isn't salted but they all are sad to say. Can't hate the man for making an honest living selling rocks in buckets, ya know. Salting is non-native material placed, or put, where those who forked over the cash will find some shiny baubles or some chips and chunks of one of the big 4...well big three really 'cause no one tosses diamonds into even the biggest Jumbo Grande Super gem gravel buckets, at least that I know of. Some places like to bend the rules by having Native dirt to dig through but with salted material added. That way they can say "native dirt" or "Native gems"(yea, someone found a rhodolite garnet in that stream over yonder 2 years ago..so now you call it "native"...uh-huh). The only two places that are commercial operations for the public are Cherokee and Mason's near Franklin.
So....if you liked finding buried treasure and want to find some real, substantial treasure, then join a local club or meet up with those rockhounds in the know and tag along to see where the real, native, gems are found.
I seen a 8 year old kid find a rutile crystal at Graves Mountain in Georgia, worth $20,000...yep..cash in hand and offered $20,000...twice..once in Tucson too...and turn it down both times.
Yep, an 8 year old kid....a 20 pound crystal of titanium that a 100 people walked by all day long...equals $20,000 cash on the spot and the kid turns it down both times..LOL

or
you could tag along with me and my buddies and find stuff like this!
Found last week by my best diggin' buddy and friend, Bryan Major. One of the many amethyst from a "new" amethyst strike in S.C. , quite possibly, the "new standard for amethyst in America" trumping JXR even. This is one big, clean, facetgrade, deep purple with Zambian-like blue secondary color. A luster and shine better than even the finest of quartz in most of the world...this piece he dug is worth $700-$1000+.....and get this.....this wasn't even in the top 10 pick of amethyst that were chosen by the four diggers when they did the split after 3 days. So at least 10+ were better than this one and this is a good one.

Mike, hope that helps answer some questions for ya and I was able to make it more enjoyable to read than..
"Your stone is worth x amount....sorry"
Try going to dhmine.com and see about digging there if you want to continue your hunt
Later gator
Amethystguy

 

[minousbijoux]

Wow, shows what I know, as I would think that piece would have no value whatsoever. But then again, my experience is limited to the gem quality gemstone world and not the souvenir/good for wirewrapping/crystal collectors world. With all due respect, it just looks like a opaque piece of stone with agate or some such in it...

 

[Lee Little]

Rough must be at least translucent to be worth faceting. Opaque stones such as the 'arrowhead' may be worth making a cab if you like it or Ed's idea of a natural is good too. It does not look like Corundum though I don't recognize it as anything else either. Best regards, Lee

 

[devilsmistress]

Me and my bf went to hiddentite and went to the gem mine , we dug and we went creeking. Just wanted to know if that was the gem mine you were referring to as a valid mine or not? I did get alot of emerald, rubies, sapphires and supposed garnets and whether they are worth anything I could care less they are nice stones never the less and I would like to have them polished and shaped so I can make handmade jewelry or attempt to anyhow. I live in massachusetts and have no idea where I could go to have that done or if any of them could be worth anything, would you know of anywhere in my state that may do that service. I have looked online and cant seem to find anything. If you have any info I would appreciate it. Thank you

 

[gsellis]

While there is a section at that Hiddenite mine (Emerald Hollow I assume) that is supposed to have native stones (beryl), everything else is from somewhere else. It is worth a bit less than you paid to be there. Sorry.

In Hiddenite, there are at least 3 non-public real mines, McAdam's Farm, Buffalo Vein, and North American Emerald Mine (NAEM). Buffalo Vein and NAEM have been open to a club, but that is about it. NAEM may be part of an upcoming reality series. I saw the casting call about 6 mths ago.

Mod permitting, here is a link regarding NAEM http://www.speerminerals.com/NC%20Emeralds/HiddeniteDistrict/NAEMMine/NAEM.htm There has been some nice emeralds from there (for US sourced).

 

[chrono]

I am sorry to say that emerald, ruby, sapphire and garnet are not native to that area. I suspect they were planted there to make it more exciting and encouraging to the prospectors. Most pieces placed there are generally unfacetable, and I'm not sure they are even cab-able.

 

[gsellis]

I am sorry to say that emerald, ruby, sapphire and garnet are not native to that area. I suspect they were planted there to make it more exciting and encouraging to the prospectors. Most pieces placed there are generally unfacetable, and I'm not sure they are even cab-able.

Actually Chrono, about 1/2 mile away from there is NAEM (you drive by Emerald Hollow on the way in). I also found a couple small garnets in matrix at NAEM 2 years ago. The region also has rubies and sapphires, but not close by that I am aware of. About an hour to the south is Propst Farm near Charlotte, and to the South East is a friend's place with gold, rubies, and sapphires. Same club is doing a trip there in a few weeks. And of course, Hiddenite is named after the area and there are some very good red, facetable rutile crystals from nearby too.

But that mine does salt ruby, sapphire, and emerald by the barrel full from overseas and seeds the creek with it. I think the local material at the mine is green beryl, but could be aquamarine. That would be in the Digging option there. I have never gone, so cannot attest to what they find in the digging site. There may have been emerald there at one time too, but have not heard of a find in any of the NC rock forums.

 

[chrono]

George,
How is the quality of the garnets, rubies and sapphires there?

 

[the_mother_thing]

I have a sneaking suspicion MichaelB went to the exact same gem mining place I posted about a week or so ago.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/worthwhile-rough.199703/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/worthwhile-rough.199703/[/URL]

 

[gsellis]

@Chrono... In NC, mostly cab for rubies and sapphires. Maybe 1 in 1000 rubies and 1 in 500 sapphires could possibly be facetable. That is my WAG from what I have found over that last 40 years. Garnets, small, but cuttable in the Franklin area.

I have had 4 faceted rubies and have a chip I am considering cutting. I have a handful of cab material. I have about 10 cabs including a 11ct on from various areas. There are generally rutile inclusion pits in the material.

I do have a pink/green color change sapphire about .2 cts that was cut for me along time ago.

Lost - a 2 ct half-moon ruby cab. It was found at what is now the Cherokee Ruby and Sapphire mine in the 70's. Cherokee is one of 2 native mines left in the Franklin Cowee area.

 

[Foxmyister]

HI all.. Just wandering if anyone can help with accesing these two sapphires I recently was able to dig up, am knew to this game and not sure who to ask about them.. When I showed them to some locals some said awesome and some were negative. I have no idea but just love there colours... The bright one is 23.45ct,, the second one they say is a bomb is 37.34cts..

 

[partgypsy]

I'm not an expert, but does not look like sapphire. the first 3 photos frankly look like melted glass (maybe libyan desert glass?). eta look up moldavite

 

[Bron357]

I don’t think they are sapphire either. They could be simply slag glass. If you go into a pawnbroker they usually have a Presidium gem tester and that can quickly tell you if it’s just glass or give an indication as to a gem type. Then you need more testing by someone with appropriate equipment to identify the gemstone type. Then you need a gem cutter to check them, you can lose up to 70% of raw weight to get a faceted finished gem.

 

[PrecisionGem]

The first question is where did you find them?

They actually do look like natural sapphire rough from what I can see in the photos. But you can’t tell much from a photo. If they are indeed sapphire, and then depending on how clean they are, and the colors, I would say anywhere from $10 per ct to $100 per ct. Big range, but we are going from a photo, and not seeing the stones in person or with natural light.

Typical cutting recovery is from 15 to 40 %, and that’s a function of the shape of the rough, and large inclusions that need to be worked around and the best orientation for color.

 

[Foxmyister]

Digging at the willows QLD. This is first daylight photo.

 

[PrecisionGem]

I thought they looked Australian.

 

[arkieb1]

The daylight photo looks like a great Aussie sapphire.