Digging for Sapphires

Posted by Beverly Hill Feb 21, 2009

I ordered some sapphire gem gravel from a mine in Montana last week, and was tickled pink when it arrived. I'm one of those people that doesn't mind getting dirty. I've dug for crystals and diamonds in Arkansas, hunted for rocks & minerals in Arizona, and am getting ready to try my hand at panning for gold later this year.

I opened my box to find two nicely packaged and sealed containers (pails) of gravel. I popped the seal on the first one and ran my fingers lightly through the first inch of dirt and after a few minutes had already found 16 sapphires. Since it was late, I called it a night and planned to really get into it better on Saturday.

Saturday turned out to be a bright sunny day, perfect for gem hunting. I set up a table in the backyard, poured a bucket of water, grabbed a clear tray (the kind you pour paint into for rollers), hand strainers, and my bucket of gem dirt and headed out to the backyard. It wasn't long before I was finding sapphires.

It took about two hours to get through the pail. I'd estimate that the pail holds about 16 fluid ounces, but there were still thousands of pieces of gravel to sift through. I found close to 60 sapphires on the first pass. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'm glad I bought a second pail. I'll probably work that one tomorrow, and then go back through both pails looking for missed gems.

So I'd say my first attempt at mail-order gem mining was very successful. I'd definitely recommend it as a fun activity that the whole family can enjoy. As a bonus, you'll can use the gems to create your very own unique jewelry. I plan on getting several of the ones I found faceted and placed in ring and earring settings. They also look good just sitting in a rock collection.