WHY ARE USA GEMS SO RARE?

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MONTANA SAPPHIRES MADE IN THE USA!

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We’ve been very lucky recently getting the opportunity at some old Montana Sapphire rough and cut gems from renowned American cutters.  They’ve been very popular and selling quickly.  They are priced well below the market price for these rarities. We’ve put the last of our stock on this list so get a few while they are available. 

 

Mining in the USA is a very expensive proposition.  We are not considered a “gem rich” country in the first place but most of the gems lay underground untouched due to regulation and cost.  Labor costs are 10x to 100x more than most other countries.  Add to that the legal and environmental requirements and you can understand why gem mining companies are destined to fail.  Low value gems such as Garnet and Amethyst (which we have in the USA) are not even considered.  Only gems like Emerald, red Beryl and Sapphire have a high enough value to consider the incredible costs in mining and marketing them.  And over the last few decades we’ve seen company and company fail to make a profit retrieving even these precious gems.

 

Montana Sapphire is a dying source.  The gems are there but without any economical way to mine them in volume, we are stuck with handfuls found by amateur rockhounds in river beds.  In Tucson earlier this year there was only one small supplier of Montana gems displaying maybe 200cts of finished material and they wouldn’t even consider selling the rough.

 

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