Gemstones in USA
Way too often we think of Africa as the main source of quality gemstones in the world, and while Africa makes a huge contribution, some may be very interested in learning how vast and diverse the gemstone deposits are in the United States!
As you probably would guess, many of the gems are produced in the western regions of the United States. Many would guess that gems come from Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada, but gems from the United States also hail from lesser-known regions such as North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and even Maine!
Common gemstones, like Emeralds, Rubies, Beryl, and Sapphires, are all mined in the United States. But there are several special stones that are also found in the USA. While diamonds are still very popular and the first choice for an engagement ring and eternity ring, you still cannot go wrong with the other gemstones offerings.
Many of the major gemstones and the areas in which they are mined are listed below:
Opals:- Opals are found primarily in the states of Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho. A specific variety of black fire opals are mined in Virgin Valley, Nevada. Oregon is also renowned for certain varieties of sunstones and its thundereggs.
Rubies:-These are gemstones that have a rich red color and are pretty rare. These stones are mined in Franklin, North Carolina In fact, there are quite a few mining rubies in the region.
Jade:- Jade is found both in California and in Wyoming. In the mid-1930s, Wyoming was called the state of Jade.
Emeralds:-This pretty gemstone is found primarily in North Carolina. This state holds some of the rarest and finest Emeralds in the world. From North Carolina came the Carolina Emperor which is one of the largest Emeralds found in North America.
Turquoise:-This gem is primarily found in Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Especially in Nevada, there are a large number of Topaz mines. The purest type of a Topaz gemstone is transparent but it can also be found in light Blue, Yellow, Brown, and Red variations.
Tourmaline:-This gem comes in many shades of color and Tourmaline mines can be found in Minnesota, California, and New Hampshire.
Benitoite:-The gem is California’s state stone, and was named after the San Benito River, where it was discovered in 1907. . This rare stone is often called the “blue diamond”.
Hiddenite:- Hiddenite is an exceptionally rare and light green gemstone. Its namesake comes from a small town in North Carolina.
Pearls:- Only the highest quality of Pearls can be considered gemstones. Tennessee is home to the largest natural freshwater pearl industry in the USA. This industry makes coin-shaped pearls using Mussels.
In addition to all these gemstones Petrified Wood, Azurite, Agate, Malachite, and Peridot are also available in the US.
USA Special Gemstones:
Oregon Sunstone:
A very good example of a gemstone only found in the US is the Oregon sunstone. Sunstone has beautiful copper, red and burnt umber tones and a sparkling style that makes it a perfect jewelry choice.
Oregon Sunstone
Ammolite:
Ammolite is another stone unique to the US. While also known as Aapoak, it is also sold under different names. This is found mainly in the Rocky Mountains’ eastern regions and is unique to the US. Nonetheless, there is more to this stone than just being unique to the USA! Ammolite is a biogenetic gemstone, meaning it was formed by natural processes of life — in this case by shell fossilization! This gemstone comes in several colors but oftentimes has a layered, green, red, and brown structure most of the time.
Red Beryl:
This unusual and rare type of Beryl occurs in the Beaver County, Wah Wah Mountains, Utah. Where there are a few locations in the US where Red Beryl forms, there is only one mine that can produce a significant amount of decent stones.
Mining of Gemstones:
Although the US has a strong diversity of Gemstone sites, it is still relatively limited and undeveloped in industry. Commercial manufacturing is very limited especially in comparison with other nations in the rest of the world. For example, diamonds remain the most sought-after gem in the US although commercial diamond mining operations are not currently in place locally. As such, the dependence on imported gems remains expectedly high.
High labour-costs and environmental regulations also hamper development in the USA.
Small mining businesses account for a large portion of USA gemstone mining with just a handful of workers. Mining is done mainly on Government property where prospect permission is given. More precisely designated gem sites also exist where people can pay a fee to hunt for gemstones.
The USA was the world’s largest Tourmaline manufacturer in the first part of the 20th century. Unfortunately, Tourmaline has become extremely costly for mine and no commercial mines produce Tourmaline anymore today. Garnets are still commercially mined in Idaho, with three mines producing large garnets. There are more than 11 million tons of industrial garnet mined annually. In the States, several millions of tons of diamonds are handled annually. The only active diamond mine in the US is located in Arkansas in the Crater of Diamonds but is no longer mined on a broad commercial scale.
The USA is Largest consumer of Gemstones:
More gemstones are sold in the USA than in any other country in the world. More than 99 percent of the gemstones traded in the US are imported as a result of the very small domestic production. In developing countries, in contrast, gemstones are mined in larger scales.b
Diamonds are the gemstones that are most sold and supplied in the USA. They account for about $18 billion of the gemstone trade, which is huge compared to the almost $1 billion in colored stones. One of the reasons for this is that diamonds are traditionally placed on engagement rings.
Synthetically manufactured gemstones also have a wide demand. These stones are manufactured in laboratories and have the same characteristics as natural stones. Nonetheless, in terms of the law, these must be specifically labeled as synthetic. There is also an increasing market for Simulant gemstones, which are made of glass, plastic, etc. Simulants look like gemstones but have different optical, physical, and chemical properties altogether.
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