AGATE Important sources of agate are Russia (Ural mountains), Brazil, Egypt, Germany,
India, Italy, Madagascar, Mexico, Uruguay and the USA (Oregon, Washington,
Idaho, and Montana).
AMETHYST Amethyst is mined in Brazil, Uruguay, Sri Lanka, Siberia, Canada, India,
Bolivia, and Argentina and some African countries. Zambia is a significant
source for amethyst. Generally, amethyst from South America tends to be
available in larger sizes than African amethyst but amethyst from Africa has the
reputation for having better, more saturated, color in small sizes. Very dark
amethyst, mostly in small sizes, is also mined in Australia.
CITRINE Citrine is
found in Brazil, Madagascar, Spain, Uruguay, Scotland, USA (California,
Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia, and Nevada) and Russia. Brazil is the main
source of citrine.
FLUORITE Exceptionally clear crystalline fluorite is mined in Cumberland and
Derbyshire, England. Commercially important deposits in the United States occur
in a region on the Ohio River that includes parts of Illinois and Kentucky.
GARNET Garnets are
found in a wide variety of locations including Kenya, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Brazil, India, Madagascar, Canada and USA. In the USA, garnet has been obtained in
Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, Utah, Florida, California and Virginia. The majority of today's
garnet supplies come from Africa. Notable quantities of garnets have been also
found in the Czech Republic and Spain. The oranges and browns of spessartite and
hessonite hail from Namibia and Sri Lanka.
HEMATITE The
most important deposits of hematite come from a sedimentary deposit: the Lake
Superior district in North America. Other important deposits include Minas
Gerais (Brazil), Cerro Bolivar (Venezuela), Labrador, and Quebec.
IOLITE Most of the
iolite available today comes from Sri Lanka, Burma, India, Madagascar and
Brazil. Precambrian deposits of the Laramie Range, (Wyoming, USA) contain more
than 500,000 tons of iolite.
JADE Jadeite is found chiefly in eastern Asia in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma),
as well as in sections of Tibet and southern China. This Jade is exported
to China, where it is carved into gems and figures. This jade is known as
"Chinese jade". Chinese jade has a higher market value than jade from other
locations.
"Mexican Jade" is Jade from the large deposits in Guatemala and Mexico. This
jade was also mined since the earliest of times, but does not have as rich a
history as the Chinese jade.
"Russian jade" is a leek-green variety found near Lake Baikal in Russia.
Elsewhere it can be found in Alaska, Mexico, New Zealand, Siberia, Turkistan and
a huge haul has been found at Clear Creek, San Benito Co., California.
JASPER Jasper is
common and widely distributed, occurring chiefly as veinlets, concretions, and
replacements in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, as in the Urals, North
Africa, Sicily, France, India, Venezula and Germany.
Some varieties are color-banded, and beautiful examples of jasperized fossil
wood are found in Arizona, U.S. In the USA, jasper is also found in California, Utah
and Wyoming.
LAPIS LAZULI The
main supplies of lapis lazuli are found in the Afghanistan, Egypt, Canada,
Chile, the US, and South America. The most important sources are the mines in
Badakhshan, northeastern Afghanistan, and near Ovalle, Chile, where gemstone is
usually pale rather than deep blue.
MOONSTONE Moonstone is found in Brazil, European Alps, India, Madagascar, Mexico,
Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and the USA (Pennsylvania and Virginia). Sri Lanka
produces the highest quality moonstones.
MOSS AGATE Important sources of moss agate are Russia (Ural mountains), Brazil,
Eygpt, Germany, India, Italy, Madagascar, Mexico, Uruguay and the USA (Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, and Montana).
PEARL Oriental pearls are found in the Persian Gulf. Other notable sources of
fine-quality pearls include the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka, the
waters off Celebes, Indonesia, and the islands of the South Pacific. In the
Americas, the Gulf of California, the Gulf of Mexico, and the waters of the
Pacific coast of Mexico have yielded dark-hued pearls with a metallic sheen as
well as white pearls of good quality.
Freshwater mussels in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere have
produced pearls of great value, as for example those from the Mississippi River.
Pearling is a carefully fostered industry in central Europe, and the forest
streams of Bavaria, in particular, are the source of choice pearls. Freshwater
pearling in China has been known from before 1000 BC.
Cultured pearls: Northern Australia established its first cultured pearl farms
in the 1960s, that by the mid-1970s were an established industry, producing
pearl shell as well as pearls. Japan and Australia are the largest producers of
cultured pearls, though Fiji also produces some.
PERIDOT Peridot is found in Australia, Brazil, China, Eygpt, Burma, Pakistan, Norway,
and the USA (Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, and New Mexico). Much of the today's peridot
comes from Arizona. Very large crystals are found in the Mogok district of
Myanmar and in the Minas Gerais in Brazil. Peridot has been mined from St John's
Island in the Red Sea for over 3500 years. In 1994, an exciting new deposit of
peridot was discovered in Pakistan, and these stones are among the finest ever
seen.
QUARTZ Quartz is one of the most abundant compounds found in the Earth’s surface and in
most sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks, and therefore, it and its many
varieties come from thousands of locations around the globe. Quartz was even
found on Moon during lunar explorations! Large deposits of good quality clear
quartz have been found in Brazil, France (Dauphine), USA (Arkansas). Primary
deposits in the USA are in
Hot Springs of Garland County, Mount Ida in Montgomery County &
California-Calaveras County’s Mokelumne Hill. Sutters Mill, site
of the California Gold Rush of 1848 has large deposits of quartz that had gold
veins running through them and San Diego County is famous for very unique
samples. New York,
Herkimer County has deposits of doubly terminated quartz called Herkimer
Diamonds. Elsewhere, quartz also occurs
at Australia, British Columbia, Germany, India, Japan, Madagascar, Malagasy
Republic, Man, Mexico, Namibia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and St. Gotthard,
Switzerland.
ROSE QUARTZ Quartz crystals are very rare in nature but can be found in Brazil, Maine and
California. In its more common, massive state, it can be found in Brazil, South
Dakota, Colorado, Arkansas, California, Switzerland, Madagascar, India, Germany,
Scotland, Spain, Malagasy Republic and Canada.
SMOKY QUARTZ Smoky quartz or smokey quartz is the national gem of Scotland, where it occurs
in the Cairngorm Mountains; but it can also be found in Sri Lanka, Brazil,
Spain, Switzerland, Maine, New Hampshire, Alabama and Colorado.
SODALITE Rich blue masses are found near Bancroft, Ontario, and nearby along the York
River there are several massive occurrences of hackmanite. Thinner veins of blue
sodalite are found in nepheline rocks on the Ice River, British Columbia.
Litchfield, Maine, yields sodalite in smaller masses of moderate richness.
Colorless crystals are found in the altered limestone blocks thrown out by the
eruptions of Vesuvius. Brazil seems to be today’s major producer.
TIGER EYE The largest deposits of tiger's eye are in South Africa, Australia, Burma, India
and the United States. The best stones come
from Griqualand West.
TOURMALINE Tourmaline is found in Africa, Brazil, Madagascar, Mexico, Myanmar, Namibia, Sri
Lanka, and USA (southern California, Connecticut, Maine, New York and Texas).
The Isle of Elba is famous for pink crystals tipped with black which are known
as Moors' Heads.
TURQUOISE Principal deposits of blue turquoise are located in Neyshabur (Nishapur), Iran.
Other varieties are found abundantly throughout Western Turkistan, Egypt
including the Sinai Peninsula, and Mexico. In the U.S., the mineral is worked
extensively in the area of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and in parts of California,
Nevada, and Arizona and these deposits have been worked upon for centuries by
American Indians.
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