North Carolina's MONSTER Top Gem Emeralds!

There's GREEN in them there hills!!!

For those of you who don't know, North Carolina has been producing some of the world's top emeralds in recent years.

If you watch the Travel Channel's Best Places to Find Cash & Treasures

http://travel.discovery.com/tv/cash-treasures/cash-treasures.html there's an episode that originally aired several years ago about Jamie Hill AKA The Emerald Man.

Jamie's my hero! I've met a lot of people in my life who have the Treasureholic gene but this guy's DNA is loaded with it! I had the pleasure of having dinner with Jamie and his Mother shortly after the segment aired and I was shown some of incredible faceted gems that were coming out of the mine.

What I admire most about Jamie is his tenacity. He had a hunch, felt it in his gut and never gave up on his dream of finding emeralds. He kept on digging, following his passion and he's found the mother load of world class, top gem quality emeralds in Hiddenite, North Carolina.

Jamie's company, North American Emerald Mines, Inc. has a very interesting website http://www.northcarolinaemeralds.info/HiddeniteDistrict/NAEMMine/NAEM.htm which shows great pictures of both the operation and the emeralds that are currently coming out of the ground.

The latest find at the mine is the emerald that I have pictured on the blog. This GEMMY MONSTER weighs in at a whopping 972 carats!!! Not only is it large, but the color is fantastic and the clarity is incredible!

The crystals that are coming out of the mine are considered to be some of the finest and largest in the world!

If you've caught Emerald Fever and you would like to try your luck in North Carolina you can! Jamie's mine is not open to the public but the Emerald Hollow Mine at Hiddenite is!

Emerald Hollow Mine is currently the only emerald mine in the United States that is open to the public for mineral collecting--if interested, check out their web site at: http://www.hiddenitegems.com/and go for the GREEN!

Please email me and let me hear about your trip! treasureholic@gmail.com

Happy Hunting!

Diggin' For Diamonds!

Do you love diamonds? Would you like to find some? With a little hard work and some luck, you can find some in Arkansas!

One of my very favorite treasure hunting places is The Crater of Diamonds State Park. The Park is the only diamond producing site in the world that is open to the public.

Park visitors pay a nominal fee to prospect in the park's diamond search area, a 37-acre plowed field that is located smack on top of the eroded surface of an ancient volcanic pipe. 95 million years ago, the pipe brought diamonds and semi-precious stones up to the surface and you can still find them there today!

Diamonds of all colors of the rainbow can be found at Crater of Diamonds, but the three most common colors unearthed by park visitors are white, brown and yellow.

The Arkansas Diamond Mine is also a rock hound's delight since, along with diamonds, over 40 types of rocks and minerals can found there. These rocks and minerals include lamproite, amethyst, banded agate, jasper, peridot, garnet, quartz, calcite, barite and hematite.

In 1906, John Huddleston, the local farmer who owned the property at that time, found the first diamonds on what is now the Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, and the news of his find started a diamond mining rush.

According to the history of the Crater of Diamonds State Park, after a series of ill-fated mining ventures followed by tourist attractions, the site became an Arkansas state park in 1972.

On my recent visit, I spent two and a half days searching for diamonds. I was told by the staff that the best way to find diamonds was to surface search. Basically, you walk around with your rake, shovel, hand claw or stick and look for a very bright, shiny, glint or reflection that's catching the sunlight.

I searched like a wild woman and didn't come up with pay dirt on that trip, but I'm headed back soon! If you've been there, I'd like to hear about your trip! Please email me with the details! treasureholic@gmail.com

WATCH the Today Show Video (Link below - it's GREAT!) that highlights a recent significant find that an Oklahoma State Trooper made at the park and you'll have diamond fever just like I do!

Happy Hunting!

http://www.arkansas.com/special-announcements/second_diamond.asp

4.21-carat, Canary Yellow Diamond Found at Arkansas's Crater of Diamonds State Park by First Time Visitor From Oklahoma - Today Show Video