3GemsMen and The Appalachian Mountains

With decades of knowledge and experience and an in-depth understanding of the patterns of how gems actually travel and collect, has allowed 3GemsMen to assemble one of the rarest collections of Gemstones in the world.

The Gems were hunted and dug in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina in mostly closed mines including; Big Crab Tree Emerald Mine, Cowee Valley Ruby Mine (formerly operated by Tiffany) Chunky Gal Mountain, Ray Mica Mine and Wiseman Mine.

 

Big Crab Tree Emerald Mine

 

Cowee Valley Ruby Mine

 

Chunky Gal Mountain Mine

 

Ray Mica Mine

 

Wiseman Mine

 

 

Words from the collector

"The first generation of my family came to Rural Hall, North Carolina from Czechoslovakia in 1749, he was an organ builder. I am the tenth generation of the family. In 1967 I graduated High School and in 1971 I graduated Milligan College. In 1965 the United States Congress created the Higher Education Act which included the National Teacher Corps Program. This program was designed to teach elementary and secondary students in very low income areas. I spent 2 years teaching in this program and graduated with 2 master’s degrees. During this time, many of my students sat on various mines in the mountains of Western North Carolina, particularly in the Spruce Pine area. They often invited me to go digging with them on the weekends, it was during this time that I really started focusing on growing my collection.

In the early 1960’s Tiffany was running 90 gemstone mines in the area. I was fortunate enough to meet many of these “old timers” and dug with them. By the late 1960’s the mines had dried up and were then closed with dynamite. Most of the Tiffany miners retired to Western North Carolina and I continue to be in contact with them today. I taught at the University of North Carolina in Ashville from 1993-1997. My focus was on teaching gifted kids geology and astronomy and found great joy in being able to educate kids in the areas that I love. I continue to dig for gemstones today, often at night with a black light in the creeks and mountains of the Appalachian Mountains.

Most people don’t realize that you can own land and not the mine it is sitting on. In 1872 Congress passed the Mining Law of 1872. This allowed people to purchase mining rights to land while not owning the land. This law is still intact today and mine owners take this very seriously. If a “no trespassing” sign is breached, you will likely be shot."