What Montana county is rich in Yogo sapphires?
What Montana county is rich in Yogo sapphires?
Judith Basin county, Montana
Yogo sapphires are a variety of corundum found only in the Yogo Gulch area, in Judith Basin county, Montana. This gemstone rich area was inhabited by the Blackfeet Indians long before anyone thought about mining Montana sapphires.
Are Yogo sapphires rare?
These Yogo Sapphires are extremely rare. If mining resumes, deeper mining will be needed to find these beautiful gems. Between mine closures and a need for deeper mining, the ultimate cost to recover these stones will increase.
Where can I find Yogo sapphires?
Yogo sapphires are a variety of corundum found only in Yogo Gulch, part of the Little Belt Mountains in Judith Basin County, Montana, United States, on land once inhabited by the Piegan Blackfeet people.
What is the largest sapphire ever found in Montana?
Rock Creek, Montana—Potentate Mining has unveiled a 64.14-carat sapphire recovered at its Rock Creek mine in Montana. The mining company believes it to be the largest gem-quality sapphire to be unearthed in the U.S.
Are Montana sapphires ethical?
Ethics and Transparency Due to the increased awareness globalization has brought, many of us appreciate Montana sapphires not only because of their beauty, but as ethically sourced gems with an easy to trace supply chain, guaranteed conflict-free, and naturally fair trade!
What is special about Montana sapphire?
Sapphires from Montana are unique in that they naturally occur in light pastels, unique blue-greens, and smoky grays. So, a Montana Sapphire could be a calming bathwater green or a sky blue-grey. This is notable because Sapphires from outside the United States are generally much darker.
What kind of rock are Yogo sapphires found in?
igneous rock
The location of most Yogo sapphires within igneous rock rather than from alluvial placer deposits requires difficult hard rock mining. Coupled with American labor costs, this makes their extraction fairly expensive. At least 28,000,000 carats (5,600 kg) are estimated to still be in the ground.
Are Yogo sapphires more expensive than diamonds?
Brilliant, beautiful and highly prized, the Yogo sapphire is the most precious gemstone mined in the United States and is an official gemstone of Montana. Breathtaking to behold, the Yogo sapphire is found only in Montana. Yogos are unique among the sapphires of the world.
Are Yogo sapphires expensive?
Yogo sapphires tend to be beautiful, small, and very expensive. The United States Geological Survey and many gem experts have stated that Yogo sapphires are “among the world’s finest sapphires.” The roughs tend to be small and flat, so cut Yogo gems heavier than 2 carats (0.40 g) are rare.
Are there rubies in Montana?
Rubies are found in the western and southern portions of Montana, and this gemstone is often found alongside Montana sapphires. Some of the best places to find rubies in Montana include the Rock Creek, Granite county, Red Rock Mine, or the Missouri River.
How can you tell a Montana sapphire?
Some Montana sapphires from the Missouri River deposit undergo color change. Color change in these sapphires results from the trace element vanadium. Often, they appear blue in daylight and violet to purple in incandescent light. Pale colors shift from sky blue to lavender.
How rare are Montana sapphires?
Are Montana Sapphires Rare? Montana sapphire is not found in very large rough pieces. Considering that a rough nugget will yield a cut stone only about 1/3 of the original size means that large, fine quality faceted Montana sapphires are very rare.
Where are the Yogo sapphires found in Montana?
These unique gems come from only limited area, named Yogo Gulch, located in the Little Belt Mountains of Montana. First found accidentally by gold prospectors in the 1880s, the sapphires eventually became the focus of the mining in the area. Please see the Yogo History page for more detail on the discovery and mining history of Yogo Sapphires.
Where can you find blue sapphires in Montana?
Yogo sapphires or Montana sapphires are blue sapphires, a colored variety of corundum, found in Montana, primarily in Yogo Gulch (part of the Little Belt Mountains) in Judith Basin County, Montana. Yogo sapphires are typically cornflower blue, a result of trace amounts of iron and titanium.
Is there a sapphire mine in Philipsburg Montana?
Sapphire mining in Philipsburg, Montana persists at the Gem Mountain sapphire mine. The rest of the gem mountain mt area is predominantly being mined by the Potentate mining company . Making this loose montana sapphire available to the jewelry community was a dream come true.
Where did the Yogo sapphires first come from?
Sapphires were first discovered in Montana in 1865, in the gravel along the Missouri River. Finds in other locations in the western half of the state occurred up to 1892, and 1894. Yogo sapphires were not recognized or valued at first.
