corundum, USA.12, North Carolina.12, gems

A practical guide to North Carolina’s mineral and gemstone collecting localities, combining introductory gemology with a county-by-county directory of occurrences. Preliminary sections review gemstone history, physical and optical properties, cutting and polishing, color modification, and synthetic, imitation, and assembled stones. An account of the state’s gem-mining history introduces its principal gem materials, including diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald, aquamarine, hiddenite, garnet, rutile, and quartz varieties. Locality descriptions identify minerals and associations, give directions and historical information, and refer readers to fifty accompanying maps. Particular attention is given to the emerald and hiddenite deposits of Alexander County, the ruby and sapphire workings around Franklin and Cowee Valley, and the pegmatites of the Spruce Pine district. Appendices list museums, mineral dealers, and collecting clubs, and summarize identifying properties of minerals from the Franklin and Spruce Pine areas. Color photographs illustrate representative specimens. Compiled principally from earlier publications and information supplied by collectors, with limited field checking, the circular documents collecting opportunities and locality knowledge at the time of publication. It also discusses equipment, specimen labeling, landowner permission, responsible collecting, and hazards around mines and excavations.