Doug started making calls to mines around the country to find that there was only one mine in the country that was still producing topaz. It was in Texas, and the mine owner was also a gem cutter. She insisted that she cut the stone, and was charging a very steep price for her topaz.
I don’t think I mentioned this earlier, but as Doug and I had our initial discussion, he offered to cut whatever stone we were able to get. If he found something, he would order it, and then would cut it for me. Doug’s a pretty amazing dude.
So as Doug commences calling mines, he gets in touch with the owner of a sapphire mine in Montana who had just discovered two rough blue sapphires. He said that if I wanted one, he would take the other, and would keep it for his own collection. I gave him the ok, and he placed the order.
Just so you know, if you are thinking about trying this, there are no guarantees with purchasing rough stone. As you cut into the stone, there may be impurities, fractures, and the like that emerge. Sometimes stones will be heat treated to burn away many of the impurities. The stones Doug was working with came out of the earth as is.
Also, if you are thinking about doing something like this, it takes time and effort. It’s not as simple as clicking a couple of buttons or going to the jewelry store and swiping a credit card. In order to do it, you need to plan ahead, and give time for the turn around. From start to finish of everything it took around a month. I believe it was worth it.
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