Question about gems from North Carolina

[BigDan]

For Christmas I had a mine in North Carolina ship some dirt to Illinois so my wife and family could get their hands dirty. Some of their finds included a handful of rubies, the biggest being the size of a quarter and 1/2 an inch thick. They also found a garnet slightly bigger than a "shooter" marble.

Of course these are rough stones, and I'm thinking..."Well, what do I do with 'em?" I have a tumbler, but I'm just learning how to use it...and I'm afraid to make a mistake. I can find no one who does lapidary work around here.

So I got my dremel out...and was thinking...then I thought better of that!

I live in the middle of Illinois and really have found no one willing to make something out of these things.

Any ideas? I'd sure love to make 'em all shiny somehow.

 

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[marinedad]

big dan, i found it best to send back to one of the mines after you research prices, unless your going down there sometime. its much more reasonable and i found 1 that seems to do a better job than some others, he's in spruce pine, n.c. of course you have to check for fractures and inclusions as a stone may not look good after cutting if too many inclusions. pm me if you want more info. mark.

 

[Eu_citzen]

You will need diamond paste to work that ruby; very hard mineral. A tumbler would do nothing to it; maybe remove scrap stuff like dirt. Would love some pics.