On the trail of rare gemstones

As certified gemstone specialists, we offer a wide range of precious gems. Thanks to our many years of experience and numerous trips to the countries of origin and sites where the gems are found, we have established contacts that enable us to present the finest gemstone creations. When our partners in Namibia discovered a potential site, we jumped at the chance to visit it in person. The following video shows a short excerpt from our trip:

 

Almost two years passed before the small mine owner from Namibia found a potential deposit. Quartz deposits that show great promise are often discovered, but time and again the search comes up empty. For months, our friend followed pegmatite veins in the hard Namibian soil in search of something very special: blue indigolite tourmaline.

Change of location:
It was a wonderful, sunny day here in Zug. In our studio, we were putting the finishing touches to this year’s Christmas collection. Then the phone rang: ‘The time has come, we’re opening a pocket soon!’ came the message via WhatsApp from Namibia. Our interest was piqued!

You’re probably wondering what makes this so-called pocket so interesting. We’ll be happy to explain: While searching for blue indigolite tourmaline, workers had repeatedly found small black tourmalines in the days leading up to this. Signs that need to be recognised! To interpret these signs correctly, you need a combination of years of experience, geological knowledge, a lot of diligence and probably even more faith in the big find – a blue tourmaline.

Of course, we didn’t want to miss this moment! We quickly packed our bags and flew to Windhoek, where our friend was already waiting for us. In a dusty pickup truck, we drove straight from the airport to the promising site. We didn’t have time for a shower after the long journey or to acclimatise. Because so close to a potential breakthrough, no one likes to leave their mine unattended for too long.

The 500 square metre area is impressive, but we were much more interested in the 60 cm high shaft. We climbed through it to reach the suspected pocket. A promising ‘pocket’ in the rock with feldspar, quartz and mica opened up before us.

Together with his workers, he carefully quarries the hard rock piece by piece. Using a bucket and a rope, the debris is pulled up through the shaft to the surface. There, the fragments are meticulously examined by hand. We are looking for signs that confirm the suspected pocket. And indeed, beautiful quartz crystals with blue tourmaline inclusions keep appearing. By now, we too have been gripped by tourmaline fever!

Until evening, they dig, excavate and sift, but the hoped-for indigolites do not appear. On the way back to the farm, our friend explains how often he has been gripped by this stage of euphoria before nature has brought him back down to earth: indigolites are not easy to find. It is not without reason that they are so highly sought after by jewellers and collectors. No other gemstone has such a fascinating petrol blue colour.

The next few days require patience. Every morning, we drive to the mine, filming and photographing what is happening there. Always hoping for the big find – the big blue pocket.

In the surrounding area, there are always great opportunities to photograph the local wildlife. We encounter wild giraffes, kudus and warthogs. With the help of a drone, we can even follow a herd of zebras. At least nature allows us to experience much more than we had hoped for.

Just when we had almost given up hope, there is suddenly great excitement in the mine. Small, almost clean, blue tourmaline crystals have appeared in the sand. There is heated discussion about where the jackhammer broke the stones out. One miner is convinced – into the shaft and straight ahead, that’s where the stones must have been. Without thinking twice, the miner climbs back into the shaft and finally uncovers the long-awaited pocket! The sand is dug out, sifted and carefully sifted through by hand. And sure enough, we find blue tourmalines! The stones are examined just as meticulously by each of the workers as by the boss himself. Because if they find something, they get a nice commission on top of their salary.

We are also very excited. We film, photograph and examine the stones. Images of a whole range of cut stones are already forming in our minds. We cannot help but imagine what wonderful pieces of jewellery they would make!

After a few minutes of exuberant joy, however, reality brings us back down to earth. Almost all of the stones are flawed, and it is almost impossible to cut clean stones. But once again, fate is kind to us, because two large rough stones are clean! Millions of years in the ground have not broken, cracked or damaged these two stones in any way. We can hardly believe it: two of the rarest tourmalines were actually found on our trip!

How the rough stones will be cut and whether they can be preserved as beautifully as we imagine will only become clear when we take them to our cutter. But one thing is already clear: the discovery of two such gemstones is something very special and very rare. We can consider ourselves lucky to have been part of this discovery and hopefully we will soon be able to create valuable unique pieces in our studio.