Gem hunting, or rock hounding, is a fascinating hobby that allows people to find rare rocks and stones from amethyst and ...

PORT ANGELES — Two emeralds as big as fists will be raffled off this weekend at the Nature’s Treasures Rock, Gem and Jewelry Artisans Show this weekend. The rock show, which will focus on the science ...

Ron LeBlanc and his team travel to Vietnam to score some high-rolling rubies. Operating under the government’s radar, the team is tailed by an agent intent on making sure they leave empty handed. But, ...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- An emerald so large it's being compared with the crown jewels of Russian empress Catherine the Great was pulled from a pit near corn rows at a North Carolina farm. The nearly 65-carat ...

Rocks retrieved from a mine in Muzo, Colombia, show some of what makes the country the biggest producer of high-value emeralds. (Carlos Saavedra for NPR) MUZO, Colombia — Although he has helped ...

MUZO, Colombia — Although he has helped transform Colombia's emerald industry, long a source of violence and environmental damage, former U.S. diplomat Charles Burgess admits that he got into the ...