Gem fields in the Central Highlands

On Jan. 2, we all took a trip out to the gem fields about 40 minutes from Emerald ~ "famous for having the largest apphire fields in the world." We went to "Pat's Gems" and had the experience of fossicking for our own sapphires.

Here are the steps involved in fossicking for sapphires:

Step 1 ~ Fill your bucket with some dirt/wash.

Step 2 ~ Pour into a pan and shake all the little pieces of sand and dirt out.

Step 3 ~Take your pan to the water and shake and turn to get the dirt off the rocks.

Step 4 ~ Dump the pile of dirt left in your pan onto the table and look very closely for anything that sparkles.

Brendon and I found a whole bunch of potential gems....but the majority of them turned out to be pretty rocks. We found 2 very small sapphires. Michelle and Charles found a few small ones as well and had one cut to be put on a necklace.