The first gem-quality sapphires in the United States were discovered in the gravels of the Missouri River in Lewis and Clark County, Montana in 1865. The discovery is attributed to Ed Collins, a gold miner who was working on one of the gravel benches, or "bars," just above the Missouri River near Helena. This find was followed by a number of other discoveries in the late 1800s, including Rock Creek in Granite County in 1892, and in Yogo Gulch in Judith Basin County in 1895. Access to the beautiful sapphires of the Yogo area is very limited, but luckily facilities where the visitor can find his own sapphires are available in two areas, along the Missouri River and also at Rock Creek. The adventure of finding your own sapphires is a fascinating and fun filled experience suitable for the entire family, including the kids.

While most of the sapphires produced from both Rock Creek and the Missouri River are of a pale color that is not particularly desirable for jewelry, gemologists have found that with special treatment to a red hot heat, the color of these gems is permanently altered to a much more desirable shade. With the advent of successful heat-treating techniques for the Montana sapphires, this gem material has gained a much greater acceptance in the gemstone industry. This enhanced acceptance has resulted in a significant increase in the market for and value of U.S. sapphires. Unfortunately, not all Montana sapphires are suitable for heat- treating because of variations in chemical composition within the crystal. Also, the sapphires from the Missouri River respond to heat-treating differently than those from Rock Creek The response to heat-treating can vary also depending upon the method (individual) used to treat the sapphires. Nearly all the sapphires in the world go through a heat treating process which improves the clarity of the stone and often intensifies the color. This change is within the entire stone, not just on the outer surface of the stone, as are some other enhancement processes used for other gemstones.

Currently there are up to seven operations on the Missouri River that produce sapphires commercially and/or operate a dig-for-fee area. Not all of these may be active in any one year, so it is best to check around. Perhaps the best-known Sapphire mine on the Missouri River which is open to the public is the Spokane bar mine. Digging your own sapphires is not free, but the costs are very reasonable. The Spokane gravel bar was named by geologists mapping the Missouri River area in the early 1900's. The name may have referred to the Spokane Hills which composed of Spokane shale. This gravel bar is the location of an exciting sapphire strike along the Missouri River.

Visitors will find sapphires in every color at the Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine. The natural Sapphire crystal structure is hexagon with triangle terminations which are often flat. The most commonly found color at the mine is a green-blue shade. While blue sapphire is the best known color, usually heat treatment is required to produce this type of color in the Missouri River sapphires. Ruby is sapphire which is colored red, and it is one of the most prized gems of all.

The sapphires from the Missouri River gravels in Lewis and Clark County are a mixture of rough and pitted crystals showing well defined faces and completely rounded and smooth-surface highly stream worn pebbles. The majority of the material is pale blue or blue-green, with deep blue stones being quite rare. Stones also are found in pastel blue, green, pink, pale red, purple, yellow, and orange. Most of the stones recovered are less than 1/4" in diameter, but material between a quarter and a half inch in diameter is not uncommon. Material greater than half an inch in diameter is rare. The largest known sapphire from the Spokane Bar was 155 carats, found by a man from Idaho - unfortunately it was not of gem quality. The largest gem quality sapphire which has been found was 50 carats. Other gemstones which can be found at Spokane bar (although very uncommon), are diamond, topaz, citrine, and ruby. Garnets of several varieties can be found; the largest on record weighed 40 carats.

The Rock Creek sapphires are generally similar to the sapphires from the Missouri River but differ in the typical shape of the crystals. The stones are basically crude hexagonal plates about the same dimension in width and height, with a much higher percentage of the material being well rounded water worn pebbles. There appears to be more of the larger sized (greater than a half inch) material at rock Creek. Additionally, the natural colors of the Rock Creek material is just a bit better than the material from the Missouri River, and as a result a greater percentage of stones which are mined here can be heat-treated for a significant color improvement.

At Gem Mountain, gravel dug by the mine owners is purchased and sorted for its sapphires. Every bucket is guaranteed to contain at least some sapphires. It is not necessary for the visitor to bring any equipment to the mine, as the facility provides everything a visitor needs to find their own Montana sapphires. Company staff teach how it is done, and do all the heavy lifting, so all the visitor has to do is show up and sift through the gravel to find the sapphires hidden in each bucket. From May 19th through October 9th, the Gem Mountain sapphire mine is open to the public seven days a week, from 9:00 am until 5:00 p.m. (from Memorial Day to Labor Day, evening hours are extended until 7 pm).

The process of recovering the sapphires from the gravel involves shaking a screen full of gravel under the water in the water troughs. The material must be well washed in order to clarify what sapphires or other gems are present. The water rinses away the clay and mud that hide the sapphires from view. All sapphires are heavier than the general rocks in gravel so, as you shake the screen, the sapphires settle to the bottom. Once it is well washed and shaken, the screen is then quickly flipped over and dumped on a table. The sapphires that were on the bottom, are now on the top of the gravel, and you pick the gems out from among the gravels on your sorting table. Staff help new comers learn to screen the gravel and pick out the gems. Spotting the gems and collecting them is fun for everyone from the smallest child to the most serious rock hound.

For More Sapphire Information:
For more info on the Montana Sapphire deposits, including maps to the sapphires mines, check out My web page at:
Hunting Montana Sapphires

Beautiful sapphires come in all the colors of the rainbow. Sapphire is a tough and durable gemstone valued by many cultures around the world. For more info on Sapphire as a gemstone:
About Sapphire as a gemstone

The Montana sapphire deposits also produce some ruby as well as garnets. For more info on ruby as a gemstone:
About Ruby as a gemstone

For more info on garnet as a gemstone:
About Garnet as a gemstone

For more info about gemstones in general:
Gemstone Information Encyclopedia

Sunstones:
Many rockhounds interested in Montana Sapphires would also be interested in the famous Oregon sunstones. Both are located in the northwest and could both could potentially be visited on the same trip. In the South East part of Oregon is the little farming community of Plush, in Lake County. Just north of the town is the famous Sunstone area, where rockhounds can dig beautiful gemstones for free. The Gems come in firey red as well as greens and yellows. For more information on the Oregon Sunstone area check out this webpage:
Digging Oregon Sunstone Gems

Nevada Turquoise:
My rockhound web pages also have quite a bit of onformation on Nevada Turquoise, another topic of interest to many rockhounds. For More Information check out my turquoise information webpage:
Nevada Turquoise Information Page

My Rock Hound Adventures:
My website features articles and information on rock hounding across the west. I have been searching the hills of Oregon, California and Nevada for many years. I write a monthly series of articles for the ICMJ Mining Journal covering various aspects of prospecting for gold, collecting gems and minerals and similar activities. I enjoy getting out into the hills and experiencing the beauty of the great outdoors. You may enjoy reading of my adventures:
My Rock Hound Adventures Page

Good quality jewelry is beautiful to own and wear, and jewelry making really is an art form. For centuries, this art was protected and handed down from father to son through various apprentice programs. The necessary knowledge was withheld and kept to a small number of specialists. Things are far different in our time - and various jewelry equipment suppliers and gemstone sellers have done all they can to make things easy for individuals to try for themselves. The necessary knowledge is now easy to acquire. If you have any artistic flair or talent, there is no question that you can make your own, special art pieces to wear. When you make your own rings, pendants and other items, there is no question that your jewelry becomes very sentimental. You can also produce unique items different from anything that might be seen is a standard, commercial store. There is also little question that you can save some significant money by making your own adornments.

The lost wax casting process was invented by the ancient Egyptians, and independently discovered and used by the pre-Columbian tribes of central and south America. It is extremely important still today, and something like 60% of all new jewelry is produced through on version or another of this ancient method.
From Lost Wax, to high tech precious metal clays, you can learn about how to turn your sapphires into beautiful jewelry at this website:
Making Your Own Beautiful, High Quality Jewelry