About Us
Visit Our Gem Mine Office, Jewelry Store, Specimen Museum and Rock Shop
Try a Bucket, Pan for Gold, or Dig Your Own Emeralds
OUR FAMILY
Has been in the mining business since the 1930's when Larry's dad used to hang from the cliffs at the McKinney Mine to drill holes for dynamite and since 1966 when my deceased husband was hired by Bill Collins as a consultant at the Crabtree Emerald Mine, collapsed and flooded since 1990, but once owned by Tiffany & Co.
The Original "Carolina Queen"
At 277.7 carats this exquisite gem has been independently estimated by 3 master faceters to cut a 40 to 50 ct clean emerald.
It was found around 1976 by Bill Collins, then owner of the now defunct Crabtree Emerald Mine, and was on display at the Colburn Museum in Asheville, NC before being withdrawn and traded for debts on labor by the entrepreneur Terry Ledford.
At The Emerald Mine of Little Switzerland we own and cherish this gem as the best ever found in North Carolina.
Click for info on our Emerald Mining Options.