Our youngest granddaughter loves rocks and gems. So we came to mine some gems. And mine some gems we did! Great place. The staff was amazing. Carlito and Barry were so friendly and engaging. Each shake in the water had the potential to find a new gem. Great time and great people. Thanks for making us feel special. read more

We've been to the other mines in the area and this one is by far our favorite..... Great Experience!!! Highly Recommend!!! read more

We decided to mine here on our last trip it was a great experience! Staff are friendly knowledgeable and helpful! We brought back the star ruby we found and had our wedding rings made. Highly recommend! read more

If you're in the area, do yourself a favor and stop in to Gold City; you'll not only have a great time (especially using the indoor flume when the temp drops), but you'll leave very well-informed. Between my wife and myself, we've visited quite a few gem mining locations, but this was, by a large margin, the best and most fun spot. Jeff spent quite a bit of time answering the million questions we threw at him. We purchased two buckets, and found some very cool gems, including a star ruby. We decided to get a few polished, cut, and set as well. As we have family in the area, we are going to make visiting Gold City a biannual event! read more

Gold City Gem Mine - Jewelry Near Me - Franklin, North Carolina

This place is great! It is a family owned mine that is worked by the grand son. We went right when it opened and were treated so kindly. They explained exactly what we would be looking for, different bucket sizes and prices too. I really liked that they gave a recommendation based on the age of our kids and didn't recommend the most expensive. They walked us through the steps and really focused on not only talking to the kids but also being excited for them when they found something. Afterwards we went into the shop where the guy sat with the kids and explained in detail what stones they found. Great customer service!!! I highly recommend this place for any age! read more

Gold City Gem Mine - Jewelry Near Me - Franklin, North Carolina

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Quality time with kids is so hard to find...but that is what can be had at Gold City! The staff was more than helpful and we plan on a return trip here again in the near future. We found 4 stones (Emerald/Ruby 2 each) nice enough for a possible trip to the lapidary? We did the $50 bucket. It had the obligatory quartz, Garnets and sapphires but the 4 mentioned earlier gemstones may be worth the price of the experience! read more

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My dear family brought me here for my first visit gem mining. It's a lot of fun and easy. Then comes the next step in which the staff helps you identify what you have. some of the stones don't look like much but apparently, we came away with rubies, sapphires, topaz, emeralds and rocks! It costs more to get the stones cut into actually jewelry. read more

Took the family there and the staff was very friendly and very helpful pointing out what we found. Once we finished the bucket we went inside and we're told all about what we found and learned all about the gems. It was a really great experience for all of us. We will have to come back when we are up this way again, totally worth it!! Great please fort done family fun and learning about the amazing area. read more

1000000x recommend this place! My husband and I spent 3 hours here and would have stayed all day if we didn't have a far drive home. They are extremely friendly here especially one of the employees (I never caught his name) but he is one of the nicest people we have ever met. His energy made the whole experience that much better. We got one of the $50 large buckets for the gem mining and a gold bag. Anytime I had a question he was not only there to answer but also to explain everything to me and not it a way that makes you feel dumb. I'm also into the healing properties of crystals but am fairly new and he was as well so I was able to ask him about the healing properties of the gems as well. He also got my husband believing in it which is something I did not expect lol. It's a very welcoming place whether you're there looking for healing crystals or just looking for a fun activity. Next time we're in the area we are definitely coming back and hopefully to do more than one bucket! I hope the person who helped us today sees this because he made our experience that much better. I wish there were more people with his energy in the world! read more

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Note: Mining = dirt = wear stuff that CAN be dirty. Kids will have fun with the water, dirt sifting and finding pretty things. Had lots of fun and came back with more Amethyst than I thought I would find. Definitely has some garnet, emerald (even if I didn't find much) as well as ruby and Saphire. I was surprised to find that I got aquamarine and was told this was a really nice piece. Although I really appreciate the guy who was helping me out with identifying the gems, he skipped over many pieces that I wasn't entirely sure what they were. I don't mind doing the search for my self. It just would have been nice if the guy had glazed over even moon stone, or even confirming what all is in fact garnet or ruby be cause they do look that similar. read more

Great family owned spot and definitely recommend spending a few hours here....third generation family running it still and really full of knowledge about gems snd the area! T read more

Actual red clay buckets from NC, not pre-loaded sand! My grandson loved the experience and came away with some rare stones. I myself also ended up with some really pretty gems. When we were done, we were treated to a lesson in what we "mined.". The owner was extremely knowledgeable and we were even more surprised by our finds! Bonus: we were able to each choose prizes at the end and walked away with some beautiful already cut gems. I lucked out and got a pair of teardrop emeralds! What a great day! read more

Perfect gem mining experience! We came in the winter and there is indoor gem mining- which was perfect since it was 35 outside. The kids loved it and the staff was so helpful the whole time. They even sat down and explained to the kids everything they found. We highly recommend and plan on coming back again ourselves. read more

We stopped by this place on our way home for vacation. It has a great assortment of rocks, minerals, stones, and jewelry. We really enjoyed talking to Kurt about his experiences! read more

We happened to be looking for a rainy day activity so we came here and had a blast. We've been back here about a dozen times in the past few years. They do NOT seed their buckets like some others in the area. We've found rubies, emeralds, star sapphires, aquamarine, amethyst, smokey quartz, and much more. We've had over a dozen stones cut by Gold City Amusement and then appraised by a home town jeweler and we were pleasantly surprised. Our 3.75 CT star sapphire is valued at$2K. We have 4ct aquamarine at $800 and most of our rubies and emeralds appraised at $400-$600 each. The family is very knowledgeable and friendly. If you get stones cut, you will not be disappointed and will make some money on your trip if you get the appraisal and sell them. read more

Great Family run bussiness Local Stones with a story Expert staff VERY FAIR PRICING!! A MUST STOP kids can mine adults can shop Second time here Love it so I had to write a review read more

Just stopped by today with my partner's five year old for her first gem mining experience. We had a blast! There's no pressure here, no constant upselling - just pleasant and helpful staff to guide you through the process. We got the $25 bucket and found so many fun gems. We both had a lot of fun! There is a young man who works there that is so hands on and knowledgeable, he is really making and selling the experience. They better pay him well! Do this with your kids, you'll love it. My only suggestions would be some lighting in the outdoor flume to better see your finds, and to clone the guy who is so helpful so that everyone gets more of his time when they visit! read more

We choose to go here based on Yelp reviews and it was fantastic! The gentlemen was very helpful while we were sifting the buckets and took time to sit down with us and go over all the stones we found. Both my girls left with a great amount of stones. We will be back for sure! read more

Gold City Gem Mine - Jewelry Near Me - Franklin, North Carolina

My son loves to do mining, so he's done more of them when I care to remember and its always been boring for me Not this time! Its started as usual except hes got much more gems, but than the lady working there explained every find to us and showed us the quality of gems using light and helped my son to find the ones he missed. It was such an interesting and memorable experience for a change! We both truly enjoyed it and we will be back! Id recommend the place for all travelers The store is full of amazing finds and if you want to mine (gold, gems or tiger eye) this is the place read more

Stopped here during a recent visit to the Smoky Mountains. The owners spent time with my children personally helping them find gems and identifying each one. It was a great experience and we will definitely be returning in the future. read more

I had found a very large amethyst in one of my buckets of dirt, and recently had them cut, polish and set the stones into earrings, ring and pendant. They did a fantastic job on cutting the stones into exquisitely beautiful amethyst jewelry. I so look forward into giving these pieces to my granddaughter. Thank you Gold City for making such beautiful jewelry. A fan from Georgia read more

My husband, son and I went to search out possible future sites for our Cub Scouts to go when we work on our Geology badges. We found Gold City Amusement in Franklin on line and decided to check it out on a Saturday. We found it after a beautiful drive from Cashiers heading WSW. Upon arrival, we noticed a pretty good sized parking area and noted rustic style of the building. The giant LED advertising sign out front seemed a little out of place, though. It was in the afternoon because instead of looking for gems we wanted to talk with the owner to find out what kind of rates they had for large groups. There was a young man at the register when we entered but he left after a couple of minutes and went outside. So, we explored the store and my husband found a book he wanted to purchase and my son and I went down the ramp to look at the other end of the store. I found a counter height, rectangular pool about 3' x 3' that had a lip around it and on it were small rocks. I picked them up, looked at them, and put them down where they had been. The lip surrounded a water "pool" and I saw a couple of green bowls that looked like they were used for panning. There were no signs, warnings, posts, notices or any other written declarations that would suggest "hands off" or "Don't Touch". I thought it might have been a practice area to pan because the water wasn't more than about 4 inches deep and there was plain sand on the bottom. I picked up one of the pans that was already wet and dipped it into the water and scooped up some sand and started swirling it around. No big deal, right? All of a sudden a tall man, who I presumed was the owner, wearing a cap and glasses came up to me and said in an abrupt manner "You need to put that down right now and get away from there." I responded, "Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't see any signs or anything and I ...." and he cut me off and yelled "If you don't like it YOU CAN LEAVE!" Taken aback, I went to find my husband who was on his way to the cash register by the door to buy the book he found and I told him what happened. He said "Let's leave then, I can get this book somewhere else." So, in my opinion, because of the rudeness and abrupt behavior of the owner we will not consider this business for our Scout's trip this Spring. I would never want my boys to be around someone so rude! I do not recommend this establishment at all. read more

We had a great time here! Staff was friendly and checked on us frequently! My son loved panning for gold!