This is the place to go! Great people who know their stuff about gems. We bought the $60 buckets…read moreand wound up with lots of sapphires and rubies. Even an emerald. They even offer cutting and polishing which is cool.

This is the place to go gem mine! I've been to several gem mining places in western North Carolina,…read morebut this place is by far the best experience I've had. The people who own and operate are by far the most knowledgeable and passionate I've seen, and our buckets were loaded with gems (we got the 60 buckets). They mentioned they are a newer operation, and it's a smaller operation, but it made it that much more enjoyable to get the personalized service and their immediate excitement over the gems we are pulling out of the sieves - almost like a "boutique" experience. They took pictures for us as well! After all the gems were washed, we went to the store to get them bagged up and looked at in the UV light. They do offer cutting services, which we will likely go back and have them do on some of the more glamorized stones (rubies/emerald). We got rubies, topaz, amethyst, quartz, emerald, garnet, moss agate, moonstone, aventurine, aquamarine, and more! The store itself is stocked with all kinds of jewelry, sculptures, and other treasures. They have REAL dinosaur eggs on display! I cannot speak highly enough of the experience and the people - it was a hidden gem for sure (see what I did there)!

Absolutely the best experience and workmanship I have ever had with a place of business. Found an…read moreexact replacement for services needed and couldn't be more satisfied!!!

Artisan Jewelers has beautiful displays of gemstones and jewelry. Whether you are a local, or just…read morewant a great tour, stop by Artisan. They have such a lovely range of products, I'm sure you'll find something you like. The sales associates are helpful, without being over-present. Have questions? They've got answers. We had a visiting teen who is totally enamored of gems and gem mining. She found a ring that pleased her, and reminded her of the garnets she had mined nearby.

Hands down the most fun mining experience we've had! You get to dig your own buckets out of the…read morepile of dirt they truck down out of the mine. John, the employee at the sluice, was incredibly helpful, approachable and friendly. The owners, Tom and Ginger, are warm and welcoming. The restroom at the shop is clean and tidy. They have an amazing variety of jewelry and cut stones in the Our party, including my 76 yr old mother and two boys (11 and 13), had a fabulous time. Everyone found more than one ruby. Several of them were really good sizes! We've been to lots of local mining venues. This was by far the best. The cost for the day was $40 for adults, $20 for kids and under 6 yr old are free. We are already planning to go back and take friends!

I had the best time gem mining with our grandsons I've ever had ! Not only is this a lovely spot…read morebut the owners are so very knowledgeable and accommodating as well as their on site staff ! The all around experience was amazing, fun and entertaining enough to capture the attention not only of a grandma but of an 11 and 13 year old ! You don't want to miss the this "gem " of a gem mining experience!!! You will not be disappointed!!!! We will be back again very soon! See you there!!!

We've been to the area year prior and can say that this place is by far our favorite to gem mine…read more My kid's had a great time as two opted to dig sift through theirs and my youngest opted for salted. Highly recommend + the young man there was really nice and shared a smidgen of history on how his family came to own the land. We will be back, one day!

One of the best experiences my boyfriend and I had what an adventure family owned business third…read moregeneration coming on absolutely fantastic personable outgoing Hands-On find exciting beautiful stones gems to my precious precious teaching learning experience Ginger and Tom and Kate and everybody awesome treated you as family rather than customers would recommend this to anybody you have to try their male bucket service grandkids had a blast finding gems

Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains there is a small town called Franklin where everyone knows each…read moreother and looks out for each other. We just happened to come upon this town while driving through the mountains. We arrived at their downtown area and it was like we were transported back in time. Cute downtown with all mom and pop shops. The variety here included a gem shop, gem museum, the old jailhouse, tartan museum, bakery, thrift shop, bike shop, art gallery, and a beautiful pocket park. Frank at the art gallery (Uptown gallery) was so gracious and helped us find more waterfalls in the area. The art gallery had some really great art pieces for anyone's home. Such a great downtown area. You won't ever find any skyscrapers in their downtown. This place will always look like you are in the 50s or 60s! Who wouldn't want to wake up every morning to beautiful sunsets overlooking the mountains, waterfalls and hiking accessible to you at a moment's notice, quaint downtown, and super friendly residents.

I went into Bijou with a friend to pick up a chain she had repaired and was met by the…read moreknowledgeable and friendly owner and one of her coworkers. They both shared their passion and love for jewelry and their amazing custom designs. Their pieces are beautiful and they can custom design pieces just for you too! I can't wait to go back and shop.

I got some lovely high-quality earrings here and plan to be back! Sky was very helpful and…read moreinformative about the pieces.