|
Jamie
Hill,
the "emerald
man,"
has
found a
possible
record-breaking
emerald
in his
mine in
Hiddenite.
The twin
crystal
measures
close to
10
inches
and 591
carats.
HIDDENITE
- Jamie
Hill,
Alexander
County's
"emerald
man,"
has done
it
again.
Known
for
unearthing
large
crystals
at his
mine
about 55
miles
north of
Charlotte,
Hill
said he
found a
10-inch,
591-carat
emerald
Wednesday
that may
break a
North
American
record
for
size.
Hill,
whose
mine has
produced
several
large
emeralds
since he
found an
88-carat
crystal
in 1998,
pulled
out the
latest
wonder
after
spotting
a quartz
seam in
granite
Wednesday
afternoon
as he
and his
team
prepared
to
dynamite
some of
the
rock.
Quartz
can
signal
precious
stones
underneath,
so he
used a
jackhammer
to
create a
trench
beside
the seam
and take
a closer
look.
Nothing.
Then he
spotted
another
quartz
seam
about
five
feet
away and
started
working
on it.
He used
hand
tools to
pick
away and
look.
"All of
a
sudden,"
he said,
"it
opened
up into
a cave."
And
there,
inside
the
cave,
was a
twin
green
crystal
that
took his
breath
away. "I
had a
fit,"
the
ever-energetic
Hill
said
Thursday.
"I about
hyperventilated."
After
Hill
cleaned
up the
crystal
and his
staff
took
photos
of him
holding
it, he
laid it
in a box
filled
with
cotton
batting
and
called
his
marketing
consultants.
He
doesn't
know for
sure the
price it
might
bring
but
believes
it's
worth
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars.
Shaped
like two
long,
green,
glass
cigars
fused
together
on one
end and
dotted
with
yellow
flecks,
the
crystal
is
remarkable,
even to
the
casual
admirer.
Hill
called
it a
museum-quality
piece,
not one
that
would be
cut for
jewels,
because
of its
unusual
length
and twin
formation.
"Every
museum
in the
world
would
love to
have
such a
neat
piece,"
he said.
"It
would be
real
showy."
Michael
Wise, a
mineralogist
at the
Smithsonian
Institution
in
Washington
who has
seen
Hill's
other
emeralds,
said a
10-inch
crystal
would be
one of
the
largest
ever
found in
the
United
States.
He said
he
didn't
have
enough
information
to know
if it
breaks
any
records,
though
the
discovery
piqued
his
interest.
"I think
I'd
better
get a
hold of
Jamie
and get
down
there,"
he said
by phone
as he
prepared
for an
already-planned
trip to
San
Diego to
give a
lecture
on the
hiddenite
gemstone
for
which
Hill's
hometown
is
named.
"He
would
have to
find it
just
when I'm
leaving
town,"
Wise
said.
"Now I
think
I'd
rather
be in
Hiddenite."
Friends
purchased
a signed
poem for
us from
him. We
proudly
hang it
in our
home
office.
We
praise
those
who step
"outside
of their
comfort
zones"
or out
of the
box.
Dare to
be
called
"crazy"
once in
awhile!
Live
life to
the
fullest!
The Gem
Within
Each of
us
possesses
a gem
within
But to
find
this
treasure,
oh,
where do
we
begin.
To find
this gem
we must
first
start
By
looking
deep
down
inside
For this
is where
our true
selves
cannot
hide.
For to
dig deep
within,
forces
us to
face our
own pain
But if
we can
do this,
it only
helps us
to gain.
Because
to see
our true
selves
is the
only way
That we
can make
the
necessary
changes,
So that
we no
longer
stray.
For God
has for
us a
plan
Which is
hard for
us to
sometimes
understand.
But that
plan for
us is to
find our
true gem
And we
can only
do this,
by our
faith in
Him.
And That
true gem
is God's
love -
the
greatest
of all
treasure
Whose
worth
has no
equal,
and is
beyond
all
measure.
To find
our gem
within,
we now
know
where to
start
The
journey
begins
and
ends,
In the
most
beautiful
place of
all our
heart.
by Jamie
Hill.
The Emerald
Man |
