Highlands Road Gem Mine — Local services in Franklin

This is the place to go gem mine! I’ve been to several gem mining places in western North Carolina, but 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...

Such a great experience! We went to the gem mine on a whim--I had done some gem mining when I was a kid--and my two girls LOVED it! Absolute high point of our trip to the mountains. Varshana and Earl were so involved in the process and giving of their time and knowledge. Varshana is a great teacher--so good at explaining to the kids. We all learned something and both kids now want to learn more about geology.

They also have a gem gallery with some beautiful pieces--I believe that they make their own fine jewelry and sell to retailers as their primary business. I would love to go back and browse. I like that the gem mining is a side business and seems to be created out of a love of the field--it feels like visiting the home of an expert who is sharing their skills and not like one of those more corporate places where the focus is one getting people in and out as fast as possible.

5 stars and two enthusiastic thumbs up. The next time we are in Highlands, we will...

My family and I went looking for a place to mine gemstones but in January many locations were closed for the winter. We ended up trying the Highlands Road Gem Mine and the experience was great! The owners (both husband and wife) were so kind, helpful, and gracious for our group of 9. Despite it being about 25 degrees and windy, they both stayed outside at the mining trough with us the whole time (45-60 minutes), and continually assisted us by identifying the stones we found, explaining where they came from, the local town's gem society, museum, and attractions, and took many pictures of us which they sent to our phone. As far as the gem mining, we all walked away with 1/3 of a gallon bag of stones, moon stone, ruby, garnet, amethyst, emerald, and others. We really enjoyed the experience of gem mining but with their assistance and active participation and help, they made the experience that more memorable. Thank you for all you do and for welcoming my...