In recent years, emeralds from the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan have taken a large share of the market, with high-quality emeralds comparable to Colombian emerald.
Emeralds are produced in five continents of the world. At present, emeralds with high quality and of a large quantity in the market mainly come from Colombia, Zambia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
History & Lore:
Most authorities believe that the only true emeralds lznown during ancient Greek and Roman times were from Egypt (Sinlzankas, 198 1). However, in his first-century A.D. Natural History, Pliny mentions "smamgdus"Bactria (Gall, 1959), an area that includes present-day Iran fromand Afghanistan (Malte-Brun, 1828). Smaragdus is a Latin term that was used in ancient times to refer to emerald and many other green stones. It is questionable, though, whether any of the smnragdus from Bactria was emerald.
Little is lznown about mining in the Panjshir (also spelled Panisher) area from the time of Marco Polo until the 1900s. During the last 100 years, geologists from Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the United States have produced many reports (see, e.g., Hayden, 1916; Argand, 1924; Bordet and Boutiere, 1968; and Emeralds From Afghanistan Chmyriov and Mirzad, 1972) on the geology of Afghanistan, but virtually nothing had been written on the emerald deposits prior to 1976. In the early 1970~~ emerald was discovered at what is now called the Buzmal mine, east of Dest-e-Rewat village in the Panjshir Valley (Bariand and Poullen, 1978).
Location Of Mines:
The emerald mines are located at elevations between approximately 7,000 and 14,300 ft. (2,135 and 4,270 m) in mountainous terrain on the eastern side of the Panjshir River. A dirt road follows the southwest-f-lowing Panjshir River for 90 mi. (145 lzm) and provides limited access to the mines. The road begins in the valley's northernmost village of Parian and extends southwestward through the villages of Dest-e-Rewat, Mikeni, and Khenj; Khenj is 70 mi. (113 km) from Kabul.Panjshir Valley. Currently, the total area of lznown emerald deposits is approximately 150 sq. mi. Afghanistan has no producing emerald deposits outside the Panjshir Valley
Popularity Of Panjshir Emerald:
Afghan emeralds are becoming more and more popular in the Chinese market and favored by Chinese consumers. Therefore, it is necessary to trace the origin of emeralds in this area. We have carried out a detailed study on the gemological characteristics of emeralds in this area; supplemented it with more-detailed inclusion characteristics, chemical composition data, and spectral information; and preliminarily summarized a set of tracing processes for emeralds in this area. In this study, the history, geology, and exploitation of emeralds in this area are introduced. The gemological properties of emeralds are determined by conventional gemological instruments, the inclusions are identified by Raman spectrometer, and the spectral characteristics of emeralds are determined by infrared spectrometer. The chemical composition and color origin of emeralds with color zonation are studied by using an ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectrometer and a laser denudation plasma-mass spectrometer.
Marketing :
In general, Panjshir emeralds are mined and marlzeted in what is basically a free-enterprise system. No government control is exerted except that all emeralds must be brought to one of the three villages nearest the discovery site: Khenj, Milzeni, or Dest-e-Rewat. Each village has a scheduled meeting, or buly of emerald miners and businessmen on Monday and Thursday of each week.
Emerald mining in the Panjshir Valley of Afghanistan is thriving. The best emeralds from Panjshir compete with emeralds from any other source today. Lilze deposits from some other areas, the Afghan emeralds apparently formed in a continental suture zone. The gemological properties of Panjshir emeralds are coilsistent with those from other localities. Chemically, Panjshir emeralds are similar to those from Muzo, Colombia.
How Gemstone Crafted In Beads:
MINING THE STONES
When it comes to making round gemstone beads, the process begins with mining the stones. Gemstone mining is an arduous process that often involves heavy labor and dangerous working conditions. The process of gemstone mining usually begins by searching for gem deposits. Geologists use a variety of techniques to locate these deposits, such as analyzing aerial photographs and using radiometric dating methods to determine the age of certain rocks. Once a promising deposit is located, the miners must then carefully excavate the natural gemstones. This is done by hand, or with machines such as drills and bulldozers.
CUTTING THE STONES
The second step is cutting after selecting a rough stone that has been mined from the earth. The cutter must then evaluate the stone and decide on an ideal shape for it to be cut into. This will depend on the type of stone being cut, as some stones are better suited for more intricate designs than others. Once the ideal shape has been decided upon, the cutter will use specialized diamond-tipped tools to carefully chip away at the stone. This step requires great skill and precision as the goal is to create a shape with clean lines and smooth edges.
When it comes to creating round beads, proper cutting of the stone is key to producing a beautiful product.
SHAPING THE STONES
These gemstone beads are created by shaping and cutting raw gemstones into the desired size and shape. This process is not as simple as it may sound and requires special tools, expertise, and a precise eye for detail. After cutting the stones next step is to shape them with a vibrant machine and grooved machine that will round off the stones' corners and make the perfect round beads. The stones are then placed in tumblers to further refine their shape and polish them to a high shine. This process can take anywhere from days to weeks, depending on the type of stone and the desired finish.
POLISHING THE BEADS
Polishing is one of the most important steps in the process of making round gemstone beads. To give the beads their smooth, shiny appearance, they need to go through a rigorous process of polishing and buffing. In the next step, the stones are put through a polishing machine that uses various buffing wheels with different grades of abrasive to polish the stones and get them ready for further processing. Once the stones have been polished to perfection, they are ready to be drilled and strung for jewelry or other decorative items.
DRILLING THE BEADS
Once the rough gemstone has been cut and shaped into the desired form, the next step in the process of creating round gemstone beads is to drill a hole through the center. Drilling a hole through a gemstone bead is not an easy task, as it requires precise measurements, special drills, and a great deal of patience. The type of drill used to create a round gemstone bead depends on the type of stone being used. For softer stones, like turquoise or fluorite, a drill press is often used, whereas, for harder stones like sapphire and agate, diamond drills may be required. When drilling loose gemstones, it is important to have a steady hand, as even the slightest misalignment can lead to an uneven hole. It is also important to take regular breaks while drilling so that both the operator and the machine have time to cool down. After each hole has been drilled, the bead must then be thoroughly inspected for imperfections or damage before being passed on to the next stage of the process.
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- Raghav Khandelwal
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