The Gem Gallery a Bozeman Montana jewelry store specializing in custom Montana Yogo Sapphire jewelry.
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Yogo Sapphire History

History of Yogo Sapphires

Little Blue Pebbles

Early Montana prospectors
Early Montana prospectors

The English Mine
The English Mine

““In purchasing a mere gold mine, they had acquired the most valuable Sapphire mine in America, yielding more wealth than all the other Sapphire mines in America put together, and a finer quality of gem.” - Dr. George F. Kuntz”

The British Take Over Hoover's Stake

The English Mine
The English Mine

“The early 20th-century operations at the English Mine are regarded as the most successful efforts to commercially mine Yogo Sapphires.”

Original Yogo jewelry by Johnson, Walker & Tolhurst, circa 1920
Original Yogo jewelry by Johnson, Walker & Tolhurst, circa 1920

The Two Mines Become One

Washing the ore by hand
Washing the ore by hand

World War and a Flash Flood Take Their Toll

The American Mine hoist
The American Mine hoist

The Rise of Roncor

“To this day, several families own property in Sapphire Village and continue small-scale hand mining on their claims.”

The AmEx Mine closure
The AmEx Mine closure
The old English workings
The old English workings

The Vortex Mine hoist
The Vortex Mine hoist

The Vortex Mine: Virgin Territory

The steam-powered hoist at the English Mine, near left
The steam-powered hoist at the English Mine, near left

The Future of Yogo Sapphires

The opening portal to the spiral decline of the Vortex Mine
The opening portal to the spiral decline of the Vortex Mine
Mike Roberts and Don Baide
Mike Roberts and Don Baide
The pulsating washing jig and trommel
The pulsating washing jig and trommel

New Beginnings: The Reopening of the Vortex Mine

Aerial view of the Vortex Mine's surface
Aerial view of the Vortex Mine's surface

Vortex Mine Entrance
Vortex Mine Entrance