Brazil's Gem Stones and Mining History

From the http://www.VideoSource.com Global Village Travel Guide and DVD, "Brazil". Stock footage available from http://videosource.com/search.html Transcript: THE STATE OF MINAS GERAIS IS SO LITTERED WITH CRYSTAL, SPARKLING ORES AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES THAT THE LAND IS ALMOST ALWAYS SMOLDERING AS A RESULT OF SUN STARTED FIRES. 01.30.41 HERE THE EARTH'S CRUST HAS BLOSSOMED, YIELDING BEAUTIFUL CLUSTER'S OF EVERY IMAGINABLE TYPE OF NATURAL CRYSTAL......... ALTHOUGH SOME OF THESE UNUSUAL CRYSTALS ARE MERE ATTRACTIVE CURIOSITIES, SOME OF THEM, SUCH AS VARIOUS MEMBERS OF THE BERYL FAMILY ARE AMONG THE MOST VALUABLE SUBSTANCES KNOWN TO MAN. WHEN THE EARLY BANDIERANTES BEGAN SEARCHING THESE HILLS FOR DIAMONDS AND EMERALDS, THEY HAD NO IDEA THAT BRAZIL WOULD ONE DAY BECOME THE WORLD'S LEADING PRODUCER OF GEMS AND COLORED GEMSTONES. PERHAPS NO ONE KNOWS MORE ABOUT THE FASCINATING WORLD OF BRAZILIAN GEMSTONES THAN THE MAN WHO FIRST INTRODUCED BRAZIL TO THE ART OF GEM CUTTING, JULES SAUER; Brazil is the paradise of gemstones" "and the aquamarine......primary deposits" ".......In 1963 the first emeralds were found "........tourmaline ....... amethyst brazilianite OPAL "Imperial topaz "THE CAPOA MINE, OPERATED BY AMSTERDAM SAUER IN RODRIGO SILVA NEAR OURO PRETO IS ONE OF THE FEW PRODUCING IMPERIAL TOPAZ MINES IN THE WORLD TODAY. HERE THE TOPAZ YIELDING MATERIAL IS HYDRAULICALLY DISMOUNTED USING WATER FROM A NEARBY HOLDING POND. THE MATERIAL IS THEN MECHANICALLY TRANSPORTED TO THE BEGINNING OF A SERIES OF FLUMES AND SCREENS WHERE IT IS CAREFULLY CLASSIFIED AND SEPARATED. HERE THE MATERIAL IS FURTHER CLASSIFIED BY A VIBRATING SEPARATOR. IN THE FINAL STAGE OF THE PROCESS, 23.08~ BELTROUGH THE PROMISING STONES ARE HAND PICKED FROM AMONG THE QUARTZ CRYSTAL AND OTHER MATERIAL THAT HAS BEEN CONCENTRATED FROM THE ORIGINAL SLURRY. EVEN IN THIS HIGHLY EFFICENT MINE, IT TAKES TONS OF RAW MATERIAL TO PRODUCE EACH CARAT OF PRECIOUS IMPERIAL TOPAZ THE FINEST STONES FROM THE MINES IN MINAS GERAIS AND ELSEWHERE IN BRAZIL EVENTUALLY FIND THEIR A. SAUER SHOP WAY TO THE JEWELER'S SHOP WHERE THEY ARE ARTFULLY TRANSFORMED INTO THE CENTERPIECES FOR SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL JEWELRY. BECAUSE OF THE LOW COST OF LABOR, AND THE AVAILABILITY OF QUALITY GEMSTONES IN BRAZIL, THE BARGAINS TO BE FOUND IN THE FINE JEWELRY SHOPS OF BRAZIL BRING BARGAIN SEEKERS HERE FROM AROUND THE WORLD. AND THERE'S NO BETTER PLACE TO BUY THEM THAN IN THE FINE SHOPS OF RIO ....... THE LURE OF THESE BEAUTIFUL STONES IS SO GREAT THAT ALMOST NO ONE LEAVES BRAZIL WITHOUT AT LEAST ONE OF THESE BEAUTIFUL COLORED GEMSTONES. THE VALUES TO BE FOUND IN BRAZILIAN GEMSTONES ARE LEGEND, BUT YOU MUST BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU BUY....... EVERYONE HAS A BARGAIN WAITING FOR THE UNWARY TOURIST..... ......SOME OF THE CHEAPER ONES OFFERED BY THESE BOYS ON THE STREETS MAY EVEN BE COLORED GLASS IMITATIONS... AUDIO "GUARANTEE" ANYONE SERIOUS ABOUT PURCHASING FINE JEWELERY WOULD DO WELL TO LEARN A LITTLE ABOUT THE FOUR "C"'S. BEFORE THEY BUY, AND TO BUY FROM ONE OF THE ESTABLISHED REPUTABLE FIRMS THAT HAVE OUTLETS A SAUER OUTLET SIGN IN ALL THE MAJOR CITIES.