Pleiku peridot

Gia Lai, Vietnam
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Today we took a 30 minute drive out to the local Peridot mines. Two co operatives were digging, one starting a new mine and one digging out the overnight cave in!
We managed to purchase some small rough and one nice sized flat Zircon, direct from the miners.
We also visited a few dealers but they didn’t have much as they haven’t been digging much, due to the monsoon.
We also visited a cutter and two 4ct plus stones were purchased.
I managed to bag a particularly well cut 16.3ct oval Peridot!

Lunch at the Caldera!

The monsoon has been relentless!

These are the highlights of Pleiku.

The city is not known for being a tourist town but there are interesting things to see.

The first, especially for me, is peridot.

The mines are in the middle of large coffee plantations.

Then we see dealers who usually sell the rough Pleiku Peridot, but there are a few who have cut stones.

Lunch is served on the lake. The lake itself has formed inside a caldera.

No part of this area is wasted. There’s rice on the foreshore, then lotus for its seeds and the water is filled with little perch. The huts provide a great place to enjoy the water and eat.

Please follow the links for more details including itinerary, dates and important information. If you would like to meet and chat about the tours if you are in Brisbane or going to any of the Gem Shows we attend. Otherwise, we can chat by phone on 0448 190 538.