Editor’s Note
This article explores the storied origins of Afghanistan’s Panjshir emeralds, gems of exceptional quality born from a valley whose name echoes with ancient legend and modern conflict.
Afghan emeralds can rival those from any source in the world. The exact origin of these incredible gems is the Panjshir Valley.
“Panjshir” means “Five Lions,” named after five highly spiritual warriors who settled in the valley in the 11th century. In modern history, the valley has been plagued by war and security issues, such as the Soviet invasion from 1979 to 1989 and the Taliban civil war from 1996 to 2001. For five years, the Northern Alliance, led by national hero Ahmad Shah Massoud, defeated ten Soviet attempts to capture the valley.
The mining of emeralds and the resources obtained from their sale helped the brave people of the valley successfully resist the Soviet invasion. Today, these green stones are helping to revitalize the region’s economy.
In an open-pit mine in Afghanistan’s Panjshir mountains, miners labor intensively. Entering a tunnel, miners must work hard to find precious emeralds. Typically, tunnels are dug 100 meters deep, reaching into the heart of the mountain.
Miners work at altitudes close to 3,000 meters, and we can imagine the physical toll. More terrifyingly, they descend into 100-meter-long tunnels without any safety equipment, searching for emeralds by faint light. The Panjshir mountains are covered in snow for most of the year, with temperatures far below zero. When digging tunnels, miners use pneumatic drills to bore holes into the rock face, then insert homemade explosives to blast through the solid rock. Falling boulders and toxic gases cause many miners to suffocate. The mining process is extremely dangerous, and despite this, some miners toil for years without ever finding an emerald that can fetch a good price.
Persistent local wars have left Afghanistan with backward conditions, and miners mostly use manual washing, separation, and selection to discover emerald-bearing ore.
As early as 2014, GIA had already visited Afghanistan.
In the rugged mountainous terrain, travel was only possible on horseback.
After reaching the town of Pawat, Lucas began climbing steep mountain paths, hoping to reach the emerald mine before dark. After a four-hour hike, he arrived at the mining area at sunset.
Dinner at the mining camp was fresh lamb, rice, and Afghan bread, Nan-e Afghani, which seemed to have been baked for centuries. Lucas said the next day’s breakfast was delicious: fresh goat’s milk and more Nan-e Afghani.
Lucas then visited the mining tunnels to observe the extraction and ore processing operations. Typically, hard rock is mined – using diesel-powered drills to bore holes into the rock. Their challenge is to remove the overburden without damaging the emeralds – a rather tricky task!
After detonating the explosives, miners return, remove the rock, and search for emeralds. Rocks potentially containing gems are sent to the processing area, crushed with hand tools, and washed using sieves.
According to Lucas, Afghan emeralds have excellent color – they can even “rival emeralds from any source.”
The shape of Afghan emeralds is conducive to preserving rough weight well, meaning less gemstone loss during cutting.
Even small crystals mined in Afghanistan possess rich color.
Longer rough stones (called pencil gems because of their similarity in shape to pencils) are often cut into melee diamonds and used in high-end watches.
Trading emerald rough is never easy. Even for experienced gem dealers like Arthur Groom from Eternity Emerald Company in New Jersey, USA, with decades of experience. Groom sources emerald rough worldwide, and his current focus is on Afghan emeralds. At the Tucson Gem Show in the USA, he demonstrated the art of purchasing rough and offered advice on critical decisions that must be made during the transaction.
Groom opened a parcel of significant emerald rough weighing about 260 grams, worth at least $600,000. He recounted the decisions he made when purchasing this parcel from miners in Afghanistan. Like other colored gemstones, the first thing a buyer needs to look at is the overall color of the parcel. Tip one: After getting your first impression of the parcel, spread out the stones. This is important because color always looks better when stones are clustered together; spreading them helps the buyer see the appearance of individual stones and group them. Next, quickly estimate the percentage of each group relative to the entire parcel. For example, a parcel might contain about 20% lighter emeralds.
Since evaluation is the most critical step in sourcing rough, the buyer must pay special attention to several aspects when purchasing. Observing the rough’s color, crystal shape, and clarity characteristics are key to your decision. When observing color, pay special attention to the core of the crystal. This is crucial for Afghan emeralds, as many of them have lighter cores. Stones like this will become lighter in color after cutting, requiring extra planning and often leading to weight loss. For emeralds, darker rough is more likely to retain its color after cutting. Lighter rough tends to lose color, especially when cut into very small melee.
During sourcing in Afghanistan, carefully inspecting this emerald crystal sorted from a large parcel, Arthur Groom discovered the crystal had a lighter-colored core during his Afghanistan buying trip.
A rough dealer must be able to visualize the position of the cut gemstone based on the rough crystal, as it determines the final yield of the rough. Groom demonstrated which ones achieve high yield and which do not. The Afghan mountains have abundant pencil-shaped rough, once considered useless by some miners and buyers. Groom says that with today’s technology, these stones can be cut into melee size, averaging $500 to $1500 per carat. Due to insufficient mining explosives in Afghanistan, old Soviet ammunition from thirty years ago is used to blast emerald-bearing rock. This is a problem for emerald mining because many larger stones are shattered during blasting. Shattered crystals also limit weight yield. For example, intact rough crystals can achieve a 60% yield, whereas shattered crystals only achieve 10-15%.
The “4Cs” for colored gemstones are usually the same as for diamonds; however, a fifth “C” is crucial for emeralds. This is the common practice in the emerald trade: clarity enhancement. Imperfect parts can be removed by cutting or treated to reduce the visibility of fissures. For emeralds, if weight retention is desired, the latter is a common and better method. Buyers must decide whether to retain emerald weight and enhance them. The essence of rough evaluation is to comprehensively consider these factors and find a balance between them. Mastering this process requires years of practice and familiarity with both the rough and finished gemstone markets.
After evaluation comes the art of negotiation. If the buyer is keen on purchasing the parcel, negotiation begins there. Based on Groom’s experience, buyers need to stay calm and offer a reasonable price to get what they want. The key here is that as a buyer, you need to know the value of the parcel and show the miner that you know what you’re doing. Lowball offers should be avoided, as they will immediately cast doubt on your ability and reputation. Once both parties realize a fair deal is about to happen, a “sweet” price can be reached quickly.
Gem trading is ultimately about dealing with people. Afghan emerald miners are a very strong group. They always sell their stones together. These miners owe no money to banks, so there is no pressure forcing them to sell gems. In this situation, winning their trust is key to motivating them to bring more stones that meet the buyer’s needs. Groom reminds us that respecting locals and bringing them value and benefits will ensure good business and lasting friendships.
Purchasing emerald rough in less-than-ideal on-site environments, like in a miner’s office in Kabul, requires a systematic approach.