400 Million Dollar Emerald
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Cut and Polished
Dozens of cut and polished emeralds, some weighing upwards of 150 carats, sit on a sorting table at a Bogota emerald dealer. Because these emeralds have a light green coloring, they will not sell for nearly as much as deep-green emeralds.
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Table Full of Emeralds
Millions of dollars' worth of cut and polished emeralds on an emerald broker's tray.
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Waiting To Be Cut
Batches of emeralds waiting to be cut by world-renowned Adolfo Argoti. Emeralds of this quality can fetch $15,000/carat -- a figure that can double when large stones are sold in pairs.
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Quality Gems
Batches of emeralds waiting to be cut by world-renowned Adolfo Argoti. Emeralds of this quality can fetch $15,000/carat -- a figure that can double when large stones are sold in pairs.
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Selling Stones
An emerald trader, on the phone with his business partner, overlooks his stash of uncut cabochon emeralds. World-renowned gem-cutter Adolfo Argoti will cut them into stones that will then be sold to jewelers.
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Shiny Stones
Batches of emeralds waiting to be cut by world-renowned Adolfo Argoti. Emeralds of this quality can fetch $15,000/carat -- a figure that can double when large stones are sold in pairs.
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Tiny Gems
A guaquero holds a pair of tiny emeralds found in a calcite rock near a stream of the emerald mines' "tailings."
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Seeing the Stone
Tony Thomas lays his eyes on the "Bahia Emerald" for the first time in 2001. Thomas claims to have purchased the 845-pound stone for $60,000 from a pair of Brazilian emerald dealers.
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Searching For Emeralds
Three guaqueros dig in a stream of tailings, downstream from the Muzo emerald mines, searching for emeralds that might have escaped unnoticed.
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Negotiating a Trade
Emerald traders negotiate in the town square in Muzo, Colombia.
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Mining Tools
A miner's helmet and pick sit on a bench near the entrance to an emerald mine in Muzo.
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Mining a Giant Gem
Miners in Brazil pull the gargantuan "Bahia Emerald" from the earth in 2001.
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Guarded Gem
The "Bahia Emerald" sits in a vault.
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Emerald Hunt
Three guaqueros dig in a stream of tailings, downstream from the Muzo emerald mines, searching for emeralds that might have escaped unnoticed. Above are the ramshackle buildings in which many of the guaqueros live.
