Smoky Mtn Gold & Ruby Mine

Kids had a blast. Sure the buckets were a little pricey but it was worth the fun. We were not pressured or really even encouaged to cut the better pieces. We went for kids enjoyment… not to get rich.

If you go there just to dig for rocks in a bucket of dirt, then this could be a 5-​star experience.
The jewelry side is just a mess. From my own experience, the sales people are VERY high pressure sales people. The lady tried to buy sympathy with me because she’d «been yelled at already a couple times today.» The rocks are obviously of WAY inferior quality than you’ll get at your local Wal-​Mart and sterling silver jewelry is the cheapest thing around. The emeralds are a HUGE mistake. Go look on ebay for the cut & quality that you’ll get from this place. The rocks that they claim cost them $ 80 per carat to cut you can buy online for $ 10 or less, not a problem. The emeralds come from Brazil, and I’m not so sure the one that you actually «find» is the one that they’ll mount for you. They do it in 24 hours, so the odds that they have a stash in the back just cut & waiting to mount is high. How would we know? The other quote that kills me was that «If you take this ring to a jeweler, it’ll appraise for 3 – 5 times as much as we’re charging you for.» Ummm, if you go online again and look up sterling silver jewelry with the cuts of rock they’re putting in there, you can get the same thing for ¹⁄₃ to ¹⁄₅ or lower.
Have fun digging out rocks from loaded buckets. DON’T BUY THE JEWELRY!