Afghanistan

Afghanistan

The rugged mountains of northeastern Afghanistan are a treasure house of gems and minerals. The Panjshir Valley produces emeralds of remarkable clarity and a clean grass-green hue, while the pegmatites of Nuristan and Kunar yield superb tourmaline, kunzite, and aquamarine. The Sar-e-Sang mines of Badakhshan have supplied the world's finest lapis lazuli for over six thousand years, making Afghanistan one of the oldest continuously worked gem regions on earth.