Afghanistan has some of the oldest worked gem deposits in the world. Lapis lazuli from Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan reached ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia thousands of years ago, and it is still the classic source of the stone. The country also produces fine emerald from the Panjshir Valley, ruby from Jegdalek, and tourmaline, kunzite and aquamarine from the pegmatites of Nuristan and nearby provinces. Most mining is small-scale and done by hand in rugged mountain terrain.
Geology of the Hindu Kush
Afghanistan sits where the Indian plate has pushed into Asia, the same collision that raised the Himalaya. In the Hindu Kush and Pamir ranges, that collision folded, heated and squeezed older rocks and drove hot fluids through them. Marble, schist and granite pegmatites formed or were changed in the process, and many host gems.
Similar rocks run across the border into Pakistan and Tajikistan, which is why the region as a whole yields such a wide range of gems. The metamorphic rock page explains how heat and pressure change rocks and create new minerals.
Sar-e-Sang lapis lazuli
The lapis lazuli mines of Sar-e-Sang lie high in the Kokcha River valley in Badakhshan province, in the far northeast of the country. They are among the oldest continuously worked mines in the world. Lapis from this area appears in objects from Mesopotamia, including the royal tombs at Ur, and in ancient Egyptian jewelry, carried along long trade routes across Iran.
Lapis lazuli is a rock, not a single mineral. Its deep blue comes mainly from lazurite, mixed with white calcite and specks of golden pyrite. Badakhshan lapis is prized for its intense, even blue with little calcite. In the past, the finest pieces were ground to make ultramarine, the costly blue pigment used by medieval and Renaissance painters. Lapis from Afghanistan was also used in Florentine pietra dura inlay.
The mines sit in hard-to-reach terrain, and miners have historically worked the marble host rock with simple tools, fire-setting and later explosives. The lapis trade has at times been linked to armed groups and conflict, a concern raised by some international observers.
Panjshir emerald
The Panjshir Valley, northeast of Kabul, produces emerald of high quality. Emerald mining in the area became widely known in the second half of the 20th century, though there are hints of earlier working. The emeralds occur in veins cutting through metamorphic rocks.
Fine Panjshir emeralds have a bright, slightly bluish green and good transparency. Some gemologists have compared the best of them to Colombian stones, and lab studies show that Panjshir emeralds can share some features with Colombian material, which can complicate origin reports. Mining is mostly done by local miners working tunnels into steep mountainsides. For how emeralds are treated with oils and resins, see gemstone treatments.
Jegdalek ruby
Jegdalek, east of Kabul, is the best-known ruby locality in Afghanistan. Its rubies form in marble, the same geological setting as the classic rubies of Mogok in Myanmar and deposits in Vietnam and Tajikistan. Marble-hosted rubies tend to have low iron, so they often show a strong red fluorescence that gives them a lively look.
Jegdalek rubies range from pink to deep red. Many are included or fractured, and fine clean stones are uncommon. The area has also produced blue and pink sapphire and spinel. Do not confuse Jegdalek with the "balas rubies" of medieval trade. Those were red spinels, mined in the historic Badakhshan region along today's border with Tajikistan.
Nuristan tourmaline and kunzite
Nuristan and the neighboring Laghman and Kunar provinces in the east hold many granitic pegmatites. These coarse-grained rocks form when the last fluid-rich part of a granite magma crystallizes, leaving pockets where large gem crystals can grow.
Afghan pegmatites have produced:
- Tourmaline in pink, green, blue and bicolor crystals, some of them large and very clean.
- Kunzite, the pink to violet variety of spodumene, in large, transparent crystals.
- Aquamarine and morganite.
- Spessartite garnet, beryl and many collector minerals.
Afghan kunzite became well known in the late 20th century for big, clean crystals. Kunzite is strongly pleochroic, showing deeper color down one direction of the crystal, so cutters orient it carefully. It can also fade with long exposure to strong light, which is a point worth knowing before wearing it daily.
Mining and trade
Most Afghan gems are mined by small teams using hand tools and explosives, often in high, remote valleys reached by footpaths. Rough usually travels to Pakistan, especially Peshawar, where traders buy and sell Afghan and Pakistani stones. From there it moves on to cutting centers in Thailand, India and elsewhere.
Decades of war and political change have disrupted mining and trade at different times. The country's gem wealth is often described as large but underdeveloped, and conditions for miners and the flow of profits have long been concerns.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the best lapis lazuli come from?
The classic source is Sar-e-Sang in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, worked for thousands of years. Its lapis is known for a deep, even blue with little white calcite.
Does Afghanistan have emeralds?
Yes. The Panjshir Valley northeast of Kabul produces emeralds, and the finest are bright green with good transparency. Some share features with Colombian emeralds.
What gems come from Nuristan?
Nuristan and nearby provinces have pegmatites that produce tourmaline, kunzite, aquamarine, morganite, spessartite garnet and many collector minerals.
What was ultramarine made from?
Ultramarine was a blue pigment made by grinding lapis lazuli and separating the blue lazurite from the white and gold minerals around it. For centuries the best lapis for it came from Badakhshan, which made the color one of the most costly materials a European painter could buy.