Growing Up in the Land of Rubies and Spinels

Our gemstones are found mostly around the Chảy River. But decades ago, when the Thác Bà hydropower plant was built, large areas rich in gems sank beneath the reservoir, lost forever under water. The heart of Vietnam's gemstone mining moved deeper into the mountains of Lục Yên, where veins of ruby, spinel, sapphire, and tourmaline still run through the ancient rocks.

More than 20 years ago, my childhood in Lục Yên was simple — even poor by most standards. We lived in wooden houses, where owning a motorbike was considered a symbol of success. Air conditioners and washing machines were distant dreams for most families. We were either farmers, laborers, or small-time traders.

But everything changed when gemstones entered the picture.

Gems as a Way Out of Poverty

When I was a child, everyone went to the mountains to mine. My uncles, neighbors, and older cousins would disappear for weeks, even months, climbing rugged paths and digging deep into the earth with nothing but shovels and hope. Mining was dangerous. Cave-ins, snake bites, malaria, and exhaustion were part of daily life.

Back home, the women took care of everything else — the house, the fields, the children. And if someone was lucky enough to find a good stone, it was brought to the market like vegetables, sold under the sun on makeshift stalls. You might imagine we kids grew up playing with gemstones in our pockets. We didn’t. If a stone was found, it was sold immediately — not for luxury, but for survival.

We, the children, would wander along rivers and dusty paths, picking up white marble scraps — not the prized jadeite or colorful spinels — and polishing them ourselves with whatever we could find. That was our game, our treasure hunt.

The Other Side of the Rainbow

Yes, gemstones brought change. Some families bought cars, built villas, sent children to school in the city. But not everyone was so lucky. Some miners spent a lifetime chasing one precious stone and returned home with nothing but bruised hands. Some found wealth overnight and lost it just as fast — burned away in gambling, alcohol, or careless spending.

Mining was — and still is — a gamble with nature

A New Generation, A New Vision

Today, the landscape is different. The gemstone veins are deeper and harder to reach, and machines now aid what was once pure human effort. My generation is no longer blindly chasing treasure. We are learning to respect the value of what we have — not just the stone, but the story it carries.

That’s why I started this business — not just to sell gemstones, but to share a piece of my home, my history, and my people with the world.

Handcrafted Gems with Heart

The gems I sell may not always be the most flawless or rarest, but each one has passed through real hands — hands that dug through the earth, that hoped, that worked, that believed in a better life. Every gem carries a story, sometimes of struggle, sometimes of triumph, but always of resilience.

Whether it's a piece of ruby, spinel, or tourmaline, I hope you won’t just see a sparkling stone. I hope you see a village in the misty hills, a child playing by a mountain stream, a mother selling stones under the sun, and a miner returning home after weeks in the wild.

I hope you feel the heartbeat of Vietnam, and maybe, just maybe, treasure these stones as much as we do.