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Colombia
Adventure
A journey into the Colombian jungle
In February 2025 we embarked on a journey to the heart of Colombia, in search of the worlds finest emeralds. The expedition was over three years in the making due to the access and permissions required in in order to share the journey. This is the story...
Backgound
The Origins collection film
Colombia is arguably the most prestigous geography on earth when it comes to the provenance of fine emerald gemstones. This is a level of prestige that felt befitting for our first collection outside of bridal, "Origins".
True to our desire to continually immerse people in our world - we wanted to share that story and created a film to document the entire collection journey.
The collection is centred upon a series of emerald creations sourced on the back of our expedition to Colombia.
Welcome to Colombia
The search for Colombian emeralds
Our expedition to Colombia was lead by Samuel Stirrat, Blackacre founder and Laura Relph - Head Gemologist, alongside a film crew from Detail films and a series of local experts.
The full expedition lasted 10 days and took us from the heart of Bogota, out in to the jungle regions of Muzo & Chivor, areas famed for their exceptional emeralds, before heading back to the laboratories in the city.
Discover more details of these remarkable destinations below.
Arriving in the City
Bogota
The adventure begins in Bogota. After a 12 hour flight we arrived at 3:45am, and were met by Camilo Betancur. Camilo is a leading Gemologist and Geologist who supported us in facilitating the journey alongside his team at CDTEC laborartory.
We quickly wondered whether we would regret our decision to travel by car (there is the option to travel by helicopter but that seemed less fun) as 5 of us crammed in to the back of our trusty 4x4. The same 4x4 that would see us travel 15 hours off road the next day...
Our first day consisted of a power nap, breakfast, walk to Place de Bolivar before settling in for a expedition planning session at cafe Cecile (we weren't going to go all the way to Colombia without sampling the coffee).
The day was very much getting our bearings and trying to get into the timezone properly.
Day 2-3
Muzo, La Arcadia Mine
Muzo is perhaps the best known location for the sourcing of Emeralds in Colombia. A 15 hour drive north of Bogotta, almost entirely off road, the small mining town sits nestled in the tropical valleys of the Andes Mountains.
The primary stop in our time at Muzo was at La Arcadia mine. A small location nestled on the hillside, inhabited only by the 20 men and women that work there.
The operation was professional and safe whilst still offering all of the intimacy of traditional small scale mining. We spent time with the miners here, working with them, eating with them and sharing stories with them. It was a privilege to be allowed in to their world.
Due to the value of emeralds it is highly unusual to be allowed to film in a producing mine as many of these locations are closely guarded secrets. We therefore feel very fortunate to be in a position to share an insight in to this world
Day 4
The Itico & Las Animais Rivers
It was buñuelos for breakfast again in the square and despite a bit of food poisoning from the night before we set off for a day in the rivers.
River mining is typically restricted around the world as generally speaking these locations are owned by local jurisdictions or governments. It is no different here. Consequently river mining tends to attract local people, without permits or infrastructure, often just a spade in hand, in search of a stone that could transform their lives.
Whilst it is highly unlikely that a stone sourced in the rivers would ever make it through to a piece of high end jewellery (due to i) the quality of material found & ii) the safeguards and controls in place), it felt an important part of the process to document.
Day 5 & 6
Chivor, The Oriente Mine
Chivor is a a region with a notable difference in geography to Muzo, it is located 160km North East of Bogota (another 15 hour drive off road from Muzo to Chivor...)
The emeralds located from Chivor are equally prized as those from Muzo, arguably more so due to the smaller scale nature of the sourcing operations here.
Whilst all Colombian Emeralds are desired predominantly for their rich green colour the ones from Chivor have a subtle difference. Due to a heightened presence of Chromium in this area during the gemstones formation the emeralds have a subtle bluish hue to them (in contrast to the rich green colour of those from Muzo).
Day 7-9
Laboratories & Lapidary
Once stones are located at the mines, whether that is Muzo or Chivor, they are then taken to Bogota for cutting and analysis.
The art of lapidary is the process of cutting a stone from its rough form in to a faceted gemstone. This is critical phase in ensuring as much of the natural material is preserved as possible whilst also ensuring the specimen is showcased to its optimal potential.
Of equal importance are the laboratories. In gemstone laboratories such as CDTEC the emeralds are tested to verify and confirm their origin, assess for any treatments and provide a report stating these details for heighted consumer confidence.
This is particularly important when looking at emeralds due to the wide variety of treatments a stone can go through. The most common of which are "Oiling" which is widely accepted as normal practice, or "Resin filling" which is less accepted.
Behind the scenes
The making of the film
For those wanting to delve deeper in to our world we will soon be sharing our "Diary of a gemmologist" for a behind the scenes look at the journey of a lifetime.
