Pigeon Forge Gem Mine, Pigeon Forge

The sales person has to work the mine store and the old time photo shop. It was quite a wait the first time we tried to go so we opted for another day late in the evening. My children and I bought a bucket of dirt. We had a blast! It was dirty and fun to look for gems with our sifting bins. The sales lady, Brittany, was friendly and chatted to every customer in the store. We were in there with two couples and one other family. Everyone was enjoying themselves. The was clean when we walked in. The sales people must have to sweep all day everyday. We finished first so went through the sales pitch for cutting and mounting the gems we found. Brittany sorted the rocks from the first pan. Identified the gems. Answered questions. I asked where did the dirt come from and she said a NC mine. I like they are not Made in China and I have seen the mining tourist traps in NC also. It was hard to understand all the options with the prices wthout knowing the breakdown first. Each stone is different for a "cut." I thought a cut was to get the oval or square you wanted. Nope. I recommend having paper or your cell phone to write down the exact price of each thing you want. Then decide if you want to spend that much. My oldest daughter was buying me a cut stone for Mother's Day. We ordered one of the emeralds. Pendant and earrings in a square cut. We did not order them set. Brittany said other gem cutters may not cut the gems for us but once we had them cut we would get them set wherever we chose. We just got back from Gatlinburg so I have not seen the finished product yet. Brittany is definitely a sales person but she was friendly. She was not pushy. She asks many times if you have any questions. We did not know everything to ask. She explained the options to us. I can't emphasize enough to write it all out if you are not versed in the pricing structure. Be aware each stone is a different price per cut. The price is marked on the placemat she lays the stones on for sorting. You can decide how much you want to spend. An emerald costs more per cut than say an amethyst. You do not have to get your gems cut at all. Dump them in a plastic bag and walk away. They are yours to keep to do whatever you want with them. Have fun!

Had a blast 'mining' for gems, but when we got our jewelry, it was not what we ordered at all. Have not been able to find a way to contact them to get the situation taken care of. Feeling like we have definitely been conned. Wouldn't mind going back to 'mine' some more, but will not bother buying any jewelry from there. Not worth it!

IT WAS A SCAM! we spent over 500 dollars and the jewelery turned our skin colors, it was a big trap. Take the gems to a home jeweler maybe at best, but avoid altogether if your wise.

the stones you find are switched for ones already cut. raw and uncut gems come from a broker not the ground. you take inside what you find and they con you into thinking they will be cut. but all they do is give you a product allready made and return what you found to their warehouse. its behind the redroof mall. cant miss it look for the old semi trailers next to a barn and old style white house and a big barn. yes i felt lied to and hustled. fun is one thing. but straight out lieing i cant stand. yes i was dissapointed and felt more or less jipped off. check it out yourself.

I absolutely love this place. The staff was friendly and we very helpful. It was definatley worth the money. Needless to say we went back there ev eryday we wewre in Pigeon Forge.

we visited in august 2009, and ever since we want to come back ( from Illinois)- great choice of crystals and prices not too bad- maybe sales people could be a little more knowledgeable about the stones- improve your web-site and ordering system so we can do business from home- we'll be back!!!!

THis would be a fun thing to do with your kids. I thought the prices for different rocks ect. were very high in the gift shop. It is a lot of fun looking through the sand and getting the stones identified. The cut and mounted stones seem to be comparable with similar shops.

Myself, wife and 8 year old daughter went and had a good time, bought the $15 bucket. My daughter had a blast.

My husband bought a bucket for my 7 year old. He had a great time looking for treasures. The people working were very friendly and very family oriented. It was my birthday so we had one of his stones mounted in a ring for me. He is so proud because it is his very own stone. We will go back every time we go to pigeon forge. I think I'll have a lot of jewelry!!

We had a great time and everyone treated us very well. The customer service was great and we look forward to going back again very soon