ABOUT  ALPINE  GEMS

Alpine Gems is involved in most aspects of the coloured gemstone trade from grading gem rough and faceting, to gemstone exploration and small-scale artisan mining. Alpine Gems operates a gemstone cutting shop in Kingston, Ontario, Canada and sells loose coloured gemstones by mail order, by appointment-only visits, at gem, mineral and jewellery trade shows and now via the internet through this site. Alpine Gems carries a wide variety of coloured gemstones and has 3 main somewhat overlapping areas of specialization;

1. Custom-cut fine gemstones (cut in Kingston by Bradley Wilson)
2. Rare and soft gemstones (also know as collector gemstones)
3. Canadian Gemstones

This site is devoted to gemstones of Canadian origin.

Alpine Gems was registered in 1985 and since then has provided high-quality custom-cut gemstones to the trade.

If there is something specific that you're looking for and you don't see it here, please contact me since only a small part of my inventory is shown on this site. I may have what you are looking for.

This Site  Top

This site is intended to serve two general purposes.

1. to provide a sales catalogue of Canadian gemstones,
2. to provide information on Canadian gemstones.

Initially this will consist of a list of Canadian gemstone localities and links to other sites. Additional information will be added when it can be found or referenced.

Alpine Gems Personal  Top

Hi, my name is Bradley Wilson. I'm the owner/operator of Alpine Gems, have been cutting gems since 1979 and have degrees in geology (B.Sc. & M.Sc.) and gemmology (F.C.Gm.A). I am part of "Coast to Coast Rare Stones International", a coloured gemstone dealership which specializes in rare, soft and collector gemstones. In addition, I have been exploring northern Canada for coloured gemstones on my own for over three decades (see "Gemstone Exploration"). I have given many presentations on Canadian gemstones and gemstone exploration and have written several articles on the subject.

I Buy Gem Rough and Mineral Specimens  Top

As a gemstone cutter I am constantly looking for the gemstone rough that I require to fashion into the gemstones that I ultimately sell. If you have gemstone rough of any kind that you're willing to sell, I could be interested in buying it. I'm particularly interested in any type of rough from Canada, especially if you are a field collector or miner. I'm even interested in transparent materials not normally cut into gemstones, such as, fluorite, apatite, brucite, phenakite, rhodochrosite, etc. I also buy crystallized mineral specimens from time to time. Please contact me if you have anything that may be of interest.

Gemstone Exploration  Top

For over three decades I have been exploring for coloured gemstones across Canada. New gemstone occurrences found include emerald, aquamarine, golden beryl, hessonite, topaz, iolite, spinel and moonstone. In addition, I've worked for a variety of companies as a consultant on numerous gemstone exploration projects in Greenland and eight provinces and territories in Canada. If you have a gemstone property and require assistance with exploration, I can help. I have the knowledge and experience to help you get the job done. Please contact me to discuss your property and how I may be of assistance.

Locality Information  Top

The locality information provided on this site is different from that provided in the past by some guidebooks and popular articles. With few noted exceptions I have only included localities from which cut gemstones or transparent crystals and/or fragments suitable for cutting have come from. For example, instead of listing all known occurrences of beryl (and there are many), I've only included those localities I've been able to document transparent crystals or fragments as having come from. This is usually based on personal examination but also includes well documented descriptions of previously cut gemstones. This list is constantly evolving and being added to as new gemstones are discovered and as I learn of previous discoveries. If you know of gemstone localities not listed here, I would love to hear from you and learn more about them. E-mail me.