This is a continuation of the previous article.
When we hear the word "jewelry," words like "beautiful," "luxury," and "splendid" come to mind.
Isn't that what you can imagine?
I was the same at first. But as I learned more about gemstones,
Where and how did they get it, and how did they get to be so beautiful?
I found out about this and went there to see it for myself.
A mine is simply a place where minerals are extracted.
This is the mine I headed to
There had been heavy rainfall until the day I went there last week, and most of the mines in Ratnapura were flooded and unable to operate.
It was the only place that was still operating so I went to check it out.
They dig holes about 10 to 30 meters in this way, and it usually takes about a month to complete the digging.
It is very dark inside and the miners go down without safety ropes.
If you slip and fall, there is no guarantee of survival. I learned firsthand how life and death are at stake.
They shovel mud into the hole and pack it into bags that are lowered from above.
The people above fry the bags as shown in the photo.
I tried joining in, but the bag was too heavy for a woman to carry on her own.
Then it is loaded, lifted, and transported to the next process.
By spinning it around like a sieve, you can discard the smaller stones and leave only the larger stones.
Once we got up we could finally see lots of rocks.
The miners will search for stones among these.
Here's what came out this time!
We didn't find any corundum, but we did find a lot of stones with beautiful colors.
It was a mystical experience to come across something that had been lying dormant underground for thousands of years.
This is how the jewels around us come into our hands.
Buying jewelry means supporting the lives of these people.
I want to create a peaceful world through jewels.
Thank you for reading to the end.
MON LA VIE MOE YAMAGATA