Rubies

@Ana Lúcia: These are just the lower quality rubies... you wouldn't really want one of these :-)

@Jenny: Yes, most people do not see uncut rubies - most people see cut stones in jewellery. The ruby bearing marbles are followed by the miners. Minor blasting breaks away blocks of rock. The blocks are then hammered by hand to break them down into smaller and smaller pieces until the ruby can be extracted. You never know if a block contains a $50,000 ruby (rare) or nothing (common)!

@Namaki: Its OK, I was there for the rocks not the stones :-)

@Tamara: I'm pleased you enjoyed the learning experience :-) - maybe one day we will have a photoblog trip to the Panjsher Valley where the emerald come from :-)

@Stéphane: Many thanks for your comment!