History - About Us

Austgem is the largest producer in Australia, of uncut sapphires, operating the Reddestone mine at Glen Innes and the Great Northern Mine at Kings Plains.

The Wilson family were among the first miners on the NSW fields in 1964, when Bill Wilson started mining sapphire after many years of tin mining in the district.Since then the Wilson family has continued the mining tradition with Bill’s son, Jack, forming the company now known as Wilson Gems and Investments, in 1973. Bill has since passed away and Jack’s wife together with two of their sons number among the staff now employed on the mining project.

Jack has worked in the sapphire industry since 1966 and has an extensive knowledge of both Australian and international sapphire production and marketing.

Jack travels regularly to act as a consultant to sapphire miners in other regions, including Madagascar, Nigeria and Cambodia.

In the years since 1964 Wilson Gems has operated mines in various regions throughout the NSW sapphire fields, including the areas known as “Waterloo", “Elsmore”, “Nullamanna" and at present “Reddestone Creek” and “Kings Plains”.