Our Story

Come see and shop our “Daily Rock Show”! We look forward to showing you around and talking about all of our Rocks!

Our names are Doug and Lija Pittman and, We Love Rocks!! One of our first outings together was digging for Smoky Quartz in the Lolo Mountains of Montana, but little did we know that this combined love of the rocks, crystals, and gems that the Earth produces would eventually lead us to where we are today. Diggin Dogs was “born” when we purchased an Oregon Sunstone Mine claim about 5 years ago. Our dog Duc found the first Sunstone by flinging it to our feet by digging away for rabbits, thus the name Diggin Dogs.

For the first couple years we mined our claim and had the Sunstones cut and set but had yet to really decide how/where we would market them because Sunstones were not the only Gem/Crystal/Rock we had and we wanted to sell them all. Then Ammolite happened to us. A close friend of Doug’s is a geologist who had a large amount of Rare Canadian Ammolite that he brought back from Canada about 50 years ago, and needless to say we purchased all of it, and in early spring of 2022 began making jewelry and officially became a small business. Adding Ammolite to our already large collection including Azurite, Peruvian covellite and the Sunstones, we began attending Rock and Gem Shows in WA State as well as the Hardrock Summit in Denver 2022 … Which led to us making the decision to open up a Brick and Mortar Shop.

We are having the time of our life! We absolutely love our Customers who we consider Friends, and look forward to meeting You!

Enjoy this very informative video about Oregon Sunstones … What an amazing yet puzzling gemstone!

In the 1960’s Duffy White, a Geologist/Jeweler from Idaho learned about a beautiful gemstone that grew on an Ammonite Fossil, what is now called Ammolite, so he went to Canada to find out more. He joined several other like-minded folks who after seeing this stunning gem not only fell in love instantly, but also had a feeling that it would eventually become something more valuable. (Little did he know just how much more valuable!)*

He traveled around to several mine sites and cherry picked some of the best and most beautiful pieces he could find and brought them back to Idaho where he set about figuring out how to work with this wonderful new find. He began making gorgeous gemstones and used a lab grown quartz crystal, similar to what was used on the Hubble Telescope, to cap and protect the fragile gem. Over the next ten years he and his business partner traveled all over the United States selling Ammolite Jewelry and Gemstones, eventually returning to Idaho to open a jewelry store.

After his passing most of the rough Ammolite and gems were stored away with his business partner who is a friend of Doug’s. When we learned about it, we also had a feeling, so we purchased it and here we are!

*As of 2023, Ammolite is considered the 8th most Valuable Gemstone in the world. The mines are expected to be depleted within 5-7 years making Ammolite an excellent Investment.

This video is one of the best about Ammolite as it provides information about it’s origins from the people and Company who gave this Gorgeous Gemstone not only her name but her fame. We are proud to have a nice supply of Ammolite collected by the aforementioned Duffy White from the early mines mentioned in this video in our Shop as Jewelry, Gemstones, and Investment Pieces. Enjoy!