Discovery Channel premiers Game of Stones

Follow the extreme gem hunter Don Kogen and his crew as they search for the rarest and most expensive stones known to the man. Discovery Channel brings Game of Stones in which the extreme adventurers will travel to a new country, including India, Thailand, Turkey, Tanzania and Brazil, as they try to beat their competitors to be the first to find the rare stones.

Game of Stones was premiered on on September 1, 2014 at 7pm from Monday to Thursday Discovery Channel.

Billions of dollars in precious stones are unearthed each year, but the rarest never make it to the open market. Kogen specializes in research of rare stones and travels from the most dangerous and lawless places on earth, racing the clock to be the first one to find a new discovery.

Intelligence about a find of rare, precious Beryl stones takes gem hunter Don Kogen and his team 10,000 feet up in a remote and snowbound region of the Himalayas. They tackle glacial rivers and sheer climbs because their intel is that local miners are sitting on over 200 pounds of gem quality Beryl, which could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But a twist awaits them in the mine: which sends them racing down the mountain in pursuit of a stone Don has coveted for years: a rare, antique Kashmir Sapphire. Their hunt for a trader selling this stone leads them to the salt flats of Northern India and a nail-biting auction.

Kogen captured the market of rare stones by building a tight and trustworthy team that includes Australian born Gavin, a gemologist who will do anything to get his adrenaline fix. Tony is the broker, the money man, who has an acute understanding of the ups and downs of the rare stone industry. Fear is ex-military and a former bomb disposal unit member whose many talents are crucial to each success – he also protects the team and their cash, up to one million dollars at a time. Kat is Kogen’s right hand woman who handles the logistics. From visas, passports, schedules, airplanes, choppers, boats, trains and cars, Kat helps pave the way and sets the team up to win with seamless approaches and successful getaways.

Kogen routinely risks his life in his travels to all corners of the earth to locate rare and valuable gems. But it’s not just a competition to get to the goods. Sometimes, it’s also a fight to stay alive and safe. Over the past 25 years in the industry, Kogen has had his share of near-death experiences. Tune in Discovery Channel to know more about the dangers and adventures of extreme gem hunting.

About Don Kogen
Kogen left school in Houston as a pre-teen to travel to Thailand with his father. As a teenager, he was left to his own devices in a sink or swim situation and began to sell stones on the streets of a Thai gem trading town to survive. Kogen sacrificed much along his path to success, chasing his dreams for bigger and rarer stones which kept this gem addict’s blood pumping. Kogen later returned to the U.S. and last year traveled to 50 countries in search of the rarest stones on earth, including Cambodia ‘Sunset’ Rubies, Royal Blue Sapphires, Canary Yellow Tourmaline and Transvaal Emeralds.