Diamond is the most famous gemstone in the world, which most of us know is valuable both because of its beauty and exceptional characteristics, known as the 4 C. But there are other extremely valuable gemstones, both because of their special qualities. , as well as rarity, being even considered some of the rarest precious stones in the world.
Precious stones are composed of a variety of minerals, rocks and organic materials. To date, there are over 300 precious stones discovered, some of which are significantly rarer and more valuable than even the iconic diamond.
Among the most valuable gemstones in the world are unusual and rare crystals due to their rich color, luster, and physical properties. These extremely rare precious stones are highly sought after by museums and collectors, all of which are priced according to their rarity and value.
We, therefore, present 10 of the most expensive gemstones in the world and also the rarest:
10. Taaffeite
The story of one of the rarest stones – taaffeitul – is worthy of a movie script. In the 1940s, Austro-Irish gemologist Earl Edward Charles Richard Taaffe bought a box of cut stones from a Dublin jeweler, believing he had bought a collection of spinels. But on closer inspection, he noticed that one of the pale purple stones did not react to light in the same way as the rest of the spinels, so he sent it to specialists for analysis. The results revealed that he had discovered a gemstone hitherto unknown – a unique but frustrating situation because he had no idea where this mineral could come from nature.
Fortunately, once the new stone was announced, many other collectors re-examined their own spinel collections and a number of other taaffeit stones were discovered. Eventually, the source of the stone was found in Sri Lanka, although a few were also found in Tanzania and China. It is believed that there are less than 50 examples of taaffeit worldwide – many of which are part of private geological collections. Unlike spinel, taaffeite has the property of double refraction, which allows the distinction between these two minerals.
9. Jadeit
Often known as jade, jade is the official stone of British Columbia, a region where it is found in large deposits. Jade is the purest, rarest and most beautiful gemstone in the jade family. It has a Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0, depending on the composition. The “Hutton-Midivani necklace”, consisting of 27 large high-quality jadeite beads, sold for auction for over $ 27 million.
8. Grandidierit
One of the rarest stones in the world is grandidierite. Grandidierite is a mineral originally discovered in southern Madagascar in 1902. The mineral was named in honor of the French explorer Alfred Grandidier (1836–1912) who studied the natural history of Madagascar.
The more iron (Fe) it contains, the bluer the grandidierite. Grandidierites have a strong pleochroism. This means that, depending on the viewing angle, the stone can display three different colors: dark blue-green, colorless (sometimes very light yellow) or dark green.
7. Alexandrite
Alexandrite is a variety of the chrysoberyl mineral discovered in 1834 about 100 km from the Russian city of Ekaterinburg. This rare stone was named in honor of Russian Tsar Alexander II, quickly becoming one of the most precious stones of the Russian aristocracy.
Alexandrite has a color change depending on the nature of the ambient lighting, called metamerism. Metamerism is the phenomenon of a color change from greenish to reddish, depending on the light source. Due to its rarity, but also its changing beauty, even the smallest natural alexandrite stones are worth thousands of euros. Being a rare stone, the extraction of alexandrite has always been controlled.
6. Emerald
Emerald is the most precious stone in the beryl mineral family. It is also known as the “stone of kings”, being appreciated by the crowned heads due to its supposed mystical properties such as the development of intelligence, wisdom and creativity. Emerald has a Mohs hardness of 7.5 to 8, considered by jewelers a very good hardness to be used in creating jewelry. However, most emeralds contain numerous inclusions or surface fractures, specific characteristics of the emerald.
One of the most famous and expensive emeralds in the world is the chalk emerald, which weighs 37.8 carats. It ranks among the most beautiful emeralds that have been discovered, due to its remarkable clarity and green color, richly velvety. It originally weighed 38.4 carats, but was cut and placed in a platinum and gold ring designed by Harry Winston Inc., where it is surrounded by 60 diamonds.
5. Tanzanite
Tanzanite is a beautiful blue variety of the mineral zoisit and is so named because it is found only in a small area near the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The stone was not discovered in commercial quantities until the 1960s and since then its popularity has grown enormously. Heat treatment of tanzanite at very high temperatures can improve the blue color, so most of the stones on the market have been treated this way, but any tanzanite that has not been heat treated and has a strong blue color naturally and will have a value much bigger.
Because it is found in only one location, the value of tanzanite seems to increase over time; once these mines are emptied, no new stones will appear on the market – unless a new source is found. The largest faceted tanzanite in the world is 737.81 carats. One of the most famous tanzanite crystals, called the Queen of Kilimanjaro has 242 carats.
4. Musgravit
One of the most expensive gemstones, apart from diamond, is musgravite. It is an extremely rare gemstone from the Taafite family, first discovered in South Australia. It is also found in other areas, such as Antarctica, Greenland and Madagascar, but in very small quantities.
3. Beryllium red
Red beryllium is a mineral that is colorless in nature, but changes color once it comes in contact with air and daylight. This gemstone can be worth up to $ 10,000 per carat and such minerals with more than 2-3 carats are rarely discovered.
2. Black opal
Black opal is one of the stones that has conquered the world of jewelry forever due to its special elegance and refinement. But what many do not know is that black opal is the most valuable form of opal. High quality black opal can fetch prices of up to $ 15,000 per carat.
Unlike the usual forms of opal, black opal has trace elements of carbon and iron oxide, which cause the unusual darkness of the stone. Due to the dark tone of the body, the colors of the rainbow in a black opal are much better distinguished than the lighter opals.
1. Blue diamond
Blue diamond is a type of diamond that has all the characteristics of a classic diamond, except for the additional element: the color blue. This color was obtained due to the boron that influences the structure of the crystal lattice. Blue diamonds belong to a subcategory of diamonds called fantasy diamonds, a generic name for diamonds that have an intense color.
The diamond, named “The Oppenheimer Blue” in honor of its previous owner, sold for a final price of $ 57.5 million. While the Pink Star diamond broke the record for the most expensive jewelry ever sold, the blue diamond holds the record for the most valuable price per carat at $ 3.93 million.
