Diamonds are thought to be the rarest gemstones in the world. Yes, they are certainly rare and valuable, but there are actually other gemstones that are difficult to find.
There are over 300 gemstones that are currently recorded, but we’re going to talk about some gems that are sought-after. We may not be able to see these gems in person as they are likely placed in museums or in the hands of collectors. But in this article, we’ll highlight four of the rarest gemstones so you’d get to know them. If you’re the type to collect gemstones or just want to expand your knowledge, then you’re in for a treat.
The Taaffeite
The taaffeite was unearthed by chance when Count Taaffeite purchased what seemed to be a stack of spinels. He then found out that one of the stones had a different reaction to light. He asked experts to analyze the stone only to find out later that it was an unknown gem. They had no idea where it originated. A few years later, the gem was known to originate in Sri Lanka. Currently, gemmologists believe there are less than 50 taaffeites that exist.
The Blue Garnet
Considered as the gemstone for the month of January, garnet varies in color ranging from reddish brown to deep red. But did you know that garnets can sometimes be blue? In Madagascar, people found a very rare garnet which is blue-green in color when exposed to direct sunlight. This garnet also changes its hue to a gorgeous deep purple when under artificial light. Curious to know its price in the market? Well, you have to pay over $1.5 million per carat.
The Paraiba Tourmaline
A miner named Heitor Barbosa first discovered the paraiba tourmaline. Believing that the Brazilian state of Paraiba was concealing something significant under its hills, he dug for many years until he unearthed a neon blue tourmaline. This tourmaline is pretty rare — one stone is mined for every 10,000 diamonds. A rarity indeed!
The Red Beryl
If it takes 10,000 diamonds to uncover a paraiba tourmaline, then you have to mine 150,000 diamonds to get a red beryl! This stone is popularly called red emerald and is found in New Mexico, Mexico and Utah. As gorgeous as it appears, the stones are typically tiny to be cut. But despite the size, you can get some red beryl stones in the market weighing under 1 carat.
There are still a lot of other gemstones that are fascinating, but the ones above are some of the rarest of the rare —they are either found in one or two places or difficult to mine. Because these gems are so pricey, they are unfortunately beyond the reach of the average customer. Even though you can’t shell out on these pricey gems, we hope that you get to learn a little bit about the obscure yet interesting side of the mineral world.