The 10 Of Most Rarest Gemstones On The Planet
One of the most important things in life is to find your own way. The world is full of possibilities and each one has its place, but you need to explore them all before settling on just one. Gemstones are a great example of this: there are so many different stones out there that it would be impossible to try them all, even if you had a lifetime ahead of you.
However, some gemstones represent more than just beauty and uniqueness: they also carry with them significant value and rarity due to their scarcity or natural origin. What we have here today for you is a list of the 10 rarest gemstones on the planet! We hope that by reading this article, you will get an idea about which stone might be best for you.
Tanzanite
Tanzanite is a gemstone that has many varieties, but the most rare and expensive of them all is the blue variety. It was discovered in 1967 by Tiffany & Co., when they were looking for diamonds in Tanzania. The previously unknown stone was soon named after its country of origin — Tanzania. Nowadays these precious stones are found exclusively there, which makes them hard to come by and very pricey. They are mostly mined in only one region — Arusha — which means that if you want to get your hands on this gemstone, you’ll have to be prepared to pay up!
The rarest of all the gems, tanzanite has been known to bring luck and calmness to anyone who wears or owns it. It also brings good fortune and prosperity to the owner. Some people believe that tanzanite can even help you find love! The most important thing about this stone is its rarity, which makes it so valuable.
Black Opal
Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica; its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Because of its amorphous character, it is classed as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, which are classed as minerals. Opal comes in many different colours, from milky white to black. Black opal is the rarest kind. It’s characterized by the dark background colour, though you should still be able to see the colourful iridescent flakes, which pop against the background.
The black opal originates from Australia and can be found in other countries like Ethiopia, Nevada and Mexico. The black opals that are found naturally are extremely rare and it takes a lot of digging to find one that has not been cut or cracked during mining. It’s estimated about 10% of all mined opals are considered natural, meaning they have never been treated with heat or chemicals to change their color or appearance. A lot of people confuse black opals with obsidian because it has similar coloring but they’re very different when you look at them closely!
Taaffeite
Taaffeite is one of the most rare gemstones on earth. It is mined mainly in Sri Lanka and Tanzania. But there are also deposits found in Myanmar, China and Russia, according to the IGS. Taaffeite can come in various pink and purples shades like lilac, violet and mauve, as well as red, brown, bluish hues, gray, green and colorless.
Taaffeites are best known for their intense colors that come from traces of titanium oxide mixed with iron or chromium. These trace elements help give this stone its unique hue which can be either blue or brown depending on the amount of titanium present within the stone’s composition. This beautiful blue-green stone has become coveted by collectors and jewelers for its rarity, beauty, and color. It is considered to be the most expensive gemstone per carat weight because of how difficult it is to find this gem.
Poudretteite
Poudretteite is a rare gemstone that has only been found in Quebec, Canada. It was discovered as a few tiny crystals during the mid-1960s but not recognized as a new mineral until 1986. The stone is so rare because it’s only mined from one specific location. And there are no known deposits of poudretteite anywhere else in the world.
The most common color for this type of gemstone is colorless but they can also be pink or purple. Each pouretteite stone varies slightly depending on where it came from which makes them even more unique. It has been said that poudretteite will only be found once every few hundred years, which makes it such an exclusive find for miners today. If you’re looking for something different to add to your collection then look into purchasing some of these beautiful stones!
Larimar
Larimar is a rare blue variety of the silicate mineral pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean. Its coloration varies from white, light-blue, green-blue to deep blue. The gemstone is a variety of pectolite. It is not often mined because it requires extreme levels of heat to extract it from the ground, and because of this many people believe the stone to be extinct. Though the crystal is soft, with only a hardness of 4.5 to 5, locally it is often sold set into jewellery.
Most jewellery produced is set in silver, but sometimes high-grade larimar is also set in gold. Quality grading is according to coloration and the typical mineral crystal configuration in the stone. Larimar also comes in green and even with red spots, brown strikes, etc., due to the presence of other minerals and/or oxidation. But the more intense the blue colour and the contrast in the stone, the higher and rarer is the quality. The blue colour is photosensitive and fades with time if exposed to too much light and heat.
Alexandrite
Alexandrite is a color change-variety chrysoberyl and is considered one of the rarest gemstones in the world. According to GIA, Alexandrite’s finest dual colors are a vivid grass green in daylight and fluorescent light, and an intense raspberry red in incandescent light. It’s the only precious gemstone in the world that can change color from green to purple depending on how you see it, which makes it the most rare type of gemstones in existence.
This is a type of chrysoberyl. Different kinds of light make the colors change. That is called the “alexandrite effect”. Alexandrite has been found in Russia, Brazil, India, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. And it is one of the birthstones for June. It was originally called “the Stone of Love” because legend says that if you wear an Alexandrite ring on your left hand for three months, you will fall in love with someone who loves you just as much.
Benitoite
Benitoite is a rare blue barium titanium cyclosilicate, found in hydrothermally altered serpentinite. It forms in low temperature, high pressure environments typical of subduction zones at convergent plate boundaries. Unlike many other gems, benitoite gemstones are often faceted as this increases their value by making them more eye-catching. This gemstone has been revered throughout history due to its rarity. The reason why benitoite is one of the rarest gems around today is that only around 100 carats mined each year!
With only a hardness of 6 to 6.5, Benitoite is a soft mineral and is unsuitable for jewellery. The stone gets its name from the area in which it’s found near San Benito River. The discovery of benitoite helped geologists understand how tectonic plates work and how magma gets to Earth’s surface, which paved the way for future discoveries like diamonds and rubies! There are only three known deposits of benitoite left on Earth. So this beautiful blue gemstone will be an invaluable collector’s item for years to come.
Paraiba Tourmaline
Tourmaline is a semi-precious gemstone. The secret behind the rarity of Paraiba tourmaline is its colour. Though tourmaline can be found in a large variety of colours in the US, Brazil and Africa, the Paraiba tourmaline gemstones are of much higher quality with intense colours due to the copper present.
It was first discovered in the state of Paraíba in northeastern Brazil in the late 1980s. And subsequently found in the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Norte (Fritsch et al., 1990; Shigley et al., 2001; Furuya, 2007). These gems became known as Paraíba tourmalines after the locality of their discovery. Paraiba Tourmaline is very difficult to find because they are so rare. But when you do happen upon one it will make your day! In addition to its rarity, the Paraiba Tourmaline also ranks as one of the most expensive gems worldwide.
Red Beryl
Red Beryl, also known as the “Red Emerald” is one of the rarest gemstones in the world. First discovered by Maynard Bixby (1853–1935), a bookkeeper turned miner, these stunning crystals were initially brought to light at Maynard’s Claim in the Thomas Range, Utah in 1904. It’s only found in a few select parts of North America and Greenland.
This is a rare mineral because its formation requires a unique geochemical environment. First, the element beryllium must be present in large enough amounts to form minerals. Second, manganese must be present and available at the same time and location. And it can be cut into cabochons, tumbled stones, or faceted gems. The intense pinkish-red color that it has is due to tiny amounts of iron within its chemical structure. This makes it very valuable for jewelry purposes because red beryl is so scarce.
Musgravite
Musgravite is another incredibly rare gemstone. It is closely related to Taaffeite, with their main difference coming from their magnesium content. It is not as common as other gems such as diamonds because its color spectrum does not allow for many colors to shine through. However, because musgravite is so hard to find it often takes on an even more unique value than other stones.
The gemstone was named after the Musgrave Ranges of Southern Australia where it was first discovered. Musgravite has an appealing array of colours, from light olive to deep violet. There are very few stones mined each year because they’re so hard to find; this makes them one of the world’s most expensive gemstones!
Conclusion
The value of these precious stones is difficult to determine because they are so rare. However, the rarity and beauty make them a must-have for any collector or investor. If you think we’ve omitted one of your favorites, let us know at SenseOrient! We love hearing from our readers about what topics they want covered in future blog posts. With all this new information on gemstones that you probably didn’t know before reading this post, which stone would be your top pick?
