Top 10 Most Expensive Gemstones In The World

Gemstones are naturally occurring mineral crystals that are incredibly stunning and vibrant and are used to make jewelry and adornments. Gemstones require a significant amount of heat and pressure and are formed from the crystallization of magma underneath the earth’s surface.

Four major factors are considered when gemstones are priced, known as the four C’s.

• Carat – The size of the gemstone is measured in Carat. Higher the Carat, the higher the value of the gemstone.
• Clarity – It refers to the degree of transparency. The gemstone’s clarity is essential; the more precise the gemstone, the more drastically its rate increases.
• Color – It is the essential factor, and the vivid, deep and appealing color gemstones make on the top of the list.
• Cut – It refers to how symmetrically and polish are done without affecting other factors. Perfectly cut stones bring out added beauty and vibrance.

The gemstones need to be hard enough to withstand any scratch or pressure. For example, diamond is known to be one of the toughest natural minerals known to man. Moreover, the rarity of the gemstone makes it more desirable because of its uniqueness.

Here is the list of the top 10 most expensive gemstones in the world:

10. Tanzanite – US $1,200 Per Carat

It is one of the desirable gemstones in the world because of its vibrant and stunning blue shade. The gemstone was discovered in Tanzania by an Indian tailor, “Manuel De Souza” in 1967. It is said that he found the stone in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro when he spotted something shiny.

The deeper blue color is due to traces of element, Vanadium. The deeper the blue hue, the expensive the gemstone is. Surprisingly, today, Tanzanite is found only where it was discovered, Merelani Hills, south of Mount Kilimanjaro.

The largest carved gemstone is called “L’heure Bleu,” which even won an American Gem Trade Association award. The piece was created by Naomi Sarna.

The gemstone symbolizes calmness, compassion, and new life. Tanzanite is also called “one generation gemstone” because it is so rare, even rarer than diamonds. The stone is known to exhibit trichroism; it shows different colors when looked at under different light or angles.

9. Red Beryl – $10,000 Per Carat

Red Beryl is one of the rarest gems, and it has been researched that for every 1,50,000 gem-quality diamonds on earth, only one crystal of Red Beryl is found. The vivid red hue of the stone is due to the presence of an element, manganese.

Red Beryl is also known as “bixbite” in honor of the mineralogist who discovered it, Maynard Bixby. The perfect quality gemstone is found only in what they call “Ruby Violet” mine in the Wah Wah Mountains of Utah; though it is found in many places of the US, but the crystals are too small or flawed. It is sometimes referred to as “Red Emerald” also.

8. Black Opal – $15,000 Per Carat

It is a rare gemstone, and as the name might suggest, it is black, but it is not so. It has a natural backing to them called “potch,” due to which they get the dark-hued appearance. The main ingredient in Black Opal is silica, due to which we can see all the colors of the rainbow.

They exist in one place – Austria and about 90% of the gemstone is mined there. Moreover, most of the Opals are found in the town of Lightning Ridge. They come in a variety of patterns and colors which are not fixed.

They come in astonishing patterns like Harlequin, which consists of repeating color patterns, Chinese Writing composed of vibrant and bold lines and seems like Chinese calligraphy.

Some good stone patterns include Pinfire, which consists of tiny dots of bright colors throughout the stone, Rolling Flash, which consists of a large band of color across the entire stone.

7. Taaffeite – US $35,000 Per Carat

Taaffeite is one of the most beautiful and exotic gems, widely popular because it is so rare and resembles spinel in color. The stone got its name after the person who discovered it, Irish-Austrian gemologist “Count Taaffe” of Dublin.

It was discovered by accident in 1945 when Count coincidently picked up the stone from waste and found it to be unique as the gem was doubly refractive and looked like a spinel.

However, after investigation, the stone was categorized as a new mineral. Even after a few years of its discovery, only a few samples were known to be found.

It comes in a wide range of colors, including mauve, rose red, ruby-red, sapphire, gray-blue, and colorless. Sri Lanka has been the leading supplier of taaffeite since the 70s and is now also found in Myanmar, China, and the former USSR.

6. Alexandrite – US $70,000 Per Carat

Being so exquisite and attractive, Alexandrite is one of the rarest and expensive gemstones. Natural Alexandrite is costlier than Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald and is found rarer than diamonds. It is a part of the Chrysoberyl family.

Surprisingly, it is a color-change unique gemstone and exhibits a bluish-green hue in sunlight and reddish-purple under artificial light. Alexandrite is one of the gemstones that shows chatoyancy, an optical phenomenon that makes it appear as a “cat’s eye.”

The first specimen was discovered in the Ural Mountains, Russia, in 1834 by Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld. The gem got its name in honor of Russian Czar Alexander II, who was assassinated in 1881. Nowadays, the gemstone is mined in parts of Brazil, Africa, and Sri Lanka.

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5. Emerald – US $305,000 Per Carat

The vibrant, green color makes the gemstone Emerald popular and has been admired since ancient times. It is made from the mineral beryl. The name is derived from the Greek word “Smaragdus,” which means “green gem.” The green hue is because of the presence of elements, Chromium and Vanadium.

It has been known that Emeralds were first mined in Egypt around 1500 BC, and the mummies were often buried with them. Today, Colombia is known to yield the most significant amounts of Emeralds, contributing about 50% of production worldwide.

The most desirable Emerald is “The Gachalá Emerald,” which was mined in 1967 in the “Vega de San Juan” mine in Gachalá, Colombia. The “Duke of Devonshire,” currently kept in “The Vault” in “London’s Natural History Museum,” remains one of the largest uncut Emeralds weighing 1383.93 carats.

4. Ruby – US $1.8 Million Per Carat

Derived from the Latin word “Rubens,” meaning red, rubies are found in many shades of red and are made of the mineral corundum. The red hue in Ruby is due to the presence of the element Chromium.

It is the second hardest gemstone after diamond making it durable, rare, and expensive. The most desirable Ruby is “pigeon’s blood,” a deep red shade having a hint of blue. The finest and flawless Rubies are called “Burmese Rubies” because they have been mined in Myanmar (former Burma).

Rubies are a symbol of power, beauty, wisdom, and protection. Countries leading with Ruby mining and production are Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar, and Thailand. The most expensive Ruby ever sold in history was “Hope Ruby” and was sold for $6.74 million.

3. Pink Diamond – US $1.9 Million Per Carat

The Pink Diamond is a naturally occurring gemstone with stunning beauty, and it is infrequent, so it is precious. The colors of different diamonds have a reason, but with pink diamonds, there is no known evidence as to why it has such an elegant color.

Due to some deformations, it is thought that stone absorbs light differently and thus emits a pink hue. Natural pink diamonds are found in Brazil, South Africa, Tanzania, Russia. However, 90% of pink diamonds come from Argyle mine in Australia.

There are different shades like brown, violet but are less expensive than pink diamonds. Daria-i-Noor, weighing 182 carats is known for the largest cut diamond and is currently part of the Iranian Crown Jewels in Tehran.

2. Jadeite – US $3 Million Per Carat

Jadeite is a naturally occurring beautiful gemstone that has been used in jewelry making and during pre-historic times for making tools, weapons, carvings, art and sculptures.

Jadeite is rarer and thus valuable and expensive. Jadeite occurs in variety of colors like white, green, yellow, gray, lavender and black.

The purest form of Jadeite is white and the most highly valued Jadeite occurs in translucent Emerald green color. Also known as “Imperial Jadeite,” the vivid and intense emerald color is because of element, Chromium.

Jadeite is found in Myanmar (Burma). The gemstone is believed to bring prosperity, new beginnings, prevent illness and have calming properties.

1. Blue Diamond – US $3.93 Million Per Carat

Blue Diamond is rare, naturally occurring and are considered as the most valuable type of diamond. The vivid blue color is mainly because of the element Boron present in it, and the intensity of the color is because of the element, Nitrogen.

Blue Diamonds are rare to find and thus are the most expensive ones too. They are found in Cullinan mine in South Africa, Golconda mine in India and Argyle mine in Australia.

They occur in various colors like grayish blue, greenish-blue, violet-blue, but they are considered less valuable than the intense vivid blue diamond.

The most famous blue diamond is the Blue Moon Diamond or Blue Moon of Josephine, named after a billionaire’s daughter in Hong Kong. He bought the expensive 48 million dollars diamond.

Didn’t the top 10 list of most expensive gemstones astound you? They are extremely stunning and are considered valuable. Some stones even have healing properties and some symbolize qualities like prosperity, courage, good health, etc.