18th place: Blue garnet is the rarest representative of a series of these minerals that was first discovered in Madagascar only in the late 1990s. Today, stones of this color are found in Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Norway and the USA.Their main distinguishing feature is the ability to change their shade when changing lighting. So, in daylight, they acquire blue, blue and green light, and when they are artificial they become purple or red. Today the average cost of this high quality gem is 1500 cu.per carat.
17th place: Black opal is the most valuable of the group of opals, the majority of which is mined in the Australian open spaces. Other rich deposits are Brazil, USA, Mexico. The color of opals of this type can range from grayish to black with a rich variety of flickering overflows of all colors of the rainbow. Although to date, these precious stones are no longer considered as rare as before, nevertheless they are quite expensive. The cost of black opal of high quality is about 2 thousand dollars per carat.
16th place: Demantoid is a precious stone from the group of pomegranates of green or yellowish green color, for a long time known only in the collectors' circles. The main deposits of these gems are in Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania. Every year the popularity of the mineral is steadily increasing, along with which the growth of its value also occurs. Currently, a carat of a demantoid of the highest class on the world market of precious stones can be purchased for 2000 cu.
15th place: Taaffeite is one of the rarest gemstones in the world, named after its discoverer, Count Edward Taaffe, who in 1945 accidentally discovered in an acquired party of cut gems an unusual pattern he had never met before. The range of taaffeite shades can range from lavender to pale pink. To date, a unique mineral in a small amount is found only in some placer deposits of Sri Lanka and southern Tanzania. The cost of high-quality copies of taaffeite varies between 2-5 thousand dollars.
14th place: Poudretteite / Pudretteite is a rare pink mineral, first discovered in 1987 in Quebec( Canada).It was named after the Poudrette family, which still owns the mine in Mont Saint-Hilaire, where they found the first sample. Quality stones began to appear only in 2000, when several specimens were found in northern Mogog( Myanmar).Since 2005, the mineral was not found there, and the Canadian deposit gave the world only about 300 stones of various qualities. Depending on the color saturation and purity, the cost of podretretite can fluctuate from 3 to 5 thousand conventional units.
13th place: Musgravit is a close relative of Taaffeite, to which it is similar in appearance and in chemical composition. It was first discovered in 1967 in the Australian Musgrave Range valley. Later, the mineral was found in Greenland, Tanzania, Madagascar and even in the bowels of the cold lands of Antarctica. This gem exists in several colors, but the most common are green and purple specimens. Due to the fact that a very small amount of these gems has been found in the history, their price reaches quite expected sizes: the cost of a high-quality green musgravit carat is equal to 2-3 thousand dollars, while for one carat of a purple cut mineral it will be necessary to give about6 thousand conventional units.
12th place: Benitoit is a saturated blue gemstone whose only deposit is in San Benito County, California, USA, where it was first discovered in 1907.In 1984, it was officially recognized as the state gem of the state. In the world market, the average cost of a small benitoite weighing 1 carat, which in the world there is a very limited amount( not more than a dozen), is 4000-6000 USD.
11th place: Sapphire - one of the most famous jewelry stones, in mineralogy and the jewelry industry called corundum. Has a deep blue color, there are less often pink, green and yellowish-orange gems. The rarest varieties include blue star sapphire and padparadzha - a stone of orange and red-yellow color. The most famous deposits of these minerals are located in India, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, USA, Australia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, China and Madagascar. The most rare and high-quality specimens on the world market can be purchased for approximately 4-6 thousand conventional units per carat.
10th place: The Emerald is a precious gem of a bright green or dark green color. The last years the title of the main deposit of this mineral is Colombia. Despite the large number of emeralds that are actively mined all over the world, the prices for them still remain truly cosmic. Today, pure stones are extremely rare, which together with their huge popularity determines their high cost. A green gem of exceptional quality weighing approximately 1 carat on the world market is sold for more than 8,000 US dollars.
9th place: Bixbit is a rare species of red beryl, until recently known only to some collectors. They extract it exclusively in the American states of Utah( the Waho-Waho Mountains) and New Mexico. It is extremely difficult to buy red beryl of high class, while the price of a stone weighing about 1 carat is more than 10-12 thousand US dollars. Determine the average cost of this mineral is quite difficult because of the small number of high-quality stones put up for sale.
8th place: Alexandrite - the famous gemstone, famous for its ability to change color. In daylight, its color is characterized by a bluish-green, dark blue-green and olive-green hue, while under artificial illumination its overflows can acquire pink-crimson, red, purple or violet-red color. The first crystal was discovered in 1833 on the emerald mines in the vicinity of Yekaterinburg. The cost of this gem, depending on its quality, can range from 10 to 15 thousand conventional units.
7th place: Paraiba( blue tourmaline) is a beautiful and very rare bright blue-turquoise crystal, discovered in 1987 in the state of Paraíba, in the east of Brazil. For a long time this precious stone was mined in only one place, but today its deposits already exist in Madagascar and in Mozambique. Brazilian blue tourmalines are by far the most expensive representatives of the group - their price is 12-15 thousand dollars per carat, and indeed a unique gem of the highest quality can far exceed these figures.
6th place: Rubin - one of the most popular gems in the world, known for its rich shades of red: bright red, purple-red, dark red. It occurs, like diamonds, on all continents, excluding Antarctica. The main exporting countries are Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The most valuable are Asian rubies, especially the "pigeon-blood" stones - pure red with a purple hue. A limited number and huge popularity make them extremely expensive gemstones. A carat of high quality ruby in the world market will have to pay about 15 thousand dollars.
5th place: Diamond is a common mineral that has long been one of the most expensive and desired gems. The reason for this, of course, is the huge popularity of diamonds( the so-called cut diamonds).Every year, the number of manufactured jewelry with these precious stones is rapidly increasing. Industrial diamond deposits are now known on all continents, except Antarctica. At present, an ideally cut diamonds color D on average is sold at a price of about 15,000 y.e. per carat.
On the photo - The legacy of Winston - the largest diamond in the world, bought at
auctions see also The most expensive diamonds in the world
4th place: Jadeite( Imperial) is a mineral of green color, which for a long time had the status of one of the most mysterious stones of our planet. Today its main sources are in China, Upper Myanmar, Japan, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Guatemala and the USA.The approximate cost of a jadeite carat of high quality on the world market is 20 thousand dollars.
3rd place: Padparadzha ( in Tamil, "color of sunrise") is a pinkish orange sapphire, which was historically mined in Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Madakaskar. Now in Sri Lanka, the paddaradge in its natural form is almost gone and it is obtained by heating the mineral corundum in the furnace to the desired condition. The last classic( ie not greta) padparage weighing 1.65 carats was sold in Sri Lanka about 20 years ago for 18 thousand dollars. Now padparadzha weighing more than five carats is considered collectible and can be valued up to 30 thousand dollars for each carat of weight.
2nd place: Grandidierite is a rare mineral of greenish-blue, greenish-blue or bluish-green color, the first sample of which was found in Sri Lanka. In the early twentieth century, he described the French explorer Alfred Grandidier, engaged in the study of Madagascar, in which even today the main part of these minerals is mined. Today, there are a limited number of cut grandidherites - about two dozen. The approximate cost of a unique mineral is more than 30 thousand dollars per carat.
1st place: The red diamond is the most expensive member of its family and in combination the most expensive precious stone in the world. In the history of mankind, only a few specimens of this mineral have been found, and most of them have very little weight - less than 0.5 carats. The color of natural red diamond gemologists are called purple-red. The only non-ferrous diamond deposit is in the Argyle diamond mine( Australia), in which a certain number of stones are mined annually. Gems weighing more than 0.1 carats, usually appear only at auctions, where the price per carat is more than one million dollars.
Many people mistakenly believe that the limit of the high cost of precious stones stops on diamonds, but in nature there are other, no less beautiful, but more rare minerals, the price of which often exceeds the cost of diamonds.
Below we present to your attention the rating of the most expensive precious stones in the world. A high price is usually determined by a unique combination of rarity, beauty and great demand. The list shows the average cost of high quality stones available today in the world market, but it should be noted that some prices are approximate, since especially valuable gems are often sold privately, without public disclosure.
19th place: Eremeevit is a rare precious stone, first discovered in 1883 in the southeastern part of Transbaikal Region. At first it was taken for aquamarine, since the first crystals found were light blue. In the last century, light yellow and even colorless specimens were found, but blue remains the most expensive in the precious stones market. Its name was given to the gem in honor of the Russian minerologist Pavel Eremeev. It is well known that at the moment there are several hundred faceted Jeremytes, the cost of which on average is 1500 dollars per carat.
