10 Most Expensive Gemstones in The World
There are over 4,000 minerals on earth, many of which we will never see in real life. Bizarre mineral assemblages and trace impurities have caused some of the world's rarest gemstones.
Minerals can be classified as gemstones based on their chemical composition, refraction, crystal structure, and optical characteristics. The classification and degree of imperfections in a mineral or birthstone can determine value and associated rarity. In below list we will see a short list of incredible gemstones.
Here is the list of Top 10 Most Expensive Gemstones in The World :
Poudretteite - $3,000 Per carat
Poudretteite was originally discovered in Mont St. Hilaire Quebec, Canada in the 1960s by the Poudrette family. The gem is naturally pink in color and has a Mohs hardness of 5. It wasn't until 2000 until the first gem quality poudretteite was found in Mogok,Burma (Mynmar) at an amazing 9.41 carats.
Benitoite - $4,000 Per carat
Benitoite is a bright blue gemstone made up of barium, titanium, and silica. Benitoite is formed during the late stage cooling of a hydrothermally altered serpentinite. This rare gemstone is found in San Benito County, California where it got its name. Benitoite will give off strong fluorescence and shines a bright blue color.
Musgravite - $6,000 Per carat
Musgravite was originally discovered in 1967 in Musgrave Ranges, Australia. This very rare and hard gemstone is in the same family as taafeite. Musgravite is an aluminum oxide with variable proportions of magnesium, iron, and zinc.
Red Beryl - $10,000 Per carat
Red Beryl is a mineral composed of beryllium, aluminum, and silicate. In nature, pure beryl is colorless but acquires it's coloration from trace amounts of additional elements. Red Beryl is found in mineralized rhyolite tuffs in Thomas Range, Utah. This gem can garner up to $10,000 per carat and are rarely found above 2-3 carats.
Alexandrite - $12,000 Per carat
Alexandrite is a type of chrysoberyl that was found in the Ural Mountains, Russia in the 1830's. You may have seen the incredible changing color of this mineral where it appears to be emerald in light and ruby red in darkness. The difference between alexandrite and chrysoberyl is the presence of iron, titanium, and chromium as impurities within alexandrite.
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Diamond - $15,000 Per carat
Diamond is one we've all heard of and is the centrepiece of most engagement rings. Diamonds are pure carbon arranged in a diamond lattice, which accounts for its incredible strength and durability. Diamonds are found in cooled kimberlites that formed over the course of 1 to 3 billion years.
Serendibite - $18,000 Per carat
Serendibite is an extremely rare gemstone and mineral discovered originally in Sri Lanka in 1902. This inosilicate has a complex chemical formula with many side branches of calcium, boron, aluminum, magnesium, etc. Serendibite was recently discovered in the Mogok area of Myanmar.
Grandidierite - $20,000 Per carat
Grandidierite is a very rare gem that can fetch up to $20,000 per carat and was first discovered in Madagascar in 1902. It is commonly found as an accessory mineral on aluminous boron rich rocks with a pearly semitransparent bluish green hue.
Taaffeite - $35,000 Per carat
Taafeite is a very rare mineral and often misidentified as spinel. The gemstone was first discovered already cut and polished in Dublin, Ireland in 1945. At the time the gemstone was mislabelled as spinel and upon further inspection, it was determined that the mineral was actually a new unidentified gem. The primary difference between spinel and taafeite is the double refraction found in the later. The gem is found in alluvial deposits within Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
Red Diamond - $1,000,000 Per carat
Diamond is one of the most expensive gemstones, and coming in at number 1 with a price tag of over $1 million per carat is the red diamond. There are less than 30 red diamonds found around the world, with most of them being less than half a carat. You may assume that the red color comes from an impurity, but it is actually derived from plastic deformation of the crystal lattice. The famous 5.11ct Moussaieff Red Diamond was acquired in 2011 for $8 million and is the largest red diamond discovered in the world.
It was our list of list of Top 10 Most Expensive Gemstones in The World. Which Gemstones you want? Comment Below:
