In no particular order, here’s a list of the most expensive substances on Earth!
10 – Rhino horn
Rhino horn is a prized horn that obviously comes from the Rhinoceros.
Rhinos are unfortunately killed for their horns, and then the horns are sold on the
black market.
Rhinoceros horns are used in traditional medicines in parts of Asia, and for dagger handles in
Yemen and Oman.
Contrary to popular belief, Vietnam is actually the largest market for rhino horns, instead
of the Chinese market.
By weight, rhino horns cost as much as gold on the black market.
In Vietnam, the powdered horn is inhaled by some of the wealthy as a status symbol, because
rhino horn is believed by some to have aphrodisiac properties.
Hold up, instead of traditional nose beers , these dudes sniff rhino horn?!
Anyways, in traditional Chinese medicine, rhino horn is considered an effective medicine
sometimes prescribed for fevers and convulsions.
I hope I don’t need to tell you guys the efficacy of rhino horn for any of these applications.
In 2012, rhino horn peaked in price at about $65,000 a kilogram.
It supposedly has fallen significantly since then, although it still remains many times
more valuable than elephant ivory.
9 – Truffles
A truffle is a highly prized mushroom that’s foraged by special truffle hogs who root for
them in the dirt.
Italian white truffles are very highly esteemed and are the most valuable truffles on the
market.
The white truffle market in Alba Italy is busiest in the months of October and November
when the truffle fair takes place.
In 2009, Tuber magnatum truffles sold for over fourteen thousand dollars per kilogram!
White truffles are only available a couple of months of the year and because of their
high price and their pungent aroma, truffles are used sparingly.
White truffles are generally served raw, and shaved over steaming buttered pasta, salads,
or fried eggs.
Mmmmmmmmmmm.
Even though I just told you guys about truffles going for over fourteen thousand dollars a
gram, the price does vary according to season.
The November 2016 – January 2017 truffle season in Alba saw a drop of 30% in the prices
where you could have bought a gram of truffles for as little as $1.50 a gram!
I guess it’s about that time to splurge on some white truffles!
8 – Painite
Painite is a very rare mineral first found in Myanmar by British mineralogist and gem
dealer Arthur Pain in the 1950s.
When it was confirmed as a new mineral species, the mineral was named after him.
Not bad for a day’s work right?
Painite has an orange-red to brownish-red color similar to topaz because of trace amounts
of iron.
The crystals are naturally hexagonal in shape, and not many have been cut into faceted gemstones.
The discovery of a new locality in northern Myanmar in 2002 led to the recovery of several
thousand crystals and fragments.
Nearly complete crystals remain few in number and high quality facet materials are still
quite rare however.
Panite’s price can reach $300,000 per gram or a whopping $60,000 per carat.
It’s so rare, many people don’t even know that it even exists!
7 – Gold
Do I really need to go into what gold is?!
Nahhhhh!!!
Historically, the value of gold was rooted in its relative rarity, easy handling, easy
smelting and fabrication, and of course, it’s distinctive color.
In 2015, it was declared that a total of 186,700 tons of gold is in existence above the ground.
The world consumption of new gold produced is about 50% in jewelry, 40% in investments,
and 10% in industry.
As of July 2017, gold is priced at roughly forty dollars per gram.
Wearing gold is something that will basically never go out of style.
Gold leaves, flakes, and powders are sometimes also used to decorate food or drinks.
Before you guys go out and buy food with gold on it, do know that gold leaves are completely
flavorless, so basically you’re just getting gold on food for looks or status.
Apparently, you can order a package of 25 leaves or so for less than $50 online but
if you want some extra shine on your plate, get the gold flakes; you can get a gram for
250 bucks for those times you really gotta show off like Money Mayweather!
6 – Plutonium
Plutonium is a radioactive, metallic and toxic chemical element discovered in 1934.
Trace amounts are actually found in nature, although its discovery was in a laboratory
environment.
Unlike most metals, it’s not a good conductor of heat or electricity.
It has a relatively low melting point of 1184 degrees Fahrenheit and an unusually high boiling
point of almost 6000 degrees Fahrenheit.
It has only two main uses: as a source of nuclear energy and as a source of nuclear
weaponry.
Both plutonium-239 and plutonium-241 can sustain a nuclear chain reaction, leading to applications
in nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors.
The Fat Man bombs used in the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945, and the bombs used on Nagasaki
in August 1945 had plutonium cores.
Plutonium costs around $4,000 per gram, which may sound a lot, but it’s actually pretty
affordable for its rarity, and of course, for its application.
5 – Saffron
Have you guys ever had Saffron before?
Saffron is one of the world's most expensive spices by weight, and is native to Southwest
Asia.
However, it was probably first cultivated in or around Greece.
Actually, the documented history of saffron cultivation spans more than three thousand
years!
Saffron isn’t all of the same quality and strength.
The age of the saffron is a factor, as well as what parts of the flower is made into spice.
Saffron from Iran, Spain and Kashmir is classified into various grades according to the relative
amounts of red stigma and yellow styles it contains.
The styles and stigmas, called threads, are then collected and dried.
To glean 1 pound of dry saffron, the harvest of FIFTY to SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND flowers
is required!
That sounds like a lot of work, but surprisingly, only around forty hours of labor are needed
to pick 150,000 flowers.
Wow.
That’s a little over a flower a second!
Saffron prices at wholesale and retail rates can range all the way from five hundred to
a whopping five thousand US dollars per pound depending on quality.
Someone tell Future to hold some saffron to his ear for the gram!
4 – Diamonds
Diamonds have the highest hardness of any bulk material.
Many diamonds are clear, but as I’m sure many of you guys know, diamonds come in many
colors, such as yellow, red, and pink.
Most natural diamonds are formed at high temperature and pressure at depths of 87 to 118 miles
in the Earth's mantle.
Exposure of carbon-bearing materials to high pressure is needed to make diamonds.
The formation of natural diamond requires very specific conditions.
Big diamonds are very rare, and only 20% of all diamonds are fit for jewelry.
The most familiar uses of diamonds today are for jewelry or as industrial abrasives for
cutting hard materials.
Four characteristics, known informally as the four Cs, are now commonly used as the
basic descriptors of diamonds, which are carat, cut, color, and clarity.
Prices for diamonds vary according to the 4 Cs.
A huge diamond known as the “Pink Star” broke records earlier this year to become
the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction.
The 59.6 carat diamond was bought for $71.2 million dollars in Hong Kong!
3 – Jade
Jade is an ornamental rock, mostly known for its strong green color, which is featured
prominently in ancient Asian art.
Jade is actually a generic term for two different gemstones, nephrite and jadeite.
Although deep and bright green jadeite is better known in Europe, for most of China's
history, jade has come in a variety of colors and white "mutton-fat" nephrite is the most
highly prized gem stone.
It’s been known to humans for over 7,000 years and in prehistoric times, it was used
to make tools and weapons because Jade is actually very tough.
Chinese people see it as representing good health and long life.
During the Han dynasty, the wealthiest Chinese noblemen were sometimes buried in jade suits
made from hundreds of small jade tiles linked together.
Jade suits!!!!
We’re actually talking about Jade suits here!!!
Who’s gonna be the first rapper rocking a jade suit?!
There’s no actual “jade index” that gives a price per ounce like there is for
gold or platinum, because the quality of jade can differ greatly.
But like anything else, the higher the quality, the higher the value.
Ounce for ounce, the finest jade has become more valuable than gold, with the most prized
nuggets of “mutton fat” jade are currently fetching $3,000 an ounce, a tenfold increase
from a decade ago.
2 – Californium 252
Californium is a radioactive metallic chemical element that was first synthesized in 1950
at UC Berkeley.
The discoverers named the new element after the university and the state.
Californium-252 has a number of specialized applications as a strong neutron emitter,
and each microgram of fresh californium produces 139 million neutrons per minute.
This makes californium useful as a neutron startup source for some nuclear reactors and
as a portable neutron source for neutron activation analysis to detect trace amounts of elements
in samples.
Neutrons from californium are employed as a treatment of certain cervical and brain
cancers where other radiation therapy is ineffective.
In 2016, there has been only 8 grams of Californium-252 produced in the world and 40 milligrams is
produced annually.
No one actually buys californium by the gram; californium is bought by the microgram.
The Atomic Energy Commission sold californium-252 to industrial and academic customers in the
early 1970s for $10 per microgram.
So even though it’s really $27 million dollars per gram for today’s prices, thankfully,
only need a few micrograms are needed for most purposes, which works out to 27 dollar
per microgram.
1 – Antimatter
In particle physics, antimatter is a material composed of the antiparticle to the corresponding
particles of ordinary matter.
For example, a proton has positive charge while an antiproton has negative charge.
A collision between any particle and its antiparticle partner leads to their mutual annihilation,
which basically means all h*ll breaks loose.
The consequence of annihilation is a release of energy available for something amazing.
Matter and antimatter reactions have practical applications somehow in medical imaging and
the reactions have also been considered as a trigger mechanism for nuclear weapons.
Isolated and stored anti-matter could even be used as a fuel for interplanetary or interstellar
travel!
Wellllll then!
Scientists claim that antimatter is the costliest material to make.
In 2006, it was estimated that $250 million dollars could produce 10 milligrams of positrons.
THAT’S 10 MILLIGRAMS!
This is equivalent to $25 billion per gram!
Really though, who’s gonna pay for to make this stuff?!?!
Here’s what’s next!