I am a geologist who has a significant amount of experience in working with
gemstones. My expertise includes much of the over 300 known gemstones.
In this video, I will cover the 10 most valuable gemstones in order. Lets get started!
Number 10. The tenth most valuable
gemstone in the world is one that most people are familiar with, emerald! Emerald is a rare deep
green variety of beryl crystal. It gets its green color from trace amounts of vanadium, chromium,
and iron. For context of its rarity, there are two commercial diamond mines in the united states,
but only one commercial emerald mine. Gem grade emeralds are tough to find, but when cut are
worth $3000 a carat. Number 9.
Poudretteite is an incredibly rare boron silicate gemstone which is only found at two places in
the world. These locations are the mandalay region of Myanmar, and Mount Saint Hilaire
in Quebec. Poudretteite is prized for its deep pink to pinkish purple coloration,
and forms in hexagonal crystals. Gem grade stones of this mineral sell for $3200 a carat.
Number 8. Benitoite is an
incredibly rare gemstone which is only found in gem grade crystals at a single mine.
This mine is in San Benito county of California. Benitoite is a barium
titanium silicate mineral which is prized for its incredibly deep blue coloration.
Additionally, it has a dispersion higher than that of diamond. What does this mean? Benitoite
flashes light more spectacularly than diamond. As a result, this gemstone sells for $4000 a carat.
Number 7. The paraiba tourmaline
is the most brightly colored, and rarest variety of tourmaline. Unlike similarly colored indicolite
tourmaline, it has a deep aquamarine color to it! This color is truly unique among gemstones, and
stands out due to its vibrant color. Due to this stones rarity, it is almost never found in cut
stones larger than 5 carats in size. As a result, paraiba tourmalines are worth $5,000 a carat.
Number 6.
Musgravite is a very rare magnesium beryllium oxide gemstone. It is so rare, that every year,
only 5 to 10 gemstone grade crystals are produced. It is mined in very remote locations,
such as in antarctica and the outback of australia. Musgravite comes in a
variety of colors. However, the most prized color for this gemstone is a dark purple.
As a result of this gemstone's rarity, it is worth $6,000 a carat.
Number 5. Red beryl is the single most valuable gemstone
which can be found in the United States. Red beryl is the rarest and most valuable variety of beryl,
which is even more valuable than emerald or aquamarine. Let me provide some context. For
every 150,000 gem grade diamonds found, only 1 red beryl crystal is found. This gemstone is only
found at a single mining claim in western Utah. The beryl is coloredred due to substitutions of
manganese in its crystal structure. As a result of its rarity, this stone sells for $10,000 a carat!
Number 4. If you are a mineralogist,
you may have noticed that half of the gemstones covered so far contain the element beryllium in
their crystal structure. The number 4 gemstone, Alexandrite, is no exception to this rule.
Alexandrite is the rarest form of the gemstone known as chrysoberyl.
What distinguishes this gemstone is that it changes color based on the type of light that the
stone is worn in. In daylight, the stone appears as an emerald green color. In incandescent light,
or using light from candles, this stone will turn ruby red. This process can be infinitely repeated,
which is a cool aspect about this stone. As a result, alexandrite sells for $12,000 a carat.
Number 3. This rare gemstone is the third most valuable
gemstone in the world. Serendinite is a boron rich gemstone which is typically a black color.
It attains a true premium however, when it occurs as a transparent green or blue color.
This gemstone was first found in 1902 in Sri Lanka. Since its discovery over 100 years ago,
only a handful of gem grade stones have ever been produced. As a result, serendibite sells
for $18,000 a carat. Number 2.
Grandidierite is the second rarest gemstone in the world. It is only found at a specific spot
in southeast Madagascar. It is prized for its spectacular blueish green color. Grandidierite
is so rare that when used in jewelry, most cut stones of the mineral often contain numerous
undesirable internal flaws. Why? The gemstone is just that rare. As a result, when a flawless,
or near flawless faceted stone of grandidierite is found, it sells for a whopping $20,000 a carat!
Before we cover the most valuable gemstone in the world,
we will briefly show some honorable mentions which barely missed the cut for the top 10!
Wulfenite! jerremejevite!
taaffeite! diamond!
padparadscha sapphire. This stone was 11th on our list!
Number 1. The most valuable gemstone in the world
is.....painite! Painite has a reddish black coloration to it. It is so rare,
that when it is found with rubies on it, the rubies are often discarded as junk material.
Painite is a borate and zirconium rich gemstone. It is only found in Myanmar. When painite is
collected, it typically occurs as an undesirable opaque stone. As a result, painite is the most
expensive gemstone in the world when it occurs in transparent specimens. When cut, painite sells
for $60,000 a carat or $300,000 a gram! I hope that you enjoyed this video! If
you would like to request a specific topic, please leave a comment below!