When it comes to expensive gemstones, most people would think of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. After all, these are considered to be the big four. But did you know that some gemstones are rare and more expensive than these big four?
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Some of these gemstones may not even look like much at first but their high value comes from the fact that they are so scarce. Here, we give you the most expensive gemstones in the world.
Amblygonite
Per carat price: $51 to $108
Amblygonite is usually found in a light straw color but sometimes, the gemstone also has vibrant shades of blue-green, green, yellow, and lilac.
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Amblygonite is too soft to use for jewelry but they are considered to be valuable because they are rare – especially large faceted stones. The most expensive amblygonite was found in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The stone weighs 13 ounces and measures over 3 inches across. This semi-translucent stone is valued at $680.
Enstatite
Per carat price: $59 to $81
Enstatite is a common silicate mineral. Aside from being a clear stone, it can also come in gray, brown, yellow, or green. The green pieces from South Africa and Myanmar are rare and considered to be expensive.
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Enstatite in a reddish-orange hue is considered to be the rarest. But the most expensive enstatite is this green piece thanks to its vibrant color and unmatched clarity. This stone is valued at $1,599.99
Axinite
Per carat price: $59 to $540
Axinite is a rare borosilicate mineral. It comes in gray, brown, and purple. This gemstone is used in jewelry since it is very resistant to scratches. However, they are not as hard as diamonds.
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Axinites are rarely clear but they are considered to be valuable because they are hard to find. The most expensive axinite is this purple stone from Tanzania. THidennitehe gemstone is valued at $450.
Kornerupine
Per carat price: $64.53 to $121.57
Kornerupine is also called prismatine and it is a borosilicate mineral that is commonly found in yellow to brown shades. But the most expensive kornerupine gems are those that come in emerald green and bluish green.
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This is a 1.3-carat bluish-green kornerupine is found in Tanzania. The fact that it displays different hues from different angles makes it more valuable. This particular stone is rare and is valued at $1,599.99.
Hiddenite
Per carat price: $100 on average
Cutting hiddenite is a challenge because it can shatter when you do it from the wrong angle. Because of this, custom-cut hiddenite with high clarity is considered to be the most valuable.
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The price value of hiddenite varies depending on the color, clarity, and cut of this stone. The deeper the shade of green, the more expensive it can get. This beauty was found in Afghanistan. Its large shape is very rare. The mixture of green, blue, and purple hues in it makes it very unique in color too. This particular gemstone is valued at $5,500.
Pearl
Per carat price: $300 to $1500
When it comes to pearls, South Sea pearls are considered to be the most valuable. A strand of South Sea pearls can cost up to $100,000. Pearls are not minerals. as we all know they come from oysters. They last for a long time and hold their value well – which is why they are often passed down as family heirlooms.
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Pearls have been very popular, especially with royalty. The most expensive pearl known in the world was found in Palawan, Philippines. It is a huge pearl that measures 26 inches and weighs 75 pounds. This particular pearl is valued at $100 million.
Red coral
Per carat price: $320
Genuine red coral is becoming hard to find these days so they are considered to be rare. Its value is determined by its color saturation and hue. Red coral is often used in statues and carvings aside from jewelry.
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Japanese red coral, also called ox blood, is considered to be the rarest type of red coral. It has heavy demand among the wealthiest Chinese. The demand is so great that they are being overharvested, contributing to its scarcity.
Tanzanite
Per carat price: $600 to $1,000
Tanzanite can only be found in Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. It is predicted that its supply would be depleted 20 years from now. This rarity makes it valuable and the price may go higher once the supply is depleted.
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The most expensive piece of Tanzanite weighs 20.5 pounds. It was found by a small-scale diamond miner. This miner also happened to find the second most expensive Tanzanite. The miner sold both pieces to the Tanzanian government for $3.3 million.
Aquamarine
Per carat price: $1,000
Aquamarines are one of the most popular gemstones thanks to their natural blue color, which can go from light to intense shades of blue and sometimes, green-blue. The darker the blue, the more expensive the stone can get. The deep blue aquamarine stones are usually found in Brazil.
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Aquamarine is very popular in Asia because it is believed they give good energy for feng shui. The most expensive aquamarine known in the world is the Dom Pedro aquamarine, which was named after Brazil’s first emperor. It is valued at $5 to $6 million and you can see it on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of History.
Sapphire
Per carat price: $1,200 to $2,000
Sapphires are the second-most popular gemstones after diamonds. Most people think sapphires only come in blue but some stones come in yellow, orange, pink, green, and black. The most valuable sapphires are those with the deepest color saturation and those that are the largest.
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The most expensive sapphire in the world is the Blue Belle of Asia, which is a 392.52-carat stone discovered in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. It was sold for $17.56 million. That’s about $135,000 per carat. The unidentified buyer acquired the Blue Belle of Asia at an auction in Geneva.
Spessartine garnet
Per carat price: $1,500 to $3,000
Spessartine is considered to be a very rare form of garnet. Its natural color is usually bright orange to reddish-orange and brownish-orange. This mineral was first found in Spessart, Bavaria in the early 1990s.
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This mineral is rarely found in large sizes. They are also hard to find, which makes them expensive. One of the most expensive spessartine garnets was turned into a ring by Bulgari. The ring was sold for about $61,000.
Jeremejevite
Per carat price: $2,000
Jeremejevite is a rare gemstone – so rare that stones over 1 carat are rarely found. This stone is a rare aluminum borate mineral and it usually comes in shades of blue, cornflower, violet, yellow, brown, and clear. Jeremejevite was first discovered in the Andun-Chilon Mountains of Siberia. It is named after its discoverer, Russian mineralogist, and engineer Pavel Jeremejev.
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The most expensive jeremejevite in the world belongs to Joseph Fam of Singapore. He owns the largest cut in the world and it weighs 45.61 carats. If you go by the stone’s per-carat price, this means that the jeremejevite is valued at $91,000.
Pezzottaite
Per carat price: $2,000
Pezzottaite is a gemstone that was discovered in 2002. It is so rare and since the supply could not keep up with the demand, its value continues to rise. So far, pezzottaite can only be found in Madagascar and Afghanistan.
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The pezzottaite often comes in a pink or raspberry color but some have orange or purple hues. The most significant pezzottaite ever found was a 59.98-carat stone valued at about $120,000.
Fire opal
Per carat price: $2,300
High-quality fire opals are hard to find. This translucent gemstone comes with a play of color as the color shifts and sparkles when you move it to different angles. What makes the fire opal stand out from other kinds of opal is that its background is either translucent or milky white and the colors that will shift and sparkle when you move it will depend on the minerals present in the stone.
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The most expensive fire opal is the Fire of Australia, which is the finest uncut opal in the world. It is about the same size as a softball and weighs about 998 grams. The Fire of Australia is valued to be around $679,000. You can view this fire opal at the South Australian Museum.
Poudretteite
Per carat price: $3,000
Poudretteites are very rare crystals that can only be found in small sizes. It is a rare borosilicate mineral that only creates barrel-shaped crystals. They are usually found in shades of violet and pink.
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You can find the largest and finest poudretteite on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. This stone has 9.41 carats and is almost flawless. The stone was valued to be around $20,000 to $30,000 back in 2006 when it first appeared on the market.
Black diamond
Per carat price: $3,000 to $5,000
The black diamond is a rare and expensive type of fancy diamond and they have gained popularity in recent years. Black diamonds look like pieces of charcoal in their rare foam. They get their fancy color from graphite under intense pressure and heat.
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The Korloff Noir is an 88-carat black diamond billed to be the world’s largest. It is insured for $37 million. But rumors say that the Spirit of de Grisogono is bigger with rumors saying it has 312.24 carats. Its total value was never announced in public.
Demantoid garnet
Per carat price: $3,300
Demantoid garnets are usually just seen in antique jewelry these days because they are extremely rare. They were first discovered in 1868 in Russia and usually comes in yellow, green, and yellow-green shades.
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Demantoid garnets usually are mined in small sizes. The most expensive demantoid mined so far is now in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The stone is 11.24 carats and its value is around $37,100.
Black opal
Per carat price: $3,500
Black opals are extremely rare and unlike what the name implies, they are rarely completely black. They usually come in shades of gray-black, dark gray, green, or blue. Only the background of the opal is black, which makes the fiery colors within the stone stand out more.
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What adds to the value of black opal is the fact that they are only mined in Nevada and Australia. Hailey’s Comet is a 1,980.5-carat black opal, making it the largest in the world. It is valued at $1.6 million.
Benitoite
Per carat price: $4,000
This blue to blue purple gemstone is the state gem of California. It is named after San Benito County, where it was first discovered. Aside from California, Japan is the only other country where benitoite has been found.
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Usually, benitoites do not exceed more than 2 carats. The world’s largest known facet-cut benitoite is 7.7. carats. This gemstone is valued at around $30,800. You can currently view it at the Smithsonian National Museum of History.
Ruby
Per carat price: $4,500
The average cat price for rubies is $4,500 but the unique rubies can sell for as much as $1 million per carat. Rubies have been known throughout history to be owned by the rich and the powerful. Most rubies end up in crown jewels.
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The Sunrise Ruby is considered to be the most expensive ruby in the world. The 25.59-carat ruby was sold in a Sotheby’s auction for $30.42 million back in 2015. The Sunrise Ruby comes in a unique pigeon blood hue.
Musgravite
Per carat price: $6,000
Musgravite is an extremely rare gem. This gemstone was first discovered in 1967 in the Musgraves Ranges of South Australia. For a long time, only eight stones were known to exist but recently, smaller stones were discovered.
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So far, the largest musgravite discovered is at 16 carats. It is cut into a heart-shaped stone and was sold for $800,000. Because of its scarcity, a high-quality musgravite gem can sell for as much as $35,000 per carat these days.
Padparadscha sapphire
Price per carat: $8,000
The padparadscha is the rarest type of sapphire in the world. Instead of the typical blue hues that sapphire is known for, the padparadscha sapphire comes in a salmon pink hue. It is named after the Sanskrit word “Padma raga” which means pink lotus.
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The most expensive padparadscha sapphire in the world was sold for $2.5 million. It is a brilliant pink-orange 28.04-carat sapphire set in a marquise-shaped diamond two-tiered bombe. This jewelry piece was sold at a Christie’s auction in 2017.
Red beryl (bixbite)
Price per carat: $10,000
Red beryl, also called bixbite, was discovered in Utah in 1904 and was named after mineralogist Maynard Bixby. This gemstone usually comes in hues of ruby, cherry, strawberry, and sometimes orange.
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The largest known red beryl is an 8-carat gemstone. Its total value is still unknown as of this date because it has never been put into the market yet. Take note that although the average price per carat is $10,000.
Paraiba tourmaline
Per carat price: $10,000 to $20,000
Paraiba tourmalines were first discovered in Paraiba, Brazil, in 1989. This gemstone is distinguished by its electric pale blue to mint green colors. The darker blue Paraiba tourmalines are considered to be the more valuable gemstones.
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The most expensive paraiba tourmaline in the world is now in the form of a pair of earrings. The first earring is a 7.46-carat gem and the other is a 6.81-carat gem. The pair of earrings were sold at $2.78 million at a Christie’s auction back in 2018.
Alexandrite
Per carat price: $12,000
This rare gemstone was discovered in Russia during the 1830s and was named after czar Alexander II. For a long time, it was thought that alexandrite can only be found in Russia but recently, the gemstone was discovered in Sri Lanka, East Africa, and Brazil.
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What makes alexandrite so special is that it can change color. It is usually green under daylight then turns into a reddish hue under artificial light. The most expensive alexandrite is a 21.41-carat gemstone that was sold for about $1.4 million.
Taaffeite
Per carat price: $15,000
Taaffeite is a gemstone that is 50 million times rarer than diamonds. The gemstone is named after Count Richard Taaffe, a gemologist.
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This gemstone is available in red, blue, purple, and clear shades. The largest taaffeite in the world is a 5.36-carat gemstone valued at $$20,000. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the gemstone is owned by Miho Ozawa of Japan.
Serendibite
Per carat price: $18,000
Serendibite is a very rare mineral because it is a combination of silica and boron. This gemstone usually comes in dark blue-green to green blue. Gem-quality serendibite stones are hard to come by. This stone is named after Serendib, the old Arabic name of Sri Lanka, where it was discovered.
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According to the Guinness World Record, the largest Serendibite stone is a huge one with 140.76 carats. That means it has a value of $2.5 million. The stone belongs to the Ophir collection, which is a US-based lapidary firm.
Clear Diamond
Per carat price: $18,000
There is an endless demand for diamonds since it is the gemstone of choice for engagement rings and wedding rings. The value of diamonds depends on the 4 Cs – cut, color, clarity, and carat.
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The most expensive clear diamond in the world is the Great Star of Africa, which has 530.2 carats and is valued at $400 million. The Great Star of Africa is one of the nine pieces that were cut from the Cullinan Diamond, the largest uncut diamond ever found. The Great Star of Africa is part of the Royal Collection Trust of England.
Emerald
Per carat price: $18,000
Emeralds have been prized throughout history by royalty and the elite. The darker the color and the larger the size, the more valuable the emerald is. They are usually found in shades of green to blue-green and are rarer than diamonds.
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The most expensive emerald is the Bahia Emerald, a 752-pound emerald whose ownership is still being determined by a decade-long legal pursuit. The Bahia Emerald is estimated to be worth around $925 million.
Grandidierite
Per carat price: $20,000
Not only is the grandidierite one of the rarest gemstones but only 1 in a thousand stones is considered gem quality. This rare mineral appears in different colors when viewed from different angles. It was first found in 1902 and named after the French explorer Alfred Grandidier.
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Grandidierite is difficult to cut, which is why they are usually just shaped and polished instead of being faceted. The largest grandidierite weighs 764 carats and is valued at $15.28 million. The particular gemstone belongs to the Medici Collection.
Jadeite
Per carat price: $20,000
Jadeite is the rarest variety of jade and is highly sought after by gemstone collectors – especially in China. Jadeite is often carved into jewelry, weapons, decorative objects, and statues.
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The Maya, Aztecs, and Olmecs valued jadeite more than gold and carved their ceremonial objects from it. Today, the most expensive jadeite ever sold is the Hutton-Mdivani necklace, which has 27 jadeite beads. The necklace was sold in 2014 for $27.44 million.
Painite
Per carat price: $50,000 to $60,000
Painite is considered to be the rarest gemstone in the world because only three stones were known from its discovery in 1957 up to 2001. A few additional specimens have been uncovered after that.
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Painite comes in dark red to brownish orange-red hues. The most expensive painite has 213.52 carats and is valued at about $12.8 million. This expensive gemstone belongs to the Medici collection.
Blue Diamond
Per carat price: $52,000 to $300,000
Blue diamonds are extremely rare and they can only be found in three mines in the world – South Africa, India, and Australia. Blue diamonds come in shades of green-blue to gray-blue.
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The most expensive blue diamond in the world is known as the Oppenheimer Blue diamond, a vivid pure blue stone that weighted 14.62 carats. It was sold at a Christie’s auction in 2016 at the value of $57.5 million. It is considered to be one of the most expensive rings in the world.
Pink Diamond
Per carat price: $700,000
Pink diamonds are obviously pink in color but they can come with secondary hues of brown, orange, or purple. Only 0.0001% of diamonds turn out to be pink ones, making the pink diamond an extremely rare gem.
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The most expensive pink diamond in the world is the Pink Star Diamond. It is a completely flawless gemstone in a vivid pink color, mounted in platinum. The stone is 59.6 carats and was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2017 for $71.2 million, making it the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction.
Red Diamond
Per carat price: $1 million
There are only a small number of red diamonds found worldwide and most all of them are less than 1 carat. Since red diamonds do not have impurities, experts are still debating on what causes their color.
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The largest red diamond ever found is a 5.11-carat gemstone known as the Moussaieff Red Diamond. This particular red diamond is valued at $20 million. The gem belongs to Moussaieff Jewellers, which is an elite London-based jewelry company.