Rarest Gems
Monday, Aug 31, 2020, 9:42 am
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1.Benitoite
Found at the head waters of the San Benito River in California, it is the sunshine state's official gem. Striking blue in color, it becomes fluorescent under UV light, which is not quite understood. The gem has been around since the turn of the century, and has also been unearthed in Arkansas, and Japan.
2.Tanzanite
Tanzanite is said to be one thousand times more rare than the diamond. Found in Mount Kilimanjaro, there is a limited supply. Shifting in color, Tanzanite is a different color when looking at it vertically versus horizontally, because of the presence of vanadium ions. A sparkling chameleon of color, this is a rare gem indeed.
3.Red Diamond
The allusive red diamond has been seen by very few people. It has been found in the Argyle Mine in Australia and is red with a purplish tint. When they are found, the largest and highest quality are sold for millions of dollars every year or two years. A rare gem that most people yearn to get their hands on.
4.Blue Garnet
Garnets can be found in red, yellow, green, orange, purple, blue, brown, black and pink. They can also be colorless. The blue garnet is the rarest and was found in the late 1990's in Madagascar. It changes color from blue to green during the day and turns purple under incandescent light.
5.Grandidierite
Found in Madagascar, Grandidierite, is a blue green mineral that is found in Madagascar. It was found in Sri Lanka and mistaken for a serendibite, which was purchased by Professor Gubelin in May of 2000. The gem emits blue, green and white ligh and is named after a French explorer, Alfred Grandidier, who is also a natural historian.
6.Red Beryl Emerald
Found in the Wah Wah Mountains in Utah, as well as Utahs Thomas Range, this gem is extremely rare, with very few specimens still in existence. Occuring on rhyolite, it crystalizes under high temperatures and low pressure, where it then fractures. This gem sells for a whopping $10,000 per carat.
7.Jeremejevite
Jeremejevite is actually colorless but can appear to be sky blue or pale yellow. Found in Namibia, it is small with an obelisk shape that has often been mistaken for aquamarine. Russian mineralogist Pavel Jeremejev found the mineral in 1883 and it was named after him. In 2005 a 2.93 carat gem sold on the internet for $2000 per carat.
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8.Black Opal
Most all opals are found in Australian mines, with 5% being found in Mexico and north Brazil. A small portion of that 5% has been found in Idaho and Nevada, and most recently in Ethiopia. Australia still remains the Opal capital, with the largest supplier of fine opals in the world.
9.Musgravite
Musgravite is the newest gemstone to be found. It is also the most rare. Named after the area in which it was found in Australia, the silicate mineral is made up of magnesium, aluminum and beryllium. The gem has also been found in Madagascar and Greenland, but not of high gem quality material. In 1993, Sri Lanka reported two pieces of gem quality musgravite.
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10.Painite
Considered to be the rarest mineral in the world at one time, it is still a very rare commodity. Named after Arthur C.D. Pain, a British mineralogist, who discovered it in Myanmar in the 1950's, there were only three small crystals in existence. Since then, and up until 2005, 22 more crystals were found bringing to the total to 25 crystals, and recently more have been unearthed.
11.Serendibite
The cyan colored Serendibite is made of magnesium, aluminum, calcium, silicon, boron and oxygen. There are only three cuts on earth. 0.35 carats and 0.55 carats were discvored by D.P. Gunasekera and sold to the late Professor E.J. Gubelin in Switzerland. The third cut is 0.56 carats sold for $14,300.00 per carat.
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12.Jadeite
Jadeite is found in Guatemala and California. In November of 1997 a necklace made of .5mm jadeite beads was sold for $9.3 million dollars. This record breaking sale was Christie's Hong Kong Lot 1842 called the Doubly Fortunate. One of the rarest gems on search, Mexican jadeite is found in artifacts and from sources unknown.
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