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Gemstones have always been a prized possession because of their shine, glitter, and rarity. The world has seen incredible gemstones of distinctive colours and exorbitant lustre, one being the rarest gem in the world until the next one is found.
History has mentioned the BIG 4 gemstones - Diamonds, Rubies, Sapphires and Emeralds as the most valuable stones because of their rarity and demand. However, some in existence are the most precious gemstones.
Umpteen times the questions have popped, “What is the most expensive stone”, “Which are the most expensive gemstones in the world”, “Precious stones in order of value” or “most valuable gemstones in the world”.
Well, a lot of factors determine the value of a gemstone like hue, quality, clarity, rarity, demand, Etc. Here is a list of the most valuable gemstones in the world that are known for their incredible beauty, rarity, and preciousness
Blue Diamonds are the most precious stones sold in millions per carat. Blue is a very desirable hue and only 0.1% of natural diamonds have a natural blue hue, hence they rule the list of most valuable gemstones.
The blue colour in diamonds is because of the traces of the Boron element. Blue diamonds were first discovered in India and considered as the elemental symbol of royalty. Later, prestigious personalities around the world embraced blue diamonds like nothing else.
The rarest of all and the top most expensive blue diamond is the Oppenheimer Blue. It is named after its previous owner and was sold at Christie's auction house for an astonishing amount of $57.5 million in 2016. It is mounted in the highest quality of Platinum as a ring, the cut being rectangular step cut.
The weight of the gem is around 14.62 carats, which means its price is a whopping $3.93 million per carat.
Diamonds in the hues of Pink are extremely rare, plus, the colour element is not yet recognized. Many experts tried to find the reason behind the pink hue in diamonds but none concluded.
Hence, Pink diamonds have become the most expensive gemstones in the world.
Graded as Internally Flawless by the Gemological Institute of America, the “Pink Star” is a 59.6-carat pink diamond in a mixed oval brilliant cut. It is the largest known Vivid pink-hued diamond, mined in South Africa in 1999, with a rough weight of 132.5 carats.
In 2017, at Sotheby’s auction, it was sold for a jaw-dropping price of $71.2 million to become the most expensive diamond ever sold.
The third most expensive gemstone in order on our list is the red diamond known as the Moussaieff Red Diamond, owned by Moussaieff Jewellers Ltd.
The red diamonds are beautiful and highly loved. There are only countable mines of red diamonds and more than 99% of red diamonds weigh less than one carat. According to an estimate, only a handful of red diamonds are mined every year and the same as pink diamonds, the reason behind the red colour in diamonds is unknown.
Therefore, the rarest Moussaieff Red Diamond, previously known as Red Shield Diamond, was sold at a value of $20 million. The gem is the largest diamond in red, weighs around 5.11 carats, faceted in a trilliant cut.
Emeralds are one of the longest-known and most popular gemstones in the world. They are quite affordable as compared to diamonds, however, because of their dark deep green hue they are more desirable and highly worn as jewelry. Kings and Queens considered them a symbol of their luxury.
Indeed, Emeralds with excellent quality and rare lush green colour can exceed some of the most precious diamonds in terms of value.
One of the most expensive precious stones, the Panna was sold for $5.51 million is the Rockefeller emerald. Weighing 18 carats, and mounted as a ring in octagonal step-cut, it is the finest emerald in the world.
Jadeite is often referred to as one of the top-notch choices for gemstone collectors as it is one of the purest and rarest gem of the Jade family. A symbol of prestige in Asian countries, green jade is used highly to carve mesmerizing statues, decorative stuff, and different types of weapons. Civilizations like Mayans and Aztecs valued jadeite more than gold.
With 27 jadeite beads, the Hutton Mdivani necklace is the most expensive gem jewellery. The fine colour matching of all beads, flawless texture, and almost similar diameters of the beads make it a significant piece of art.
In 2017, it was purchased by The Cartier Collection at the price of $27.44 million.
Painite has made it to the list of the most expensive stone in the world solemnly because of its rarity. Initially, the gem was misidentified as ruby because of its lush red hues. But it is actually a very rare form of borate mineral.
Found in Myanmar, it was discovered by the British mineralogist and gem dealer Arthur C.D. Pain in 1957, after whom the gem was named.
Till 2011, only three pieces of this expensive stone were found. The costliest painite weighed 213.52 carats, and the price range of this most expensive gem is between $10.67 million to $12.8 million. It belongs to the Medici Collection.
Serendibite is one of the rarest, beautiful and most expensive gem in the world with Sri Lanka being the only known source. It was first discovered in the remotest area of Sri Lanka and is named after an old Arabic name of the country.
It comes in dark blue-green to vivid green-blue hue and is an exceptionally rare form of Silica mineral with the Boron element responsible for shimmering colour variations.
The Ophir collection, a U.S.-based collection firm owns the most expensive Serendibite stone which is worth $2.5 million and weighs a massive 140.76 carats.
Next in the most expensive gemstones in order comes the Taaffeite, which is very scarce in quantity. As per the official data, only 50 Taaffeite gemstones are in existence.
In history, it was confused with ruby and spinel because of the purple tones but soon was released as a new gemstone. The beautiful and lush mauve or purple hues of the stone make them highly preferable. Because of their uncommonness, these stones hold a high value of $35k per carat.
As per the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest known Taaffeite gemstone weighs 5.36 carats and is owned by Miho Ozawa of Japan.
Taaffeite is named after a prominent Irish gemologist, Count Richard Taaffe, who discovered it in the year 1945.
A highly after stone, alexandrite is known for its color-changing abilities under light. The splendid colour change in Alexandrite stone is due to the presence of elements like titanium, chromium, and iron which absorb light colours.
It is named after the mighty and majestic Alexander 2, one of the czars of Russia.
The most expensive alexandrite stone is the Sauer Alexandrite, known to be the largest one in the world. It was founded by Jules Roger Sauer in 1967. With a humongous uncut weight of 122,400 carats, it's a gem of immeasurable price, whose whereabouts are unknown as well.
However, Another Alexandrite was sold at Christie’s auction in 2014 for a whopping price of $1.4 million.
Another one of the expensive stones include Paraiba tourmaline, a charming blue-hued gem that was first discovered in 1989. The name is given because of its origin as it was found in the Paraiba region of Brazil. It is a unique gem, is found rarely and hence commands a higher price in the market.
The most precious stones of Paraiba Tourmalines are recorded in the Guinness World Record in 2022 known as Apollo, weighing 196.17 carats.
Earlier, "Ethereal Carolina Divine Paraíba" was the largest and most famous Paraiba tourmaline with a weight of 191.87 carats, and a price of around $25 million.
Discovered in 1967, Musgravite stone is one of the most beautiful as well as unique gemstones in the world found in greys and greens. It was first found in the Musgraves ranges in South Australia, hence, it got its name from there. It is a rare as well as a durable stone with a moh’s hardness of 8-8.5, making it quite valuable.
One of the most expensive stones in the world of Musgravite was sold at Gem Rock Auctions for $800,000 and it weighed around 16 carats.
Demantoid is a member of the Garnet mineral group, still is hardly found and is known for its lush green hues. Mostly it is used to form antique forms of jewelry because of its scarceness.
This utterly rare and valuable gemstone was first discovered in the remotest regions of Ural Mountain in Russia in 1868 and since then this region has produced some of the rarest garnets in the world.
The brilliance of the demantoid garnet is miles ahead of the most glittering diamonds, which makes it mentioned in the list of most expensive gemstone in the world. The supply of this garnet variant is quite limited and not a single demantoid garnet stone over 10-carat weight has been found apart from an anomaly which we are going to state below.
The largest known and expensive demantoid garnet is 11.24 carats in weight and was found in Russia.
Grandidierite is a rare mineral that was found in 1902 and is named after Alfred Grandidier, a French explorer who discovered it. The stone exhibits different hues of blue and green from different angles under light. Sometimes, it often looks colourless from a particular angle.
This distinct stone is hardly found of good quality. As per renowned gemologists, only one in 1000 Grandidierite stones qualify the gem quality standards. Also, the stone is very difficult to cut, which is why it needs years of practice and expertise to cut this gem. This rarity makes the gem the most precious stone in the world.
The biggest Grandidierite stone in the world has a value of $15.28 million and weighs around 764 carats. It is currently owned by the Medici Collection.
Padparadscha sapphires are the rarest types of sapphires with high market value. The Salmon pink colour of Padparadscha is strikingly beautiful and so they often sell at higher amounts.
In 2017, the world’s most valuable Padparadscha sapphire was sold at USD 2.5 million at Christie’s house auction. It weighs around 28.04 carats and is set well in a gold ring.
Last but not least, ruby, the most precious stone in the world, is known for its blood-red hue, shine and transparency. It is a very demandable stone as well and hence, it has neutered our exclusive list of most expensive gemstones in the world.
Generally, the ruby price ranges between $5000 to $10000 per carat in the market, depending on its cut, clarity and quality. But it can go as high as $1 million per carat in value.
The world’s most expensive ruby was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2015 at $30.42 million and weighed around 25.59 carats.
Rubies can be more expensive than diamonds due to factors like size, quality, and rarity. While diamonds have a consistent pricing scale, rubies vary significantly based on their quality and colour.
Rubies, Emeralds and Blue Sapphires are often more expensive than diamonds. This is due to the rarity and exceptional quality of some gems, making them among the world's most expensive jewels..
The most expensive stone that is usually used for a ring is typically a high-quality diamond. Factors such as carat weight, cut, colour, and clarity influence its price. Rubies and blue sapphires are often a good choice.
Emeralds are generally less expensive than diamonds.
Emeralds primarily come from countries in South America, including Colombia, Brazil, and Zambia. Colombia is known for producing some of the world's finest emeralds, prized for their vivid green colour and exceptional quality.
Ruby stones are more expensive usually than Emeralds. Ruby prices are higher due to their rarity and exceptional quality, making them among the world's most expensive crystals.
Yes, Diamonds are typically more expensive than gold. The price of a diamond depends on factors like carat weight, cut, colour, and clarity, whereas gold's value is based on weight and purity.
No, Amethyst is classified as a semi-precious stone. It is highly valued for its beauty and spiritual significance, but it is not one of the precious gems like BIG 4.
Diamonds are typically more expensive than platinum because platinum is a material used to set gems as jewellery while diamond is the primary gem.
Some of the rarest gemstones in the world include red diamonds, jadeite, musgravite, blue diamond, and pink diamond. Rarity is often based on their exceptional colour, quality, and limited supply.a
