Our planet is abundant with minerals. With over 4,000 of them naturally occurring, there are sure to be some more valuable than others. We all know the saying “diamonds are a girl’s best friend” right? But which gem is the best friend for your wallet? In this article, we’re going to be counting down to find out what the most expensive gemstone is. If you don’t have it yet, maybe you can add it to your collection!
9. Jeremejevite – £1,500 per carat
Jeremejevite was first mentioned in 1883 when it was found on Mt. Soktui in Siberia and named after Pavel Eremeev (Jeremejev in German).
This gem is an aluminium borate mineral with some fluoride and hydroxide ions and has the chemical formula Al6B5O15(F,OH)3. It forms under similar conditions like albite, quartz and sometimes gypsum.
Apart from Siberia, it can also be found in Tajikistan, Namibia and Germany.
8. Benitoite – £3,000 per carat
Benitoite is found in serpentinite which has been affected by heat and has the chemical formula BaTiSi3O9. It forms in high-pressure environments which are usually in subduction zones. It has fluorescent properties under UV light.
This gem is found in few locations including California, Arkansas and Japan and is usually accompanied by rare host rocks including natrolite, neptunite and joaquinite.
7. Musgravite – £4,400 per carat
Musgravite was found in 1967 in Musgrave Ranges in South Australia its namesake. It is an oxide mineral of the taaffeite family with the chemical formula (Mg,Fe,Zn)2BeAl6O12.
It is a tough gem, with an 8-8.5 rating in the Mohs scale, and because of its rarity does fetch a handsome price per carat.
6. Alexandrite – £8,800 per carat
Alexandrite is a chrysoberyl that was found in Russia in the 1830s.
One fascinating fact about Alexandrite is its changing colours based on the ambient light called metamerism. Metamerism refers to the changing of colour from green to red based on surrounding light.
The chemical formula of Alexandrite is BeAl2O4.
5. Diamond – £11,000 per carat
Diamond is probably the most well-known gemstone due to its popularity in engagement jewellery.
Diamond is the solid form of the element carbon, so the chemical formula is C. It is a very tough material due to the crystal structure known to have the highest hardness and thermal conductivity.
It is not the most expensive gemstone, however, because it’s not that rare.
4. Emerald – £22,500 per carat
Emerald is a type of beryl mineral with the chemical formula Be3Al2(SiO3)6. The vivid green colour comes from trace amounts of either chromium or vanadium.
The most expensive emerald was sold at $5.5 million during an auction though generally, they go at lower prices.
3. Pink Diamond – £900,000 per carat
Pink diamonds are unbelievably rare – less than 0.1% of all diamonds that exist are pink.
This diamond is so rare because usually it is heavily included and so the price goes down. So far, only the Pink Star Diamond is entirely flawless.
No wonder it was sold for $71.2million in 2017 – the most expensive gemstone of that size.
2. Jadeite – £2,200,000 per carat
Jadeite is considered to be the purest and brightest gem from the Jade family. It has the chemical formula NaAlSi2O6 or Na(Al,Fe3+)Si2O6 and a hardness of 6.5-7 on the Mohs scale.
During an auction in 2014, the Hutton-Mdivani Necklace made of top quality jadeite beads was sold at $27.4 million.
1. Blue Diamond – £2,900,000 per carat
The blue diamond exhibits all the properties of regular diamonds with the addition of being blue.
natural blue diamonds fall under the fancy coloured diamonds category along with pink and red diamonds. The hue, in this case, comes from the trace amounts of boron that contaminates the structure.
While pink diamonds have the record for most expensive gem sold, the blue diamonds have the most value per carat and therefore top this list as the most expensive gemstone.
Final words
That concludes our competition for the most expensive gemstone!
There are so many gemstones in the world we couldn’t include all of them in the list, of course. However, if you’re thinking of buying jewellery containing these, ensure that they are real and of good quality.
Original Source: https://www.chiangraitimes.com/learning/counting-down-to-the-most-rare-and-expensive-gemstone
