4 of the World’s Rarest Gemstones

There are roughly 200 varieties of natural gemstone known in the world today. Alongside the world’s precious gems (diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald) are numerous semi-precious stones, some of which are so incredibly rare that their value outstrips many of the world's most valuable precious gems. Here are a few of the rarest from around the world

10 of the World’s Rarest Gemstones

BY CLAIRE COCK-STARKEY SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
Original image
DIDIER DESCOUENS VIA WIKIMEDIA // CC BY 3.0
There are roughly 200 varieties of natural gemstone known in the world today. Alongside the world’s precious gems (diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald) are numerous semi-precious stones, some of which are so incredibly rare that their value outstrips many of the world's most valuable precious gems. Here are a few of the rarest from around the world.

1. TANZANITE // FOUND ONLY IN TANZANIA

Tanzanite is a beautiful blue variety of the mineral zoisite, and is so named because it is only found in a small area near the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The stone was not discovered in commercial quantities until the 1960s and since then its popularity has grown tremendously, thanks largely to the efforts of Tiffany & Co. Heat-treating tanzanite at very high temperatures can improve the blue coloration, so most gems on the market have been treated in this way, but any tanzanite that has not been heat-treated and has a strong blue color naturally will be of a much higher value. Because it is only found in one small location, the value of tanzanite looks likely to soar over time; once those mines have been emptied there will be no new stones coming onto the market—unless a new source is found

1. BLACK OPAL // THE DARKER THE BETTER

Opals are usually a creamy-white color and are made special by the rainbow-colored inclusions that reflect the light as the stone is moved. Black opals are much rarer, because almost all of them are found in mines in the Lightning Ridge area of New South Wales in Australia. The darker their background color and brighter the inclusions, the more valuable the stone. One of the most valuable black opals of all time is the "Aurora Australis," which was uncovered in Lightning Ridge in 1938. The 180-carat opal is especially admired due to its large size and intense harlequin coloration; in 2005 it was valued at AUS $1,000,000, or about $763,000 U.S.

1. LARIMAR // ONLY FOUND IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
   

Larimar is a very rare blue variety of the mineral pectolite and is found in only one small area of the Dominican Republic. This turquoise stone’s name was created by the man who brought the stone to prominence in 1974, Miguel Méndez—he took the first part of his daughter’s name, Larissa, and combined it with the Spanish word for sea, mar, to create the portmanteau larimar. Locals had known of the existence of the stone for generations, because small examples had washed up on the seashore, but it was not until the 1970s that sufficient quantities were found in the ground to open a mine.