A Look at Some of the Most Expensive Gems in the World!

Gem, gems and more gems! What are the most expensive gemstones in the world and if you wanted to buy a carat or two, how much would each carat cost? Here’s a look at six gems from around the world that are not only rare, they’re expensive—but beautiful!

Black Opals

 

They say Australia has some of the finest black opals in the world—in fact 95 percent of all the opals the planet come from Australia. Additional black opals come from Mexico, Brazil and these opals have also been found in Idaho and Nevada. Deep inside Ethiopia, however, in the West African county of Mali now comes a black/grayish opal that seems to sparkle with color. On the average, the cost per carat of a black opal is $2,355.

Red Beryl Emeralds

 

 

It will cost you $10,000 to purchase one carat of a red beryl emerald. This red emerald is extremely rare and is found in the Thomas Range and the Wah Wah Mountains in Utah, however, some say it’s also found in Mexico. These gems in Utah are found on rhyolite and once crystalized under low and high temperatures alongside porous fractures or cavities, the red beryl emerald forms.

Musgravite

 

 

This relatively “new” gem to the world and much like black opals can be found in Musgrave Australia.  This gem is made from the beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg) and aluminum (AI).  These purplish stones will cost you $35,000 per carat.

Grandidierite

 

 

Found in Madagascar, this blue/green gem costs $100,000 per carat. Named after French Explorer Alfred Grandidier, this gem shines in hues of green, blue, and white. It is very rare to find one and Grandidierite is often mistaken for serendibite; for example, in the image above, the stone weighs only 0.29 carats.

Blue Garnet

 

 

It wasn’t until the 1990s in Madagascar that a rare blue garnet was discovered and today, one you’ll need to pass along $1.5 million for just one carat for a piece of this Madagascar gem. Garnets are easily found in other colors including yellow, orange, red, green, purple, brown, pink and black. Why is this blue garnet so expensive? It changes color from blue to green to purple. A 4.2 carat stone sold in 2003 for $6.8 million.

Red Diamonds

 

 

What a world’s most expensive gems list without a diamond? Red diamonds, however, are extremely rare and cost around $2.5 million per carat. Although many have never seen one, they are mined in small quantities in the Argyle Mine in Australia. Approximately every two years or so, these red diamonds are auctioned off for millions of dollars each.

We would like to thank ListVerse.com for the information they provided for each of these gems and we hope you’ve enjoyed viewing them as much as we did!

At Peter Suchy Jewelers, we are expert at vintage and estate gems and jewelry and we invite you to stop by our showroom located at 1137 High Ridge Road in Stamford Connecticut.

If you prefer, we also hundreds of vintage and estate jewelry pieces of all kinds in our eBay store. We invite you to like us on Facebook and check out our amazing Pinterest Boards!