Diamonds are usually the first choice for most buyers when it comes to purchasing a necklace or a priceless ring as a gift for their loved one. However, they are available in abundance and are in no way the rarest in the world. A few may actually go beyond diamonds and consider the value of rubies, sapphires or emeralds as precious gemstones. But, what most fail to realise is that there are numerous other kinds of gemstones available in different shapes, sizes and colours. Remember that the rarer the gemstone is the more enticing and expensive it will be.
Though diamonds may be the most sought-after gems, there are a few stones that are much more desirable. This blog post will introduce you to gemstones that are rarer than diamonds.
Tanzanite
The intense violet-blue hues of the gem can easily rival sapphires; it is a much rarer stone and is available at a fraction of the price. Available in a small area of Tanzania, it is a variety of zoisite and is becoming quite prominent. Since its discovery in 1967, it is rising in popularity and shows strong pleochroism. It can appear violet, blue or even a green-yellow to a brown, depending on the angle it is being viewed from. Most gem cutters adjust tanzanite to feature a blue or violet hue. Although the gem has to undergo heat treatment for it to produce the attractive and brilliant blue hue, this treatment helps produce a stable colour which makes it a desirable gem.
Jadeite
Though jadeite is known for its bright and electric green of imperial jade, it is available in numerous colours including orange-red, yellow, lavender, colourless, black and blue. The stone has a body of folklore surrounding it and due to this is highly prized in the Maori, Mayan and Chinese cultures. The value of jadeite greatly depends on its texture and translucence. The top-quality gems appear to be full of water and look similar to a drop of coloured oil. However, determining the price of this gem tends to involve more subjectivity than other gemstones.
Burma Ruby
Rubies are generally known to be rare, but the ones from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, have set the standard for colour and quality and are exceptionally rare. The rubies sourced from Thailand generally contain fairly high content of iron which results in overly dark reds that have purplish or brown overtones. However, due to the geological conditions present in Myanmar, it produces rubies that generally have small traces of iron. This results in the gems achieving much stronger fluorescence and more vivid reds than their Thai counterparts.
Alexandrite
Alexandrite was discovered in the 1830’s in the Ural Mountains in Russia and has the remarkable ability to change colour. The stone, in daylight, can appear emerald green to peacock blue and amethyst to ruby red in incandescent light due to trace amounts of chromium present in the structure of the crystal. During the time of its discovery, Russia’s imperial colours – green and red – were greatly in style. Hence, it is obvious that the stone was highly coveted by the Russians.
Kashmir Sapphire
The Kashmir sapphire is characterized by velvety, saturated and soft blue hues. It is known to contain very fine additions of rutile, which creates the soft look. However, the mines producing these crystals in the Himalayas are known to have run dry in the 1930s. This results in their price of these scarce stones rising even higher.
Remember when purchasing or selling rare gemstones like the ones mentioned above, or even diamonds, that it’s important to have all the proper documentation which shows their true value. All of the aforementioned stones are beautiful and extremely precious. Their scarcity is what makes them so popular and desirable to so many.