The rarest and most valuable gems. How much are the most expensive and rare gems in the world

The bowels of our planet conceal countless treasures - minerals. Their indescribable diversity and beauty have always conquered human hearts. We invite you to admire a selection of these ‎beautiful examples of frozen natural harmony.‎

‎1. Petrified wood with opal veins

Under certain conditions, fragments of a fallen tree do not rot, but mineralize, turning into real stones of a bizarre shape. This requires hundreds of years and lack of air access to the material, resulting in a unique mineral that resembles fragments of an iced tree, dotted with sparkling inclusions of opal or chalcedony.‎

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‎2. Uvarovite

Discovered in the 19th century in Siberia, a stone related to garnets was nicknamed by the people "Ural emerald". Chromium gives the mineral its bewitching green color. In nature, it is extremely rare, and a few finds are of very modest size. ‎By the way, it was this mineral that Alexander Kuprin meant in his work ‎‎“Garnet Bracelet.”‎

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‎3. Fluorite

This mineral, which has long been used for decorative purposes and delighted the views of high society with graceful translucent vases and figurines glowing in the dark, has now found a more applied application in optics, becoming an excellent material for creating lenses.

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‎4. Kemmererite

A very fragile fuchsia-colored stone - kemmererite - is considered a collector's item. To make a piece of jewelry out of it, the master needs to apply all his scrupulousness and precision. ‎For this reason, the cost of the processed mineral is extremely high.‎

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‎5. Hematite, rutile and feldspar

The ability of the black mineral hematite, when processed, to color water in a blood-red color has caused many ineradicable superstitions regarding this stone. But it is popular not only for this reason - hematite is very common in nature and is used in addition to decorative in many applied areas.

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‎6. Thorbernite

As bewitchingly beautiful this mineral is, it is just as deadly. Prisms of torbernite crystals contain uranium and can cause cancer in humans. In addition, when heated, these stones begin to slowly emit the most dangerous gas, radon.‎

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‎7. Clinoclase‎

A rare clinoclase crystal has one small secret - when heated, this exquisitely beautiful mineral emits a garlic smell.‎

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‎8. White barite studded with vanadinite crystals ‎

Vanadinite got its name in honor of the Scandinavian goddess of beauty Vanadis. This mineral is one of the heaviest on the planet due to its high lead content. ‎Keep vanadinite crystals away from sunlight, as they tend to darken under their influence.‎

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‎9. Fossil egg? No - opal core geode

In places rich in minerals, you can find geodes - geological formations, which are cavities that conceal various minerals inside. On cuts and chips, geodes can look extremely outlandish and attractive.‎

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‎10. Silver stibnite with barite

Stibnite is an antimony sulfide, but appears to be high grade silver. Thanks to this similarity, one day someone decided to make elite cutlery from this material. And it was a very bad idea… Antimony crystals cause severe poisoning, even after contact with the skin it is necessary to wash it thoroughly with soap.‎

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‎11. chalcanthite

The enchanting beauty of these crystals hides a mortal danger: once in a liquid environment, the copper contained in this mineral begins to rapidly dissolve, threatening all living things that get in its way. Just one small blue pebble is capable of destroying an entire pond with all its flora and fauna, so you should be extremely careful with it.

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‎12. Cacoxenite

Acting as an inclusion, this rare mineral is able to give quartz and amethyst a unique color and higher value. As a representative of needle-like crystals, cacoxenite is incredibly fragile.‎

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‎13. labradorite

Mined in the northern regions, the mineral seems to reflect the sky under which it was found: colored overflows against the background of the darkness of the stone dotted with sparkling stars resemble the northern lights blazing on a long polar night.‎

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‎14. black opal

The most valuable variety of opals. Despite the word "black" in the name, this mineral gets the highest value if it has a multi-colored sparkle against a dark background. ‎The more varied the shades of its radiance, the higher the price.‎

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‎15. Kuprosklodovskite

Needle-like crystals of kuprosklodovskite attract admiring attention with the depth and variety of their green coloring, as well as their interesting shape. However, this mineral is mined in uranium deposits and is highly radioactive and should be kept away not only from living beings, but even from other minerals.‎

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‎16. Blue halite and sylvite

Milky white or whitish sylvite is often found in volcanoes, and blue halite (sodium chloride) is often found in sedimentary rocks.‎

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‎17. Bismuth

Artificially grown bismuth crystals have a recognizable iridescent sheen on their dark surface. This effect occurs due to the oxide film covering it. By the way, bismuth oxide-chloride is used in the creation of nail polishes as a means to give them shine. ‎

periodictable.com

‎18. Opal

The noble gemstone opal is demanding on the humidity surrounding it: if it stays in excessively dry conditions for a long time, it can fade and even crack. For this reason, opals should occasionally be "bathed" in clean water, and also worn more often if they are presented in the form of jewelry, so that the stones are saturated with moisture emanating from the human body. ‎

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‎19. Tourmaline

Juicy red and pink colors, smooth transitions of shades with the most unexpected ranges make tourmaline one of the most popular collectible minerals. According to historians, it was these stones that crowned many decorations and accessories of members of royal families and eminent persons: from Catherine II to Tamerlane. ‎

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‎20. Baildonite

The rare baildonite crystal owes its color to the copper contained in its composition, and its brilliance to a high percentage of lead.‎

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‎21. Osmium ‎

Having the status of the densest natural substance, osmium is extremely difficult to process. The widespread use of this metal in medicine, manufacturing and the defense industry makes the demand for it incredibly high. And given the rarity of osmium in nature, the cost of one gram of its isotope is currently twenty thousand dollars.

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‎22. Malachite

The whimsical arrangement of copper layers in the voids of karst caves, where malachite is born, determines the future structure of its patterns. They can be represented by concentric circles, star-shaped placers or chaotic ribbon patterns. ‎The age of malachite beads found in the ancient city of Jericho is determined by archaeologists to be 9,000 years old.‎

mindat.org

‎23. Emmonsite

A rather rare mineral emmonsite, presented in the form of small needle-like crystals with a glassy sheen, is found in the mines of North and South America.‎

mindat.org

‎24. Aquamarine on potassium mica

For the similarity of the edges to the purest sea waves, the Roman thinker Pliny the Elder gave this noble stone the name "aquamarine". More blue aquamarines are valued more than greenish ones. This mineral is very popular among designers and jewelry lovers, and its highest strength helps to create jewelry of any configuration.

mindat.org

‎25. meteorite pallasite

In 1777, the German scientist Pallas delivered to the Kunstkamera Museum samples of a rare metal found in Krasnoyarsk at the site of a meteorite fall. Soon, the entire block of extraterrestrial origin weighing 687 kg was transported to St. Petersburg. This material was called "pallas iron" or pallasite. A similar substance from those that are mined on our planet has not been found. According to experts, this meteorite is an iron-nickel base with numerous inclusions of olivine crystals. ‎

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‎26. Sick

Small cubic crystals of blue color - boleites - are especially valued in the countries of South and North America. So far, this rare mineral has not been seen in circulation in Russia.‎

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‎27. Crocoite‎

The name "crocoite" comes from the ancient Greek word meaning "saffron", since the similarity of the crystal surface with this spice is noticeable to the naked eye. The red lead ore, which this mineral is, is of particular value to collectors and connoisseurs.

awminerals.com

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Jewelry

We used to think that one of the most expensive stones are diamonds. But there are crystals that cost tens or hundreds of times more, because there are very few of them in the world. And there are also precious stones that have no price at all, since no one has ever bought them or used them in jewelry.
Such rare stones are often declared the property of the country and are not transferred to private hands, because no one knows for sure how many more of them are left in the world. Therefore, a simple layman can basically see these stones only in the photo. Although often even this is impressive and makes you think about how many more mysteries our planet is going to present to us.

Painite

In 2005, the Guinness Book of Records awarded painite the title of the rarest mineral in the world of precious stones. It was first discovered in Myanmar by the British mineralogist Arthur Pine in 1950. For many decades, only two crystals of this mineral were found in the world. By 2005, about 25 had been found.

Today, painites are not as rare as they used to be. According to the California Institute of Geological and Planetary Sciences, another deposit of this mineral has been discovered in Myanmar. In addition, in the area of ​​​​the Burmese city of Mogok, two more large sites of painite mining were found. To date, about several thousand crystals of this stone have been found. And yet, it is still one of the rarest gems on Earth.

Tanzanite

Tanzanite is found in nature almost 1000 times less often than diamond. And this is natural, since there is only one place in the world where these stones can be found. They are mined in the foothills of Kilimanjaro, and the number of stones that go on sale is extremely limited. Like alexandrite, tanzanite has the ability to change its color depending on the orientation of the crystal and lighting conditions. But unlike alexandrite, tanzanite is characterized by trichroism. This means that he has three colors, not one. The mineral changes color from blue to purple and then to red. According to research, these color variations are largely caused by the presence of vanadium ions in the stone.

In its natural state, tanzanite is blue or purple with brown or yellow areas. Therefore, for jewelry purposes, all stones are subjected to high temperatures in order to get rid of yellow inclusions and give the crystal a uniform and rich blue-violet color.

Taaffeite

It was discovered by chance among cut gems. In 1945, Count Richard Taaffe noticed among the purchased faceted spinel crystals a stone that was slightly different in color from the rest. Taaffe sent it to the laboratory of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry for examination for identification. In conclusion, it was said that this is a new mineral, still unknown to mankind. Until that time, most taaffeites were mistaken for spinel.

Thus, taaffeite became the only stone that was discovered after its processing. For many years thereafter, it was known in only a few samples, and is still one of the rarest gem crystals in the world.

Musgravit

It is this mineral, a direct “relative” of taaffeite, that is the rarest in the world. Currently, only 14 Musgravites are registered in the world. This stone was first found in 1967 in the Musgrave mountain range in South Australia.

Later, individual crystals were found in Greenland, Madagascar, and Antarctica. But only those found in Australia are considered gem-quality stones.

Benitoite

This amazing blue rock was discovered, as its name suggests, at the mouth of the San Benito River in California.

One of the most characteristic features of this stone is how amazing it looks under UV light. Under such illumination, it fluoresces with an acid blue color. The strange thing is that, although it was first described in the early twentieth century, its origin and the substances that give it fluorescent properties are not yet fully understood.

grandidierite

This bluish-green mineral is found almost exclusively in Madagascar, although the first, and apparently the only faceted specimen was found in Sri Lanka. Like alexandrite and tanzanite, grandidierite is pleochroic and can change color from blue to green to white.

Powdertit

The first samples of pudrettite were found in the mid-1960s in the Pudrette quarry in Quebec, but until 1987 it was not recognized as a new type of mineral. Therefore, a detailed description of this gem was not compiled until 2003. According to some sources, this was done because few people have the chance to ever experience powderitol, and even more people have probably never even heard of it.

Jeremiavit

First found in Siberia at the end of the 19th century. After that, several gem-quality crystals were found in Namibia. The largest cut Jeremiah on Earth weighs only 60 carats (about 12 grams).

Red Beryl

Red beryl (also known as bixbite or "scarlet emerald") was first described in 1904, and at that time, due to its rather similar chemical composition, it was mistaken for the color variety of emerald or aquamarine.

Known deposits of this stone are limited to the US states of Utah and New Mexico, and their extraction is extremely difficult, and therefore expensive. The weight of the largest faceted stone to date is 10 carats.

red diamond

Despite the fact that the diamond itself is not a very rare stone, its color varieties are a less common phenomenon. And red diamonds are something incredibly exclusive.

This is the rarest variety of diamond. And this fact is clearly confirmed by the fact that the largest red diamond found, Mussaif, weighs a little more than one gram or 5.11 carats.

Katerina Lezhneva

Many people mistakenly believe that the limit of the cost of precious stones stops at diamonds, however, there are other, equally beautiful, but rarer minerals in nature, the price of which often exceeds the cost of diamonds.
Below we present to your attention a rating of the most expensive gems in the world. The high price is usually determined by the unique combination of rarity, beauty and high demand. The list shows the average cost of high quality stones available on the world market today, however, it should be noted that some prices are approximate, as especially valuable gems are often sold privately, without disclosing to the general public.

19th place: Yeremevit- a rare gem, first discovered in 1883 in the southeastern part of the Trans-Baikal Territory. At first it was mistaken for aquamarine, since the first crystals found had a light blue color. Over the past century, light yellow and even colorless specimens have been discovered, but blue ones are still the most expensive gemstones on the market. The gem got its name in honor of the Russian mineralogist Pavel Eremeev. It is reliably known that at the moment there are several hundred faceted Eremeevites, the cost of which is on average $1,500 per carat.

18th place: blue pomegranate- the rarest representative of a number of these minerals, which was first discovered in Madagascar only in the late 1990s. Today, stones of this color are found in Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Norway and the USA. Their main distinguishing feature is the ability to change their shade when the lighting changes. So in daylight they acquire blue, blue and green overflows, and in artificial light they become purple or red. Today, the average cost of this high quality gemstone is $1,500. per carat.

17th place: black opal- the most valuable of the group of opals, the main amount of which is mined in the vastness of Australia. Other rich deposits are Brazil, USA, Mexico. The color of this type of opal can vary from grayish to black with a rich variety of shimmering iridescence in all colors of the rainbow. Although today these gems are no longer considered as rare as they used to be, they are nevertheless quite expensive. The cost of a high quality black opal is approximately $2,000 per carat.

16th place: Demantoid- a gemstone from a group of green or yellowish-green garnets, for a long time known only in collectors' circles. The main deposits of these gems are located in Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania. Every year the popularity of the mineral is steadily increasing, along with which there is an increase in its value. Currently, a top-class demantoid carat can be purchased on the global gemstone market for $2,000.

15th place: Taaffeite- one of the rarest gems in the world, named after its discoverer, Count Eduard Taaffe, who in 1945 accidentally discovered an unusual sample in a purchased batch of cut gems that he had never seen before. The spectrum of shades of taaffeite can vary from lavender to pale pink. To date, a unique mineral in small quantities is found only in some alluvial deposits in Sri Lanka and southern Tanzania. The cost of high-quality specimens of taaffeite varies between 2-5 thousand dollars.

14th place: Poudretteite / Pudretteite- a rare pink mineral, first discovered in 1987 in Quebec (Canada). It got its name in honor of the Poudrette family, which still owns the same mine in Mont Saint-Hilaire, where the first specimen was found. Quality stones began to appear only in 2000, when several copies were found in northern Mogog (Myanmar). Since 2005, the mineral has not been found there, and the Canadian deposit has given the world only about 300 stones of various quality. Depending on the color saturation and purity, the cost of pudretteite can vary from 3 to 5 thousand conventional units.

13th place: Musgravit- a close relative of taaffeite, to which it is similar in appearance and chemical composition. It was first discovered in 1967 in Australia's Musgrave Range. Later, the mineral was found on the territory of Greenland, Tanzania, Madagascar and even in the bowels of the cold lands of Antarctica. This gem comes in several colors, but green and purple are the most common. Due to the fact that a very small amount of these gems has been found throughout history, their price reaches quite expected sizes: the cost of a carat of high-quality green musgravite is 2-3 thousand dollars, while one carat of a purple faceted mineral will have to pay about 6 thousand conventional units.

12th place: Benitoite- a precious stone of deep blue color, the only deposit of which is located in San Benito County, (California, USA), where it was first discovered back in 1907. In 1984, it was officially recognized as the state gem of the state. In the world market, the average cost of fine benitoite weighing 1 carat, of which there are an extremely limited number in the world (no more than a dozen), is 4000-6000 USD.

11th place: Sapphire- one of the most famous jewelry stones, in mineralogy and jewelry industry called corundum. It has a deep blue color, pink, green and yellowish-orange gems are less common. The rarest varieties include blue star sapphire and padparadscha - a stone of orange and red-yellow color. The most famous deposits of these minerals are located in India, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, USA, Australia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, China and Madagascar. The rarest and highest quality specimens on the world market can be purchased for about 4-6 thousand conventional units per carat.

10th place: Emerald- gemstone of the highest quality of bright green or dark green color. In recent years, the title of the main deposit of this mineral is Colombia. Despite the large number of emeralds actively mined all over the world, their prices are still truly cosmic. Today, clean stones are extremely rare, which, together with their huge popularity, determines their high cost. A green gem of exceptional quality, weighing approximately 1 carat, is sold on the world market for more than 8,000 US dollars.

9th place: Bixbit- a rare variety of red beryl, until recently known only to a few collectors. It is mined exclusively in the US states of Utah (Waho-Waho Mountains) and New Mexico. Buying high-class red beryl is extremely difficult, while the price of a stone weighing about 1 carat is more than 10-12 thousand US dollars. It is quite difficult to determine the average cost of this mineral due to the small number of high-quality stones offered for sale.

8th place: Alexandrite- the famous gemstone, famous for its ability to change color. In daylight, its color is characterized by bluish-green, dark blue-green and olive-green hues, while under artificial light, its overflows can become pink-crimson, red, purple or violet-red. The first crystal was discovered in 1833 at an emerald mine near Yekaterinburg. The cost of this precious stone, depending on its quality, can range from 10 to 15 thousand conventional units.

7th place: Paraiba (blue tourmaline)- a beautiful and very rare crystal of bright blue-turquoise color, discovered in 1987 in the state of Paraiba, in eastern Brazil. For a long time, this gemstone was mined in only one place, but today its deposits already exist in Madagascar and Mozambique. Brazilian blue tourmalines are by far the most expensive representatives of the group - their price is 12-15 thousand dollars per carat, and a truly unique gem of the highest quality can far exceed these figures.

6th place: Ruby- one of the most popular gemstones in the world, known for its rich shades of red: bright red, purple red, deep red. It is found, like diamonds, on all continents except Antarctica. The main exporting countries are Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The most valuable are Asian rubies, especially the "pigeon blood" stones - pure red with a purple hue. The limited number and huge popularity make them extremely expensive gemstones. For a carat of high quality ruby ​​on the world market, you will have to pay about 15 thousand dollars.

5th place: Diamond- a common mineral that has been one of the most expensive and desirable gemstones for a long time. The reason for this, of course, is the huge popularity (as cut diamonds are called). Every year, the number of manufactured jewelry with these precious stones is growing rapidly. Industrial diamond deposits are now known on all continents except Antarctica. Currently, a perfectly cut D color diamond sells for around $15,000 on average. e. per carat.

4th place: Jadeite (imperial)- a green mineral, which for a long time had the status of one of the most mysterious stones of our planet. Today its main sources are in China, Upper Myanmar, Japan, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Guatemala and the USA. The approximate cost of a carat of high quality jadeite in the world market is 20 thousand dollars.

3rd place: padparadscha(translated from Tamil as "the color of the sunrise") are pinkish-orange sapphires that have historically been mined in Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Madakascar. Now in Sri Lanka there is practically no padparadscha left in its natural form and it is obtained by heating the corundum mineral in a furnace to the desired condition. The last classic (i.e. not heated) padparadscha weighing 1.65 carats was sold in Sri Lanka about 20 years ago for 18 thousand dollars. Now padparadscha weighing more than five carats is considered collectible and can be valued up to 30 thousand dollars for each carat of weight.

2nd place: grandidierite- a rare mineral of greenish-blue, greenish-blue or bluish-green color, the first sample of which was discovered in Sri Lanka. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was described by the French explorer Alfred Grandidier, who was exploring Madagascar, on whose territory the bulk of these minerals are mined today. Faceted grandidierites today exist in extremely limited quantities - about two dozen. The approximate cost of a unique mineral is more than 30 thousand dollars per carat.

1st place: red diamond- the most expensive representatives of his family and, in combination, the most expensive gem in the world. In the entire history of mankind, only a few copies of this mineral have been found, and most of them have a very small weight - less than 0.5 carats. The color of a natural red diamond is called purplish red by gemologists. The only deposit of colored diamonds is located in the Argyle diamond mine (Australia), where only a few stones are mined annually. Gemstones larger than 0.1 carats typically only appear at auctions where the price per carat is more than one million dollars.

Many are accustomed to believing that the limit of the high cost of precious stones stops at diamonds, but there are minerals on our planet that are much rarer and more valuable than diamonds, sapphires and similar jewelry, whose names have long been on everyone's lips.

The high price is usually determined by the unique combination of rarity, beauty and high demand. The list shows the average cost of high quality stones available on the world market today, however, it should be noted that some prices are approximate, as especially valuable gems are often sold privately, without disclosing to the general public.

Yeremevit

Yeremeevite is a rare gem, first discovered in 1883 in the southeastern part of the Trans-Baikal Territory. At first it was mistaken for aquamarine, since the first crystals found had a light blue color. Over the past century, light yellow and even colorless specimens have been discovered, but blue ones are still the most expensive gemstones on the market. The gem got its name in honor of the Russian mineralogist Pavel Eremeev. It is reliably known that at the moment there are several hundred faceted Eremeevites, the cost of which is on average $1,500 per carat. Incredibly beautiful asterism, that is, stars on the surface of stones, gives precious stones even more mystery and splendor.

blue pomegranate

Blue garnet is the rarest representative of a number of these minerals, which was first discovered in Madagascar only in the late 1990s. Today, stones of this color are found in Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Norway and the USA. Their main distinguishing feature is the ability to change their shade when the lighting changes. So in daylight they acquire blue, blue and green overflows, and in artificial light they become purple or red. Today, the average cost of this high quality gemstone is $1,500. per carat.

black opal

Black opal is the most valuable of the group of opals, most of which is mined in the open spaces of Australia. Other rich deposits are Brazil, USA, Mexico. The color of this type of opal can vary from grayish to black with a rich variety of shimmering iridescence in all colors of the rainbow. Although today these gems are no longer considered as rare as they used to be, they are nevertheless quite expensive. The cost of a high quality black opal is approximately $2,000 per carat.

Demantoid

Demantoid is a green or yellowish-green garnet gemstone, known for a long time only in collectors' circles. The main deposits of these gems are located in Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania. Every year the popularity of the mineral is steadily increasing, along with which there is an increase in its value. Currently, a top-class demantoid carat can be purchased on the global gemstone market for $2,000.

Taaffeite

Taaffeite is one of the rarest gems in the world, named after its discoverer, Count Eduard Taaffe, who in 1945 accidentally discovered an unusual specimen in a purchased batch of cut gems that he had never seen before. The spectrum of shades of taaffeite can vary from lavender to pale pink. To date, a unique mineral in small quantities is found only in some alluvial deposits in Sri Lanka and southern Tanzania. The cost of high-quality specimens of taaffeite varies between 2-5 thousand dollars.

Poudretteite / Pudretteite

Poudretteite / Poudrettite is a rare pink mineral, first discovered in 1987 in Quebec (Canada). It got its name in honor of the Poudrette family, which still owns the same mine in Mont Saint-Hilaire, where the first specimen was found. Quality stones began to appear only in 2000, when several copies were found in northern Mogog (Myanmar). Since 2005, the mineral has not been found there, and the Canadian deposit has given the world only about 300 stones of various quality. Depending on the color saturation and purity, the cost of pudretteite can vary from 3 to 5 thousand conventional units.

Musgravit

Musgravite is a close relative of taaffeite, to which it is similar in appearance and chemical composition. It was first discovered in 1967 in Australia's Musgrave Range. Later, the mineral was found on the territory of Greenland, Tanzania, Madagascar and even in the bowels of the cold lands of Antarctica. This gem comes in several colors, but green and purple are the most common. Due to the fact that a very small amount of these gems has been found throughout history, their price reaches quite expected sizes: the cost of a carat of high-quality green musgravite is 2-3 thousand dollars, while one carat of a purple faceted mineral will have to pay about 6 thousand conventional units.

Benitoite

Benitoite is a deep blue gemstone, the only deposit of which is located in San Benito County (California, USA), where it was first discovered back in 1907. In 1984, it was officially recognized as the state gem of the state. In the world market, the average cost of fine benitoite weighing 1 carat, of which there are an extremely limited number in the world (no more than a dozen), is 4000-6000 USD.

Sapphire

Sapphire is one of the most famous jewelry stones, in mineralogy and jewelry industry called corundum. It has a deep blue color, pink, green and yellowish-orange gems are less common. The rarest varieties include blue star sapphire and padparadscha - a stone of orange and red-yellow color. The most famous deposits of these minerals are located in India, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, USA, Australia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, China and Madagascar. The rarest and highest quality specimens on the world market can be purchased for about 4-6 thousand conventional units per carat.

Emerald

Emerald is a top quality gemstone with a bright green or dark green color. In recent years, the title of the main deposit of this mineral is Colombia. Despite the large number of emeralds actively mined all over the world, their prices are still truly cosmic. Today, clean stones are extremely rare, which, together with their huge popularity, determines their high cost. A green gem of exceptional quality, weighing approximately 1 carat, is sold on the world market for more than 8,000 US dollars.

Bixbit

Bixbit is a rare variety of red beryl, until recently known only to a few collectors. It is mined exclusively in the US states of Utah (Waho-Waho Mountains) and New Mexico. Buying high-class red beryl is extremely difficult, while the price of a stone weighing about 1 carat is more than 10-12 thousand US dollars. It is quite difficult to determine the average cost of this mineral due to the small number of high-quality stones offered for sale.

Alexandrite

Alexandrite is a famous gemstone famous for its ability to change color. In daylight, its color is characterized by bluish-green, dark blue-green and olive-green hues, while under artificial light, its overflows can become pink-crimson, red, purple or violet-red. The first crystal was discovered in 1833 at an emerald mine near Yekaterinburg. The cost of this precious stone, depending on its quality, can range from 10 to 15 thousand conventional units.

Paraiba (blue tourmaline)

Paraiba (blue tourmaline) is a beautiful and very rare crystal of bright blue-turquoise color, discovered in 1987 in the state of Paraiba, in eastern Brazil. For a long time, this gemstone was mined in only one place, but today its deposits already exist in Madagascar and Mozambique. Brazilian blue tourmalines are by far the most expensive representatives of the group - their price is 12-15 thousand dollars per carat, and a truly unique gem of the highest quality can far exceed these figures.

Ruby

Ruby is one of the world's most sought-after gemstones, known for its intense shades of red: bright red, purple red, dark red. It is found, like diamonds, on all continents except Antarctica. The main exporting countries are Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The most valuable are Asian rubies, especially the "pigeon blood" stones - pure red with a purple hue. The limited number and huge popularity make them extremely expensive gemstones. For a carat of high quality ruby ​​on the world market, you will have to pay about 15 thousand dollars.

Diamond

Diamond is a common mineral that has long been one of the most expensive and desirable gemstones. The reason for this, of course, is the huge popularity of diamonds (as cut diamonds are called). Every year, the number of manufactured jewelry with these precious stones is growing rapidly. Industrial diamond deposits are now known on all continents except Antarctica. Currently, a perfectly cut D color diamond sells for around $15,000 on average. e. per carat.

Jadeite (imperial)

Jadeite (imperial) is a green mineral, which for a long time had the status of one of the most mysterious stones of our planet. Today its main sources are in China, Upper Myanmar, Japan, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Guatemala and the USA. The approximate cost of a carat of high quality jadeite in the world market is 20 thousand dollars.

padparadscha

Padparadscha (translated from Tamil as "the color of the sunrise") are pinkish-orange sapphires that have historically been mined in Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Madakascar. Now in Sri Lanka there is practically no padparadscha left in its natural form and it is obtained by heating the corundum mineral in a furnace to the desired condition. The last classic (i.e. not heated) padparadscha weighing 1.65 carats was sold in Sri Lanka about 20 years ago for 18 thousand dollars. Now padparadscha weighing more than five carats is considered collectible and can be valued up to 30 thousand dollars for each carat of weight.

grandidierite

Grandidierite is a rare greenish-blue, greenish-blue or bluish-green mineral, the first specimen of which was found in Sri Lanka. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was described by the French explorer Alfred Grandidier, who was exploring Madagascar, on whose territory the bulk of these minerals are mined today. Faceted grandidierites today exist in extremely limited quantities - about two dozen. The approximate cost of a unique mineral is more than 30 thousand dollars per carat.

red diamond

The red diamond is the most expensive member of its family and also the most expensive in the world. In the entire history of mankind, only a few copies of this mineral have been found, and most of them have a very small weight - less than 0.5 carats. The color of a natural red diamond is called purplish red by gemologists. The only deposit of colored diamonds is located in the Argyle diamond mine (Australia), where only a few stones are mined annually. Gemstones larger than 0.1 carats typically only appear at auctions where the price per carat is more than one million dollars.

Nevadaite with the chemical formula Cu 2 Zn 0.02 V 3+ 0.98 Al 1.15 Al 8 P 7.9 O 32 F 8.37 (OH) 1.63 (H 2 O) 21.65 is one of the rarest minerals. It is formed from vanadium and copper under very specific and extreme environmental conditions. Microscopic bright blue crystals of nevadaite are found only in two places on the planet: in Eureka County (Nevada, USA) and in a copper mine in Kyrgyzstan

To date, 5090 minerals have been discovered on our planet. This is the amount officially approved by the International Mineralogical Association, which is engaged in the classification of these chemical compounds. This includes only terrestrial minerals, but does not include substances such as ethanol C 2 H 5 OH or acetylene C 2 H 2, which are among the possible minerals on the surface of Titan (surface temperature -179 ° C), but have not yet come across in crystalline form on the ground. Theoretically, the same carbon dioxide CO 2 with a freezing point of -78.5°C could fall in crystalline form on Earth, for example, in August 2010 in West Antarctica, when NASA recorded a temperature record of -94.7°C there, but he was not found. Otherwise, CO 2 would also be included in the list of terrestrial minerals, but for now it is only included in the list of minerals on Mars.

Less than a hundred of the most common minerals occupy more than 99% of the volume of the earth's crust, and only a few of the most common - about 60% of the volume. For a real geologist, a real treasure is not some banal diamond, which is like dirt on earth, but rare minerals. Some enthusiasts devote their whole lives to searching for them.

According to the international classification rare A mineral is one that is found only in five or less locations on the ground. At the same time, many rare minerals were found in just one single place.

Surprisingly, more than 2500 of the 5090 terrestrial minerals are rare. Such substances are formed in incredibly rare environmental conditions, in places where all the necessary chemical elements are collected in the right proportion, the ideal temperature and pressure are created, and all this amazing combination of circumstances is maintained for the right time for the formation of the mineral. In a sense, these rare minerals are a kind of “mistakes” of nature. Like a subtle bug in a program that you once noticed but can never reproduce.

Ichnuayit, one of the rarest minerals in the world, was found in only one place on Earth.

The unique combination of several factors results in the formation of minerals that are rarer than the most expensive gemstones. The combined world production of some of these minerals is less than one diamond.

Unfortunately, because rare minerals form under exceptionally unusual environmental conditions, some of them melt in the normal atmosphere. Others completely evaporate or disintegrate when exposed to sunlight. However, the discovery of such minerals provides important information to geologists that some specific conditions were present at a particular time in a particular place in the earth's crust. This is very important for the formation of a general picture of geological history. It even helps to study the formation and evolution of life on our planet.

Recently, Dr. Robert Hazen of the Carnegie Institution Geophysical Laboratory, together with Jesse H. Ausubel of Rockefeller University (USA), published a scientific paper in the journal American mineralogist, which described the origin and importance of the rarest minerals on Earth.

Mineralogists have formulated four criteria, of which at least one is characteristic of every rare mineral:

List of some rare minerals, chemical formulas, rarity criteria (columns 1-4 correspond to items 1-4 in the above list of criteria) and features

Dr. Hazen also notes that many of the gemstones considered rare are actually found in abundance in many parts of the world, mined and traded on an industrial scale: diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other precious stones. That is, in a scientific sense, they do not meet the definition of rare minerals. The use of the terms "rare elements" or "rare metals" is also incorrect, since many tons of such materials are mined annually, the authors of the scientific work emphasize. There is no mention of any "rarity" here.

Fingerite with the chemical formula Cu 11 O 2 (VO 4) 6

Among the rarest minerals on Earth is fingerite, which exists in only one known location: near the Izalco volcano in the Republic of El Salvador. Its formation also requires exceptionally rare environmental conditions. In addition, it is very unstable and dissolves in ordinary water, that is, it is washed off by rain.

But even fingerite can be called very stable compared to minerals that have hygroscopic properties. That is, these ephemeral stones absorb moisture from the surrounding air, and then dissolve in it.

The concept of ephemerality is also, however, rather conditional. Many rare minerals degrade in less than a day under normal atmospheric conditions, while others take millions of years to do so.

In the catalog of minerals published in the journal American mineralogist, there are only four rare minerals that meet all four rarity criteria. In addition to fingerite (Cu 11 O 2 (VO 4) 6), it is also makbirneite (Cu 3 (VO 4) 2), stauberite (Cu 5 O 2 (VO 4) 2) and ziesite (Cu 2 V 2 5+ O 7 ).

Some minerals are very rare on the surface of the Earth, although they should be very abundant in the earth's mantle, where all the necessary conditions are available for their formation. An interesting example here is the perovskite phase of MgSiO 3 , bridgmanite. It was found in only one place on the planet: in the impact crater of a meteorite. During the collision, the necessary combination of temperature and pressure was formed there for the crystallization of bridgmanite. He is not found anywhere else. At the same time, precisely such conditions of pressure and temperature are present in the earth's mantle. Scientists believe that bridgmanite generally makes up most of the material in the lower mantle.

The authors of the scientific work draw attention to several more interesting anomalies. For example, some chemical elements are less common in chemical compounds of rare minerals than others, although there are more of them in the earth's crust in percentage terms. For example, hafnium is twice as common as uranium. At the same time, hafnium is present in only one rare mineral, and uranium in more than 250. This is due to the fact that it is easier for uranium to locally concentrate in the earth's crust and, thus, participate in mineralization than hafnium, which is similar in chemical properties to zirconium.

The search and classification of rare minerals are of particular importance for chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy and other natural sciences. At the same time, this in itself is an amazing and exciting activity. More than half of the minerals on our planet are rare, that is, they occur in five places or less. The amazing variety of shapes, countless variations in colors and geochemical properties, compositional and structural characteristics of minerals - all this is the beauty of science.