The most expensive gemstones in the world! Diamond, emerald, jade & Co. as an investment

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Gemstones are among the most exquisite natural treasures on earth. People all over the world have treasured them for different reasons throughout history. It is a fact that some gemstones are rarer than others. This is one of many factors that significantly affects the value of these gemstones, and more importantly, allows them to grow. Other important factors include size, grade, and color.

Overview hide
Gemstones as a capital investment
List: Opal to sapphire to emerald
Which gemstone is the most valuable?
The most valuable gemstones in detail

Gemstones as a capital investment

Because of their universal and above all increasing value, gemstones were already used as a form of money in ancient times. Whether ruby, sapphire or emerald – they all become rarer and this is exactly the reason for their increase in value. Furthermore, investing in gemstones in general brings with it a number of advantages:

  • The investment is long-term (value and capital accumulation over years)
  • Gemstones are an asset for the owner and are not subject to any taxes
  • Gems can be passed down from generation to generation without cost or bureaucratic procedures
  • It is a safe investment; gemstones are real assets
  • Investment gemstones must be untreated

List: Opal to sapphire to emerald

Before we take a more detailed dive into the topic of gemstones, here are some basically important, high-priced gemstone types that you should have at least heard of. The most expensive gemstones:

The most expensive gems in the world: Video

Gemstones are not only incredibly beautiful. Above all, they are incredibly expensive. The following video presents the most expensive gemstones in the world.

Opal mining: How the gemstone is extracted

About 95 percent of all opals from Australia. How they are extracted, you can see in the following video. Read more about opal here.

Which gemstone is the most valuable?

Here is the top 10 list of the most expensive gemstones in the world. The prices serve as a rough guide. They may vary based on clarity or size.

  • Tanzanite: $1,200 per carat
  • Black Opal-$9,500 per carat
  • Red beryl – $10,000 per carat
  • Musgravite-$35,000 per carat
  • Alexandrite-$70,000 per carat
  • Emerald – $305,000 per carat
  • Ruby: $1.18 million per carat
  • Pink Diamond-$1.19 million per carat
  • Jadeite: $3 million per carat
  • Blue diamond – $3.93 million per carat

The most valuable gemstones in detail

Tanzanian

This color-changing gemstone has a blue to violet hue, the color of which depends on the orientation of the crystal and the lighting. It is only found in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Since it can only be mined in this one location, it comes with a high price tag of 500 pounds ($630) per carat.

Taaffeite

This gemstone comes in a beautiful range of colors from translucent to pink. Only a handful of stones have been found in Sri Lanka and Tanzania, making this stone extremely rare and valuable. Its value is more than 1,000 pounds ($1260) per carat.

Black opal

Black opal is the rarest of the opals. These black stones are speckled with vibrant colors, making each one unique and magnificent. Almost all black opals are mined in New South Wales in Australia and cost around £1,900 ($2400) per carat.

Poudretteite

This pink stone was originally found in Mont St. Hilaire in Quebec, Canada. It was thought that this was the only place it was found for many years, but it is now known that it can also be found in Magok, Myanmar. This gemstone is worth more than £2,600 ($3300) per carat.

Benitoit

This beautiful blue gemstone is found in Japan and Arkansas, in the USA, and is also mined in San Benito, California. Because of the rarity of benitoite, it is usually sold in increments of less than one carat. Per carat, the price of this gemstone is more than 2,600 pounds ($3300).

Red beryl

Often referred to as a scarlet emerald, this magnificent red crystal is said to be 1,000 times more valuable than gold. It is found in the Wah Wah Mountains of Utah and sells for more than 8,000 pounds ($10,000) per carat.

Alexandrite

Named after Tsar Alexander II, this color-changing gemstone ranges from red to green depending on the incidence of light, making it highly sought after. The original deposits, found in the Ural Mountains of Russia, had almost disappeared when new deposits were found in East Africa, Sri Lanka and Brazil. It is still extremely rare and has a price to match, at nearly 10,000 pounds ($12,500) per carat.

Serendibit

This magnificent gemstone, which ranges in color from pale yellow to blue to jet black, is found in Sri Lanka and the Mogok region of Myanmar. Its value is more than £14,500 ($18,000) per carat.

Jadeite

Not to be confused with jade! Jadeite is much rarer and quite a bit more expensive. The deep green stone is found in Myanmar and has a price tag of over 16,000 pounds ($20,000) per carat.

Grandidierite

Priced at more than 16,000 pounds ($20,000) per carat, this semi-translucent blue-green gemstone is also available. This exquisite and rare stone is found in Madagascar.

Musgravite

For many years, only eight occurrences of the blue-violet stone were found in South Australia. Recently, however, small amounts have been found elsewhere. The stone remains one of the rarest in the world and is worth nearly 29,000 ($36,000) pounds per carat.

Painite

Only two specimens of the orange to brick-colored gem existed for many years. More have been found in Myanmar, but it is still extremely rare and has a price tag of about 41,000 ($51,000) pounds per carat.

Pink star diamond

The 59.6-carat pink diamond was mined in South Africa and sold for the highest price ever achieved for a gemstone. This was a whopping £68,298,350 (about $86 million). Read more about diamonds here.

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