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The Top 10 Rarest Gemstones in the World According To Our Rarity Pyramid©

1.

Red Diamond

2.

Grandiderite

3.

Taaffeite

4.

Painite

5.

Red Beryl

6.

Benitoite

7.

Alexandrite

8.

Padparadscha Sapphire

9.

Paraiba Tourmaline

10.

Demantoid Garnet

1.

Red Diamond

2.

Grandiderite

3.

Taaffeite

4.

Painite

5.

Red Beryl

6.

Benitoite

7.

Alexandrite

8.

Padparadscha Sapphire

9.

Paraiba Tourmaline

10.

Demantoid Garnet

The Complexity Of Rare Gems

For over 40 years, we’ve been searching the world for the rarest gemstones. Rarity has many elements. According to American Gem Lab, out of 3000 registered mineral species and varieties, less than 500 are known to be suitable to be cut into a gemstone.

However, not all gemstones marketed as rare are actually that. Rarity and price don’t always go hand in hand either. A gemstone’s rarity must not be confused with value. Something has more value when others are willing to pay for it in the open market. Diamonds are a good example. Extremely expensive but not rare.

Collecting Rare Gems

Our list includes many gemstones that are not commonly found in jewelry because of how hard they are to be faceted and found. Pricing of rare gemstones will always be dictated by demand. The average person is completely unaware of these esoteric gemstones making demand less than it should be.

Collectors, and museum curators are usually knowledgeable when it comes to rarity.  Size and clarity are among the elements of Rarity, that can have an exponential effect on any stone’s ranking. We limited consideration for these two elements in our ranking system.

What Makes A Stone Rare?

We believe that every gemstone’s degree of rarity depends on two critically connected elements:  Availability & Market Desirability. At all times, this concept of market desirability must be considered through a lens of an informed collector. For example, an informed collector knows: Marketing can influence a person to want anything. Jewelry that is beautiful and fashionable does not translate into true value. Just because a gemstone is very limited in availability, does not mean it will be desirable if it looks ugly.

Availability defined: The degree in which a gemstone can be readily obtained. Market Desirability defined: The characteristics that a gemstone possess that are desired by an informed collector. The Most Rare Stones will always have: Low Availability  + High market desirability. Here are examples of how availability and market desirability interact.

6 Characteristics of A Rare Gem

UNTREATED V. TREATED
Carat Weight (SIZE)
ORIGIN
CLARITY
CUTTING
SHAPE