The most expensive gemstones in the world

When we talk about precious stones, the common diamond , emerald, and ruby immediately come to mind. And it's true that these are very valuable stones. But there are even rarer and more expensive ones. These precious stones are so rare that they exist in very limited numbers, which makes their value higher than emeralds, for example. Here is our list of the most expensive precious stones in the world .

Article updated on September 15, 2025

Lesser-known, but highly valuable, gemstones

There are over 4,000 types of stones lying deep within the Earth. Even geologists will only encounter a small fraction of this assortment in the course of their work. Thanks to the magic of nature, some stones are extremely rare. They have always been coveted for their beauty, sometimes even sacred. For more mundane reasons, precious and semi-precious stones continue to fascinate today. Here is the ranking of the most expensive stones in the world at the time of writing.

There are four "official" gemstones : diamond, ruby, emerald, and sapphire. The rest are semi-precious stones. The term "semi-precious stone" cannot be used in a commercial context.

Blue Diamond

The most sought-after gemstones are colored diamonds . Diamonds, the April birthstone, are not only extremely rare. They also possess spectacular brilliance and unparalleled hardness. Add to this rarity the marketing that goes into this stone, and you can see why colored diamonds are the most expensive gemstones in the world.

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Currently, a blue diamond holds the record for price per carat. The Oppenheimer Blue sold for $57.5 million. Based on total price, another colored diamond, the Pink Star ($71.2 million), holds the record.

Musgravite

The wonders of the Earth are such that new stones can still be discovered today. Musgravite is one of the more recent discoveries in this field: it was only in 1993 that a specimen of appreciable size was found. Today, the number of musgravites likely to lead to the creation of a piece of jewelry can be counted on the fingers of one hand. This rarity explains the extremely high price of this precious stone: it costs around $35,000 per carat.

Jadeite

Jadeite is the most beautiful, rarest, and therefore most expensive variety of jade . It comes in various colors (lavender, mauve, apple green, etc.), but the most sought-after is the Imperial Jade tone, similar to emerald. The finest examples of jadeite are found in Cambodia .

In some civilizations, such as the Aztecs and Mayans, jadeite was considered more precious than gold . And when you consider the Mesoamerican peoples' taste for the yellow metal, you can understand how much they valued jadeite, which today sells for up to $20,000 per carat.

Alexandrite

Alexandrite is another very rare gemstone and very difficult to acquire, even if you pay $12,000 per carat. This stone stands out from its peers due to its incredible optical properties. Depending on the lighting conditions, the stone changes color dramatically . Whether depending on the intensity or the angle, it changes from green to red.

This stone was discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia in the early 19th century. It was named in honor of Alexander II , the future Tsar.

Also read: how much does a one-carat diamond cost?

Red Beryl

Red beryl , also known as red emerald , is a very rare variety of beryl that ranges in color from raspberry to deep red. Despite its nickname, it is not an emerald . Red beryl was discovered in 1904 by a man named Bixby.

To date, only one place on the planet is known to have it in its depths, namely the Wah Wah Mountains of Utah . Red beryl is so rare that it is estimated that there are 8,000 times more rubies in the Earth's crust! This explains why this stone, regardless of its quality, commands a high price. Around $10,000 per carat.

Padparadscha Sapphire

Padparadscha is the rarest and most expensive variety of sapphire in the world . It is characterized by a magnificent orange color with shades between ruby and yellow sapphire.

Most Padparadscha sapphires are discovered in Sri Lanka, but they can also be found in Tanzania and Madagascar. The gemstones discovered in the latter country are pink, and therefore less sought after. This sapphire sells for around $8,000 per carat.

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Benitoite

Considered one of the most beautiful gemstones in the world, Benitoite has an atypical blue color and a dispersion coefficient higher than that of a diamond.

As its name suggests, it was first discovered in the San Benito River in California. Its remarkable dispersion can, however, be masked by the intensity of its blue. Benitoite enthusiasts therefore face a choice:

Choose a less intense blue to take advantage of its dispersion
Opt for the intensity of blue at the expense of dispersion

Black opal

Black opal is a gemstone found primarily in New South Wales, Australia. It is particularly spectacular against a black background, revealing all its subtle shades of color. This stone is very valuable, but it has the disadvantage of being very fragile due to its sensitivity to shocks and temperature fluctuations.

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Demantoid

Demantoid is a fine stone from the garnet family whose luster is reminiscent of that of a diamond. In fact, its brilliance and dispersion are superior to those of a diamond . It is in its emerald green form that it is most valuable.

Unfortunately, it is very rare to find it in large size: demantoids rarely exceed 2 carats . It was first discovered in the 19th century in Russia by a Finnish-Swedish mineralogist, Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld . Given the rarity of this stone, demantoid jewelry is often antique jewelry .

Taaffeite

You may never have heard of taaffeite . There's nothing to be ashamed of, it's an extremely rare light purple stone. So rare that it's estimated that there are 1 million times fewer taaffeites than diamonds! Its name is derived from the man who first discovered it in 1945, Richard Taaffe .

He didn't make his discovery in a mine or on a riverbed: it was in a jewelry store that his find took place. While observing a spinel jewel , the geologist noticed that the stone displayed different properties, particularly in terms of light refraction. Taaffeites are mainly found in Sri Lanka and Tanzania. Not only is this precious stone rare, but examples that allow cutting are even rarer.