Top 10 Rarest Precious Gems

This rare gemstone is found in limited quantities in the United States, specifically in San Benito County, California. Its distinctive blue color makes it highly sought after by collectors. Only about 70 pounds of benitoite have been mined worldwide since its discovery in 1907, making it one of the rarest precious gems. It is named after the San Benito River where it was first found.

One of the few red diamonds known to exist, this gemstone is valued for its intense color and rarity. The Moussaieff Red Diamond, a 5.11-carat stone, is considered one of the most valuable diamonds in the world due to its unique hue. Fewer than 20 red diamonds are thought to exist globally, making them extremely rare. The origins of the red diamond's color remain a mystery.

This highly prized gemstone is known for its vibrant green color and fine grain. Due to its rarity, high-quality jadeite is difficult to find, particularly in large quantities. Only 30 pounds of high-quality jadeite are estimated to exist worldwide. The origins of jadeite date back over 4 million years.

A rare and colorful gemstone, jeremejevite features vibrant hues of pink and blue due to its unique chemical composition. Its rarity makes it highly sought after by collectors. Only a few hundred kilograms of jeremejevite are mined worldwide each year. The name "jeremejevite" is derived from the location where the first specimen was discovered in 1902.

Once considered the world's rarest gemstone, painite is now listed with benitoite as one of the rarest minerals on Earth. Its reddish-brown color makes it a prized collector's item. Only eight specimens of painite have been found worldwide since its discovery in 1950. The rarity and elusiveness of painite remain due to its location deep within mines.

This gemstone is known for its yellow-orange hue and is one of the rarest crystals on Earth, with only a few thousand known specimens existing worldwide. Its name comes from the island of Serendip (Sri Lanka), where it was first discovered in 1902. The discovery of serendibite highlights the geological wonders waiting to be found.

This gemstone is one of the rarest forms of beryl, known for its deep red color due to a combination of radiation and temperature effects. Only about two dozen pieces of high-quality red beryl are thought to exist worldwide. Its discovery remains an anomaly within geological research due to its unique conditions.

A highly prized stone in the opal world, black opals feature vibrant colors that seem to shift under different lighting conditions. Their rarity lies in their limited availability and difficult harvesting process, resulting in fewer than a hundred high-quality specimens existing globally. Only those with strong optical properties are truly valuable.

Found in an incredibly small number compared to other diamond types, blue diamonds are the rarest variety of this gemstone due to unique mineral conditions during formation. The few examples known exist predominantly in color variation ranging between pale blue and rich sapphire hues. Those valued in high esteem have been named "vivid" or having a more saturated intensity.

Known historically for its rarity, the most prized shade of purple dye extracted from shellfish holds great cultural significance and value among jewelers. The extraction of this precious color demands great effort due to the short availability of certain natural elements required in its production. The historical usage of Tyrian Purple has remained a testament to the allure and exclusivity of this unique gemstone throughout history.