Four Gemstones Rarer and More Beautiful Than Your Average Diamond
Published by A big, white, and clear as a mid-day sky in July diamond, is the epitome of a gemstone. But, there are stones out there that aren’t as tough as diamond, they aren’t as famous as diamonds. Yet their beauty rivals that of even the most famous diamonds, the Hope Diamond.
Here’s a few of these precious gifts from mother Earth, and you decide.
Demantoid Garnet
This green variation of all you January babies birthstone is the rarest of all garnets. I had to dub this one The Prince. I couldn’t stop thinking that if a beautiful princess gemstone kissed a frog gemstone, it would turn into this Prince of a gem. First, discovered in Russia, this brilliant stone got its name because of its diamond-like luster. Bank Accounts beware, at the top retail end, this Ural Mountain dweller can reach as much as US$10,000 per carat.
Alexandrite
Good luck finding this extremely rare stone at you local jewelers. This is one of my favorites because it possesses a quality that only a hand full of other natural stones can stake claim to, color change. Alexandrite is a variety of Chrysoberyl, same family of gemstones that Emerald fall in, that displays a change -of-color from green to blue-green in daylight, and purple to purplish-red in incandescent light. It gets its name from a mineralogist who coined the term in honor of the Russian Czar that was coming of age at the time of its discovery, Alexander II.
Paraiba Tourmaline
I can picture myself floating adrift on a raft in the center of this stone, just off shore a deserted island. Relaxing with this crystal clear blue ocean beneath me. Paraiba is one of the most magnificent natural gemstones in the world. First found in Paraiba, Brazil, it’s color varies from intense blue to green. It gets this beautiful color from copper being added to its composition. As the rarest and most expensive of all Tourmalines, this bad boy can easily reach tens of thousands per carat.
Padparadscha Sapphire
And last but definitely not least at all, we have this pink rose of a gem. the Padparadscha Sapphire. Padparadscha is a variety of corundum, the sapphire and ruby family. It’s color is a pinkish orange, and it gets its name from the Sanskrit/Sinhalese padmaraga, a color similar to that of the lotus flower. Now-a-days, some define the gem’s color as a blend of lotus and sunset shown below.
This stone set as a solitaire ring is sure to melt the heart of your special little lady.
Gemstones really are the flowers of the mineral world. I’ve been considering using one of these stones as a replacement for the traditional diamond ring, only problem is they can get up to 10x more expensive and even harder to find. But, I guarantee that the look on your Queen’s face will be very well worth it.
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13 Responses to “Four Gemstones Rarer and More Beautiful Than Your Average Diamond”
On September 29, 2008 at 3:20 am
And isn’t the little lady worth it!!! (So she tells me). good pictures
On September 29, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Alexandrite is my birth stone (June). I once went to tiffany, in N.Y. where a 2ct. Alexandrite was selling for $78,000 in a plain setting. Needless to say my husband, at that time, did not splurge for that. Great article and much information along with wonderful pics.Thanks
On September 30, 2008 at 1:58 am
These stones are all amazingly beautiful. I’d find it hard to choose one should I be given the chance to do so…:-)
On September 30, 2008 at 10:20 am
Simply lovely my friend. I never knew of some of these, so thank you for the educatrion, you make it fun. Michael
On October 1, 2008 at 12:07 am
Really informative article. I didn’t know some of them.
On October 3, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Great article. I love learning new things. This article makes me want to study gemstones a lot more. Great pictures too. Thanks.
On October 7, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I love stones of color – the Padparadscha Sapphire is gorgeous.
On October 10, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Ooh, these gemstones are cool! Thanks for the pictures and information!
On October 21, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Thank you so much everyone for reading and enjoying this article. I really appreciate the feed back.
On October 23, 2008 at 9:06 am
I think they’re pretty and everything, but for me, nothing could really replace the classic diamond when it comes to engagement rings (if that’s what we’re talking about here, which, because of some hints in the article, I think we are). Just my opinion. :*)
On October 24, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Thanks for sharing your opinion “c,” it’s valued more than any of these gems.
On March 16, 2009 at 11:54 am
I definitely agree with Demantoid being rare. I was in contact with the owner of Hans-Dieter-Haag (a very old gem cutting company in Idar-Oberstein, Germany), and he told me that he bought an entire year’s mine run of Demantoid from a particular mine. It totaled less than 500 grams of rough.
On March 16, 2009 at 11:58 am
Oh, and I just wanted to let you know that Alexandrite has nothing in common with Emerald. Alexandrite is a chrysoberyl, as you stated, but emerald is a Beryl. The only similarity between them is that they both contain beryllium. One is an oxide and the other is a silicate.
Just thought you’d like to know.
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