Science

Not all diamonds are equal: Here are the 10 most valuable gemstones in the world

Here are the highest-valued gems in the world.

Tatyana Makeyeva

Born in Leeds, Joe finished his Spanish degree in 2018 before becoming an English teacher to football (soccer) players and managers, as well as collaborating with various football media outlets in English and Spanish. He joined AS in 2022 and covers both the men’s and women’s game across Europe and beyond.

Update: Aug 14th, 2025 12:19 EDT

Diamonds may well be forever, but they’re not the most expensive gemstone in the world. There are plenty of other rare gemstones that beat the popular stone on the high price list.

Here’s a run-down of the top 10 most expensive gemstones in the world, with some so rare you’ll only ever see them in museums, and others bought by Chinese billionaires for their daughter.

10th: Taaffeite

A million times rarer than diamonds, only 50 examples of taaffeite are known to exist. Named after Count Richard Taaffe, its discoverer, the gem is a mixture of beryllium, magnesium and aluminium and comes in colours ranging from transparent to purple, with shades of blue and red also found. Numbers suggest that taaffeite can sell for around $2,500 a carat, with gem-quality stones going for up to $15,000 per carat.

Super rare blue color taaffeite from Sri Lanka, will be post in the Gems & Gemology in the future. No for sale. #taaffeite #raregemstone #raregems #gemstones #gem #ターフェアイト #타파이트 #塔菲石 pic.twitter.com/uMXEYiQIBa
— Li (@manbeige) July 21, 2025

7th: Serendibite (Tie)

The combination of silica with boron is what gives serendibite its dark colours, including shades of greens and browns. Named after Serendib, the old Arabic name for Sri Lanka, the stone is worth around $18,000 per carat, with the largest known stone to exist worth around $2.5 million.

7th: Clear Diamond (Tie)

Cut, colour, clarity and carat are the criteria used for grading diamonds, which can go for around $15,000 to $18,000 per carat. A popular stone for wedding and engagement rings, the most expensive clear diamond ever sold went for $33.7 million in 2017 at an auction. Work & Money write that “the most expensive clear diamond in the world is the famous Great Star of Africa, which weighs 530.2 carats and is worth at around $400 million.”

7th: Emerald (Tie)

Made of the mineral beryl, emeralds are rarer than diamonds and are found mostly in Colombia, Brazil and Zambia. The Rockefeller Emerald is known to be the most expensive emerald ever sold by weight, selling for $5.51 million back in 2017.

5th: Grandidierite (Tie)

Often confused with jade, only around 1,000 examples of high-grade grandidierite are known to humanity, with the green/blue hue of the stone first discovered in 1902 in Madagascar.

The largest known specimen of grandidierite weighs 764 carats and is said to be potentially worth $20,000 per carat, a valuation that would make the gemstone worth $15.28 million.

5th: Jadeite (Tie)

The rarest variety of jade comes in greens and purples and is a highly-prized gemstone in China. It is said that the Olmecs, Maya and Aztecs of Meso-America all valued jadeite more than gold and the Maori of New Zealand also used the stone to construct weapons due to its hardness. In 2014, a necklace containing 27 beads sold for $27.44 million.

1.31ct Grandidierite pic.twitter.com/Phy0UwxKsp
— 루비지인 (@tulwig1234) November 26, 2024

4th: Painites

The rarest gemstone in the world, humanity only has 3 painites specimens in existence. First identified as a new species in 1957, the stone is only found in Myanmar. Gem Society writes that “the first two discovered painite specimens, weighing 1.7 and 2.118 grams, now reside in the Natural History Museum, London.” At $50,000-$60,000 per carat, the largest known painites could go for between $10.67 million and $12.8 million.

3rd: Blue diamond

Comprising just 0.0001% of the world’s diamonds and only found in three mines in the world — Australia, South Africa and India — blue diamond gets its colours from traces of boron inside the crystal. Going for $52,000-$300,000 per carat, the Oppenheimer Blue diamond, a vivid pure blue stone, sold for $57.5 million in 2016.

That rock, mounted on a platinum ring, was bought by Chinese property billionaire Mr Joseph Lau, for his 7-year-old daughter Josephine. I got a bike chain when I was 7. A bike chain.

2nd: Pink diamond

First discovered in India during the early 17th century, pink diamonds are found in India, South Africa, Canada, Russia and Brazil but primarily come from Australia. Chemical disturbances in the earth during their formation process are what give the gemstone its curious hue, with a distortion in the diamond’s crystal lattice, created by intense heat and great pressure, the source of the colour.

Sotheby’s sold the most expensive ever diamond, of the pink variety, for $71.2 million in 2017.

1st: Red diamond

According to The Guardian, "only 24 red diamonds of more than one carat (200 milligrams) have been publicly recorded‚" with the stone’s nitrogen and deformed crystal lattice of tightly stacked pink to red layers giving it such a vivid hue.

The earliest record of red diamonds come from 1938, with the origins of their red colour a mystery to scientists.

Few will see one and fewer will own one, with the majority of red diamonds over one carat on display at museums across the world. The Moussaieff Red Diamond, weighing 5.11 carats, is valued at $20 million.