If you’re thinking about purchasing a gemstone this year, we highly suggest you read this article before doing so. With possibly hundreds of gemstones out there in the world, it could be quite challenging to find the one that looks good but also is a sound investment.
From expensive and rare, to artificial and good-looking, here is a list of the most popular gemstones in the world.
1. Musgravite
Musgravite has a hardness between 8 and 8.5, which is pretty impressive and hails from the mountains which gave it its name, Musgravite Mountains. These mountains are located in South Australia and this rare gemstone was first encountered in 1967. People later discovered that Greenland, Madagascar, and Antarctica also hold small portions of this expensive gemstone, which prices $6,000 per carat.
2. Tanzanite
This gemstone was also discovered in 1967 and it quickly became popular in the international market. Many jewelers have been fascinated by the looks and properties of this rare gemstones, hence why popular gemologists called this stone “The Century Gem”. Its unique origin and color pattern make this gemstone very hard to buy since 90% of Tanzanite is being sold by members of the International Colored Gemstone Association. This association doesn’t allow unprofessional businessmen to handle it and they are quite fanatical and ethical about this stone.
3. Blue Goldstone
We mentioned earlier that we won’t be making this article solely about precious stones, so we will mention a few artificial ones.
The first one is the blue goldstone which is made out of artificial glass and copper with the inner glow making it an extremely popular choice of accessory. Even though this stone is artificial, it is heavily praised by jewelers and gemologists because of the magnificent artificial coloring. According to gemstonist.com, this stone dates way back from the medieval times and it is even said that a sole monk who was making glass firstly created it. It is even said that the creation of this artificial stone was a mistake since he poured copper chips into the glass by accident. What the monk thought to be a disaster actually became a huge hit since people have been using this stone ever since on necklaces and bracelets.
4. Alexandrite
Emerald by day, ruby by night, Alexandrite has a variety of colors and shades, from blue to red color patterns. Discovered in the 1930s by a group of workers who worked in the Ur Mountains, the gemstone was presented as a gift to the Russian Tsar Prince Alexander, hence the name. However, ever since the 1930s, Russia’s Alexandrite mines have dried up and the primary source has become Brazil, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Tanzania. Alexandrite is priced at $12,000 per carat.
5. Emerald
Emerald has a very long history if we compare it to other gemstones. It is even quoted by some historical documents that this precious gemstone dates back almost 4,000 years! Firstly discovered in Egypt, Emerald quickly became very popular and was worn by many Pharaohs and nobility in Egypt. Nowadays, Emerald can be found in many places across the world and some of the most popular wearers have been Queen Victoria, Princess Diana, various women from the Russian courts, and of course, Cleopatra.
