Gemstones quite literally can take our breath away when we
see them. Who hasn’t seen a beautiful diamond or sapphire ring and exclaimed
over it? Is it only their beauty that makes them so valuable? Why else are they
valuable to us?
Most gemstones are minerals that occur naturally in the
earth. The most common is quartz, which is made of silicon and oxygen, two of
the most common chemicals or substances on the planet. Even though most people
don’t find such crystals unless specifically looking for it, it’s still
relatively common in the gem world.
One quality that determines the value of a gem is how rare
it is. A diamond, believe it or not, is actually a more common gemstone.
However, the sales and distribution of
diamonds are tightly controlled, which keeps the demand for diamonds of any
characteristic in high value. Certainly perfect, flawless diamonds are truly
rare, but diamonds themselves aren’t particularly rare.
Other gemstones are much rarer, such as sapphires and
rubies, which are part of the beryl family of minerals. Rubies are rarer than
sapphires and top quality colors in both are extremely rare.
A mineral called benitoite is found only in the San Benito
valley in California, where only a few hundred carats of it are found each
year. It is the state gem of California and is a hexagonal-shaped crystal. It
can be cut and polished to produce sapphire-colored gemstone jewelry.
Some gems are even rarer than bentitoite. They’re so rare,
that only three or four of them exist in the world. And the location where the
gemstone was found can make a big difference as well. While peridot is a fairly
common gem, there were actually several carats of peridot discovered in a
meteorite, making that one of the rarest gems ever!
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