Gemstones are little miracles of chemistry and nature. We love their colours and their sparkle, as well as the legends and meanings that people have assigned to rare gems for millennia. We’re probably all familiar with the most famous gemstones - diamonds, rubies, sapphires etc - but there are thousands of varieties out there and some are so rare that they are only found in one place on earth!

Others are so uncommon that less than 1kg worth of them have ever been discovered and you’ll only see them in museums or in the hands of collectors, if ever!

Just because something is rare, doesn't necessarily mean it’s pretty, so we’ve chosen to focus on some stones that are both attractive and rare, stones that you’ll find set into jewellery by some of the most famous names in the business.

This being said, If scarcity alone gets you going, then Painite is literally one of the rarest gems on the planet; until 2004 only 2 had ever been cut into faceted stones. However this brownish red stone isn't exactly sparkly and vivid, so misses out on our list, though you can consider this an honourable mention.

Tanzanite

Tanzanite is the name that has been given to the blue variety of the mineral zoisite, and they are only found in one place on earth, northern Tanzania. Tanzanite was only discovered in 1967, by British gemologist Campbell Bridges, who prospected extensively in East Africa on behalf of Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany’s marketed the stones exclusively for some years and the stone has a strong association with the company today. The original deposit is still the only known source of this stone on the planet.

The best examples of tanzanite are a deep royal blue colour with flashes of purple and red, and well-cut stones maintain this depth of colour.

Paraiba Tourmaline

The tourmaline family of minerals produces gemstones of many different colours, but the rarest is an electric, sky blue variety that was originally discovered in Brazil near the town of Paraiba.

It is the presence of copper atoms in the structure of the gemstone that give it, its unique colour and gemmology labs will often search for these elusive atoms when analysing these stones.

Large Paraiba tourmalines with good clarity can be exceptionally valuable. Since the original discovery in Brazil, this type of tourmaline has been found in a few pockets elsewhere, but are still known as ‘Paraiaba’ tourmaline.

Jeremejevite

A gemstone so rare that it’s virtually unknown to the jewellery industry, Jeremejevite was discovered in Russia in the 1800s and since then has only been found in a few places worldwide, mostly Namibia.

Few examples have ever been cut into faceted gemstones as they are highly sought after by mineral collectors. Their colour ranges from blue to green through to yellow leading to comparisons with aquamarine. However, most stones that have been discovered are tiny, whereas aquamarines can weigh in kilograms.

The stone measures 6.7 - 7.5 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, meaning faceted stones are suitable for jewellery.

Green garnets

There are 2 main types of green garnet and they are both pretty obscure, yet highly prized in the high-end jewellery world and by collectors. They both found in just a handful of places on the planet so can certainly be considered rare gems.

Tsavorite garnet

Tsavorites are probably the best known of these green garnets and, like tanzanite, were discovered by Campbell Bridges and originally marketed by Tiffany’s. Tsavorites are bright green in colour and are extremely rare in sizes over 3ct.

Unlike Tanzanite, they have been discovered in a few other locations since they were originally discovered. They are named tsavorites after the Tsavo national park where they were first mined.

Demantoid garnet

Not only are these garnets rare and green, they also sparkle more than diamonds, which is where they get their name - demantoid, meaning like a diamond.

Originally discovered in Russia’s Ural mountains, only small pockets of these stones have been found around the world and their mystique, as well as unique natural properties, make them a must-have for jewellery collectors.

Unusually, demantoids with inclusions can actually be more valuable than those without. A ‘horsetail’ inclusion is said to be an indicator that a stone is of Russian origin, prized by collectors.

Demantoid garnets can range from yellow to olive to bright green.

Blue Garnets

Even rarer than green garnets are blue garnets! And you can even get colour changing blue garnets. They were originally discovered in the 1990s in Madagascar, with the most recent pocket found in 2017 in Tanzania. Because of the intensely limited supply, they will remain an exclusive gemstone to own.

Red diamonds

Diamonds come in many colours, but the rarest is red! It's because of this extreme scarcity that red diamonds command the highest prices.

The largest internally flawless red diamond weighs 5.11ct and is known as the Moussiaf Red.

The main source of red diamonds was the Argyle diamond mine in North Western Australia. However, this mine closed in 2020 meaning these stones will become even rarer.

Padparadscha Sapphires

A rare mixture of pink, orange and yellow this variety of Sapphire is one of the most sought after gems and they always create excitement at auction.

Found in East Africa, Sri Lanka and Madagascar, the word Padparadscha refers to the colour rather than a specific location and comes from the ancient Sanskrit language.

Vivid pink stones with flashed of orange and yellow are the most highly prized. Learn more.