While no one can deny the power and beauty of the diamond, there are other gemstones out there that are just as rare and beautiful. If your loved one likes a bit of color and likes to stand out from the crowd, likes to defy convention – we have the best gemstones to choose from.  

From rubies to sapphires to pearls – there are so many rare and beautiful gemstones that have a fascinating history and can only be found in certain parts of the world. It is not just their beauty, but the story and legends behind these magical and precious stones that make them special.  

Burma Ruby 

All rubies are rare, but the ones from Burma (now known as Myanmar) are the gold standard when it comes to these vivid red gems. Burma Rubies are incredibly hard to find. These particular types of rubies are unlike the ones from Thailand because they have smaller traces of iron – which makes them a sharper and more vibrant shade of red with much more fluorescence.  

Sri Lankan, Ceylon Sapphires 

Sapphires, like rubies, are made from a form of aluminum oxide, corundum, which makes it one of the hardest substances in the world. Sapphires are mostly found in Myanmar, India, and Sri Lanka and they come in blue, green, orange, black, purple, and yellow.  

The Ceylon Sapphire is the most popular because the sapphires found in Sri Lanka are the biggest, finest, and rarest out of all the sapphires produced.  These types of sapphires are unique due to their luminous, light and bright cornflower blue color. 

Mikimoto Pearls

Considered the world’s pearl expert, Kokichi Mikimoto is known for having the rarest and finest cultured pearls across the globe. Mikimoto pearls are not a specific pearl type, but the brand name of the jewelry house that creates the pearl jewelry itself. Mikimoto specializes in the Japanese Akoya pearl found in the Pacific Ocean surrounding Japan. They also work with other high-quality pearls such as the exotic black Tahitian pearls called the Black South Sea. Natural pearls are incredibly difficult to find – making them extremely valuable and precious. 

Paraiba Tourmaline 

There are over 100 different colors of the gemstone tourmaline. However, the electric blue-green Paraiba tourmaline, primarily found in Brazil and recently in Africa, is one of the most rare and valuable of all the different types of tourmalines. This luminous, neon yet pale blue-mint green gemstone made its debut in 1989 and has been in high demand ever since.  In fact, some of the darker blue stones from Brazil can cost up to $20,000 per carat! 

Red Coral 

Japanese red coral, also known as “ox blood”, is the rarest and most valuable type of coral on the market. This gemstone is not mined, it is grown organically in the ocean. This gemstone has been popular for quite some time, so much so that it has been overharvested. The Mediterranean’s red coral colonies only produce 25% of what they should be producing, making the gemstone that much rarer and more expensive.  

Tanzanite 

Tanzanite is a shocking 1000 times more rare than a diamond. Discovered for the first time in 1967 and only found in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, these gemstones go for about $1,500 per carat. Tanzanite has the ability to change color depending on the angle of light it is in. It can appear as an intense violet-blue to a greenish yellow to brown. However, the more popular ones come in attractive blue hues, rivaling the popular sapphire. It has been said that the entire supply of tanzanite, also known as zoisite, will be gone in approximately 20 years.  

Natural Spinel

Natural spinel is a rare and beautiful gemstone with colors ranging from deep gem tones to light pastels in pink, red, orange, blue, purple, and black. In fact, the only colors that they don’t come in are yellow and green. Red and blue spinels were originally thought to be rubies and sapphires – so much so that they can be found in a lot of crown jewels. Interestingly, spinels are allochromatic gemstones, meaning that it is actually colorless. The colors come from the presence of trace elements, otherwise known as chromophores. Generally colorless varieties of gemstones are the most common and therefore not as valuable – but that is not the case with spinel. Natural colorless spinels are incredibly difficult to find, making them much more expensive. Spinel can be found in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Africa, Russia, Australia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Bright cobalt blue spinel can be found in Canada.  

Aquamarine 

Aquamarine can be found in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Kenya, Brazil, Nigeria, Madagascar, Zambia, Russia, Pakistan, and Tanzania. It’s usually found in metamorphic and igneous rocks. Aquamarine is famous for its light to intense blue-green hue which is said to bring about serenity and peace. In fact, sailors used to carry them on voyages to ensure that the sea remained calm. Dark blue aquamarine gemstones, which can only be found in Brazil, are extremely rare and, therefore, expensive.  

Opals 

Opals can be found in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Ethiopia, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala, Poland, Zambia, Indonesia, and Honduras. Opals come in two categories – precious and common. Precious opals are iridescent whereas the common opal is not. Precious opals are more expensive and rarer to find. The shape of the opal can add to its value: oval opals are generally considered much more valuable than free form – except for boulder opals, when free form is considered more valuable. Oval opals usually present the best color and can be applied in a variety of ways. Opals can be found in every color of the rainbow. Black opals are the rarest and, as such, the most expensive. 

Check out our online catalogue or come into one of our locations to find the gemstones mentioned above.