How rare are rubies? Rubies are one of the rarest gemstones. The rarest rubies come from Burma (Myanmar), due to their high quality and exceptional color. Good quality rubies larger than one carat are also extremely rare—and expensive.
Gem-quality rubies are significantly rarer than diamonds, though there are certain types of diamonds that are very rare too. If we weigh the most spectacular examples of rubies and diamonds against one another, diamonds that show color are even rarer.
Ruby prices can range from a few hundred dollars a carat to thousands of dollars per carat depending on the size, color, origin, and treatment.
Ruby: Untreated natural rubies are extremely rare. They are actually significantly rarer than sapphires, which is why they are even more expensive. Emerald: Like sapphires and rubies, emeralds are among the rarest of all gemstones. They are rarer than sapphires but not quite as rare as rubies.
Ruby is found at various sites in New South Wales, including the Macquarie and Cudgegong Rivers, Tumbarumba and the New England area. The most significant occurrence is near Gloucester, in the drainage of the Barrington volcano. The Barrington/Gloucester area has been fossicked and mined for gold, ruby and sapphire.
Australia has the largest white opal reserves in the world.
The opal is one of the most common and demanded gemstones in the world. Australia has had somewhat of a monopoly on the market since the 1930s, supplying 90% of the global opal market.
Australia's national gemstone is the opal, a stone famous across the world for its brilliant colours. In Indigenous stories, a rainbow created the colours of the opal when it touched the earth.
Painite : Not just the rarest gemstone, but also the rarest mineral on earth, Painite holds the Guinness World Record for it. After its discovery in the year 1951, there existed only 2 specimens of Painite for the next many decades. By the year 2004, there were less than 2 dozens known gemstones.
A fine quality ruby is generally more expensive than most sapphires and emeralds, with record prices of up to $1,000,000 per carat. Sapphires can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $11,000 per carat, but you'll find good-quality stones at $450 - $1,200 per carat. Emeralds range from $525 to $1,125 per carat.
Scientifically speaking, rubies and sapphires are the same mineral (corundum). Both are made of alumina and oxygen, but they just differ in color. When a corundum is red, it is classified as a ruby, and when it's blue, it is called a sapphire.
Astrologers say that Ruby should not be worn in Virgo, Capricorn, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius ascendant because there is a feeling of enmity of the Sun with the owners of their zodiac signs.
A real ruby stone will fluoresce, or glow, when exposed to light. The fluorescence will be a bright red or orange color. Fake rubies will not fluoresce, or will fluoresce a different color. To perform the ruby light test, you will need a flashlight or other bright light and a ruby.
How Rare is Amethyst? Not very rare, it is plentiful, but with all gemstones, the better the color the more rare it is.
Sapphires are rare gems, especially when compared to diamonds. The most common color is blue, but deeply saturated blue sapphires with high clarity are difficult to find in nature, making them incredibly valuable. Green emeralds and red rubies are harder to find in nature than sapphires.
And that makes the July birthstone – the ruby – rare and precious. It's among the most highly prized of gemstones. Large rubies are harder to find than large diamonds.
Rubies come from many parts of the world, but rubies from particular countries will be valued much higher than those from others. It is also common to find highly enhanced and lab-created rubies in the market. These are much cheaper than natural rubies.
Ruby – With a 9/10 rating on the Mohs scale, the ruby is an exceptionally durable gem. Sapphire – Similar to the ruby, the sapphire also features a 9/10 rating on the Mohs scale. Emerald – Featuring a 7.5-8 score on the Mohs scale, the emerald is slightly less durable than its precious gem counterparts.
Ruby Sources
There are a number of sources for rubies with the two most important ones being Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Mozambique.
The Rarest Birthstones
For example, April's diamond, though pricey, is less rare than rubies, emeralds, and alexandrite. While on the topic of alexandrite, this is currently the rarest gemstone on the birthstone list and can come at quite a cost. Black opals are also incredibly rare.
The four most sought-after precious gemstones are diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies. gemstone can help you decide what you want to say with your custom piece of jewelry.
2. Pink Diamond – $1.2 million per carat. The second most expensive natural gemstone on this list is a pink diamond. Pink diamonds, like red diamonds, are classified as fancy-colored diamonds.
Musgravite – Estimated $35,000/carat
Musgravite is one of the newest and most rare gemstones in the world. Musgravite is a silicate mineral whose main ingredients are beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg) and aluminum (Al). It was named 'musgravite' after the area Musgrave in Australia from where the material was first found.
Opal is found around the world (Brazil, Mexico, Honduras and the western US) however Australia produces 95% of the world's precious opal and it is our official national gemstone.