Ronald Phillips Lists 10 Gems More Expensive Diamonds

They say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, although are they the most valuable pieces of jewelry a girl can own? Contrary to popular belief, the answer is no.

Diamonds rank among the most widely known precious stones on the market. However, several other colored and colorless gemstones fetch higher market values, which every gemstone investor should know by heart.

Ronald Phillips lists the most expensive gemstones ever found:

1. Alexandrite

Cost per carat: $70,000

You might know Alexandrites for their rare, color-changing properties.

2. Black Opal

Cost per carat: $9,500

Black opal is rare because you can only mine it in Lightning Ridge, a small outback town in New South Wales, Australia.

3. Blue Diamond

Cost per carat: $3.93 million

Blue diamonds have a gorgeous, naturally-occurring blue hue across their body.

4. Emerald

Cost per carat: $305,000

Emeralds rank alongside diamonds in terms of popularity, but it costs several hundreds of thousands more.

5. Jadeite

Cost per carat: $3 million

Jadeite is the rarest Jade gemstone you can find.

6. Musgravite

Cost per carat: $35,000

Miners only unearth a handful of raw Musgravite per annum.

7. Pink Diamond

Cost per carat: $1.19 million

Only 0.1% of mined diamonds consist of pink diamonds.

8. Red Beryl

Cost per carat: $10,000

Gem-quality red beryl can only be mined in the Wah Wah Mountains of Utah, making them very rare.

9. Ruby

Cost per carat: $1.18 million

The most expensive ruby stones have a deep, dark red hue and fetch a staggering market value of $1 million per carat.

10. Tanzanite

Cost per carat: $1,200

Instead of hoarding diamonds, Ronald Phillips suggests investing in Tanzanite as well. They’re a rare stone exclusively mined in Tanzania.

Bottom Line

The gemstone market has dozens of precious stones and variations to offer, and Ronald Phillips discourages shoppers from limiting themselves to the same colorless diamonds. Explore the market. Whether after aesthetics or capital appreciation, you’ll find dozens of other gems more appealing than diamonds.