5 Rarest Crystals on Earth You Didn’t Know About

There are only about 50 known samples of this rare gemstone in the world. For many years, there were only 2 samples of Taaffeite, one of which is kept in the geological museum of London. Since then in recent times, the stone has been found in Sri Lanka and Tanzania.

Black Opal

Found in a very specific area in Australia, the Black Opal is a variety of the gemstone Opal, which is Australia’s national gemstone. This crystal was discovered in Lighting Ridge in 1903. The first of its kind, called ‘Aurora Australis’ is a famous 180 carats massive Black Opal was unearthed from a mine in Lightning Ridge in 1938, and in 2005, was valued at AUS $1,000,000 (U.S. $763,000)
Painite

Painite, for many years, was one of the most expensive gemstones in the world, and also the rarest. Discovered in 1951, the only specimen of this dark red stone was kept in the British Museum in London. Till 2001, there were only 3 in the entire world, and even after that when it started to be discovered in Myanmar, very few are suitable for faceting.

Tanzanite

As the name probably suggests, these rare crystals are found exclusively in Tanzania. This blue-violet gemstone was discovered by the Masai tribesman in 1967 in the Merelani Hills of Northern Tanzania. Because of its geographical exclusivity, the value of Tanzanite seems to be soaring over time, as the mines slowly dry out.

Grandidierite

Grandidierite is found in many places on Earth, but only in Madagascar, and some parts of Sri Lanka, very few crystals that get discovered can be turned in to gemstones. That is the reason why it is very rarely found in mineral or jewelry collections.