Valuable Stones of Our Planet and the Places They Are Found

There are many natural wonders of our world: organic life, stunning scenery and of course, precious stones. Formed when the conditions of heat and pressure were exerted perfectly on particular types of minerals and rock, the gemstones of our world are stunningly beautiful and can be very expensive. Here are the most well known stones and the locations they can be found.

Diamonds As the hardest stone known to man, Diamonds are a rare and coveted gemstone. For every one million diamonds that are mined, only one will be found that is a one caret diamond. They are used for industrial drill bits as well as adored as jewellery, and comes in shades from clear to yellow to red (the rarest).

Rubies Instantly recognisable for their blood red to purple colour, rubies are often given as a symbol of love and passion. They are one of the most precious stones and the finest rubies are thought to come from the mines of Burma, which have been in operation since the 1400′s. If you own a ruby it is advisable to get adequate jewellery insurance.

Sapphires Most people will immediately picture sapphires being of deep blue in colour, but in fact they come in every colour except red. Sri Lanka and Montana in the US have particularly good quality sapphires, but they can also be found in Australia, Madagascar, Kenya and Tanzania.

Emeralds Only gems that have vivid green colours and are made from the mineral beryl are considered emeralds. Top quality emeralds are more highly prized than even diamonds. Mined in antiquity by the ancient Egyptian’s, today Emeralds are mined in Colombia, many countries in Africa and various states in the US.

Tanzanite As the rarest gemstone on Earth, Tanzanite is very highly prized. Named after the country where it is found – Tanzania – it was only discovered in the second half of the 20th century, and can only be found in a small patch of land in the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It is Tanzanite’s ‘pleochroism’ that makes is visually stunning, as it is capable of the double refraction of light. This means it displays different colours when viewed from different angles.

Philip Youngwood writes on a number of insurance related topics including jewellery insurance.