We all have our favourite gemstones; from glittering diamonds and electric emeralds to shiny pearls and deep purple amethysts. But there are a great deal of rare and unusual gems out there – many of which you’ve probably never even heard of. And there are some pretty mysterious stories connected to certain stones as well!
For example, the Koh-i-Noor Diamond is a giant 105.6 Carat shimmering stone, which currently resides in the Tower of London. Koh-i-Noor is Persian for Mountain of Light and the lore encircling this stone would make any male think twice about owning it. ‘He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God or woman can wear it with impunity’. So it’s no wonder really that it has always belonged to women – it was a treasure of Queen Victoria’s at one time.
Even more impressive than the Mountain of Light is the Star of India. This is a whopping 563.5 Carats and is the largest blue diamond in existence. The feature, however, that makes it more unique and special is the natural star design within the stone caused by tiny fibres of rutile aligned in a three-fold pattern within the gem, which causes light to reflect in a star pattern. This is known as asterism. The stone can be found in the American Museum of Natural History.
But there are also many beautiful and rare gemstones that you don’t need to stare at from behind glass and you can own and wear them without worrying about a curse on mankind.
Some of these gorgeous and unique stones are the copper-rich, ocean coloured gems such as chrysocolla, malachite and azurite. We actually have a yellow gold dress ring with a bright, sea green malachite stone in its centre, available on our website.
Another rare stone in a lovely shade of sea green is the Alexandrite which is so distinctive because it shifts in colour. It transforms from a lovely blue-green in sunlight to a deepening purple-red under incandescent light. Take a look at the Alexandrite ring we have to offer here.
Lapis Lazula, a deep blue rock marbled with white and a brassy gold, is another one that you don’t often stumble across. And it is this stone that originated the word ‘azure’ because of its beautiful blue shade. If this striking stone is to your taste, we do have some pieces available that you can take a look at here.
If blue is quite simply not your colour, we have a couple of Morganite set pieces available as well. Morganite varies from a light peach colour to dusky pink and sometimes even more intense shades. It is a rare stone, particularly the ones that are of deeper colouring. Take a look at our Morganite pieces here.
But which gem is the rarest in existence?
Painite was the rarest gem in the world at one point. But recent discoveries in mines in Myanmar have changed its status. But they are still extremely valuable as only a few thousand fragments are known in existence and 1 Carat is worth £60,000.
These days, however, Taaffeite seems to be the rarest gemstone on the planet. This stone was discovered by accident, found in a collection of spinels, and less than fifty pieces of them exist to this day. Of course, we do not stock Taffeite as they are so rare that they are only held in geological collections.
But here at William May we have a huge variety of different gemstones, including stones in varying shades of pink and purple if you want something that resembles Taaffeite!
And, of course, we have an incredible selection of the classics such as diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds. So browse our collection of gemstones - rare and rife - and treat yourself or a loved one to some special jewellery.
