Reading on Red Beryl the other day the US Geological Survey estimates that for ever 150k diamond crystals found, ONE Red Beryl crystal is found. Although not a perfect comparison, we can assume that Red Beryl is approximately 150k times rarer than diamonds.
The numbers I have heard for emeralds/rubies/sapphires for the entirety of my career is:
Blue Sapphire = 100x Rarer Than Diamond
Emerald = 200x Rarer Than Diamond
Ruby = 300x Rarer than Diamond
THAT SAID: I have never found any scholarly articles to back this up!
Does anyone know of any research that has been done around this where I can find data from a source similar to the USGS ?
Honestly Iâm not sure exactly how rare it is if itâs that rare. I think quality of the stone will also come in to account. For example. I have about 15 red beryl stones sitting in my facet box. They are definitely red and decent but the clarity is lacking. I wouldnât say these are more rare than say sapphire as I found them easily enough in Utah.
Relative rarity is a meaningless mind game. Therefore, you will never find any scholarly articles to support these generalized and ultimately meaningless guessing games.
Value of any gemstone is based upon numerous factors; rarity, durability, desirability, and demand. A gemstone can be rarer than henâs teeth but lacking in other factors such as demand can hurt the value dramatically. If few people want it then price will plummet.
Diamonds are not rare, look at how many countries that produce Diamonds to the number that produce Red Beryl. For every 1000cts of Red Beryl found per year, they unearth 150 million cts of Diamonds. 150 million cts! Iâd hardly call Diamonds rare.
They also use tons of heavy machinery to extract Diamonds, which beats a few hundred people digging in the dirt looking for other gemstones.
Rarity - The number of countries producing that specific stone, and how.
Is how I look at it.
Again, a meaningless mind game. Red beryl crystals tends to be rather small with 10 carats considered exceptionally large, yet many 100+++ carat rough diamonds are discovered annually. There really is no scientific method of accurately determining relative rarity of gems, and even if it could be done, the data is meaningless to the gem market. Tanzanite is considered to be a thousand times rarer than Diamonds. So what! A 100 carat top color flawless tanzanite can be purchased for $1,000/carat (much less actually) yet a 100ct D Fl diamond can reach $200,000/ct demonstrating relative rarity is meaningless.
Just because rarity â price, it doesnât mean that itâs meaningless.
People want to know for no other reason than âwanting to knowâ
Saying that relative rarity is meaningless is like saying that knowing how tall the pyramids are and comparing them to the heights of other historical structures through is meaningless. In truth, it doesnât really matter, but weâre humans, weâre curious, we want to know things.
IMHO: Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is never a bad thing (as long as no one is hurt in the process)
I agree 100% that knowledge for the sake of knowledge is never a bad thing, as long as no one is PHYSICALLY hurt in the process. If new knowledge offends, or hurts feelings, well, too bad so sad.
What, exactly, is being compared? Total rough extracted? Total cut and suitable for setting in jewelry? Would diamonds, corundum and beryl include industrial grades? Would ruby & sapphire rarity include the 10,000+ tons of emery (predominantly corundum) mined annually in Greece and Turkey? How would you factor in the attached 375 gram ruby and kyanite with fuchsite carved Shiva lingam into your relative rarity estimates? Or the attached 21.5kg Madagascar sapphire specimen? Estimates of relative rarity are meaningless as there are no scientific guidelines or criterion for establishing what ultimately wind up being just wild guesses.
As such, these wild guesses are being used as bull$#!+ marketing tools to help dealers and jewelers close sales. Claiming Blue Sapphire = 100x Rarer Than Diamond, Emerald = 200x Rarer Than Diamond and Ruby = 300x Rarer than Diamond is really no different that claiming your emeralds are âold mineâ, or âMuzoâ color, or your sapphires are âold mineâ or âKashmirâ blue. At the end of the day, these are only meaningless marketing memes. But, they sound good when trying to close a sale.
Hi. The red beryl is rare and quite expensive due to size and color as well as clarity grade. It may help by Igs chart guide and others gemval there is a guide. Plus kind of calculation up date market approximately to have idea and there is a situation that if you insurance the stone with a reputation certificate and you pay
I know that @jbergman doesnât like this subject because itâs often considered part of gemstone marketing, not gemology, but⌠I am going to revive it because Gubelinâs New âGĂźbelin Gemstone Ratingâ is said to take rarity into account as the second most important factor in the final rating a gem is given.
They make a point of saying âavailability in the marketâ, which brings up another question/problem: Market availability changes dramatically. I was buying African Paraiba by the THOUSANDS of carats at one point for a pittance, today I would pay at least 10x the price!
So⌠again, how rare are Emeralds/Rubies/Sapphires+++ ?
From Gubelin:
" Rating aspects
The GĂźbelin Gemstone Rating comprises three domains: quality, rarity and salience.
Quality is the major part and covers the main visual characteristics of the gemstone, consisting of colour, clarity and transparency as well as cut and brilliance.
Rarity considers the relative availability of this type of gemstone in the market. It includes the gemstone variety, its size and the absence, presence and severity of treatment.
Salience addresses the extent of exceptionality and attractiveness of a gemstone beyond the objective characteristics of the quality category. It is best seen as the gemstoneâs capability to stick out of the crowd.
The assessed characteristics yield an overall rating on a scale of 75 to 100 GĂźbelin Points."
I never said I donât like the subject! What I said was âRelative rarity is a meaningless mind gameâ because you must always ask ârare compared to what?â, and rarity does not uniformly equate to value. A top gem quality flawless 1ct blue jeremejevite is far more rare than equal size and quality fancy blue diamonds, yet is would sell for only a small fraction of the price demonstrating the meaningless of relative rarity. But, I welcome you to continue to waste your time on your meaningless mind game
Iâm not saying that itâs NOT meaningless, I get your point. I have a catâs eye heliodor that is the finest Iâve ever been able to find any info on of itâs size, better than The Smithsonian has, better than anywhere. Itâs under $1k/ct RETAIL!
However, to me, itâs a curiosity.
But⌠To Gubelin itâs obviously much more than a curiosity if itâs going to be part of their points system.
So⌠It probably matters.
Thanks for always being such a good sport @jbergman
