bead stuffs

wolfdancer:

Masasi Blue Color Change Garnet 4.27ct 11.83×7.39mm Pear Shape

  Blue Garnet -  ~$1.5 million per carat

Found in almost every color of the rainbow including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black, pink and colorless, the blue garnet remains the most rare and most fascinating.  It was discovered only recently in the 1990s in Bekily, Madagascar and other deposits have been found in the US, Russia and Turkey.  What makes the blue garnet that much more beautiful is its color changing property, which is due to high amounts of the metal vanadium.  In daylight, the gem is a soft blue-green but changes to a vivid purple under incandescent light.  The most expensive blue garnet, at 4.2 carats, sold for $6.8 million in 2003.

wolfdancer:

Ist Photo: Christie’s Images LTD. 2012
A jadeite bead necklace with optimal color, translucency, and texture is expected to fetch $3.2-4.5 million.

VERY FINE JADEITE AND DIAMOND RING (sold for 1,580,000 HKD)

Jadeite – $3 million + per carat

Winning the title of rarest precious stone in the world is jadeite.  While not to be confused with jade, a term used to refer to both jadeite and nephrite, only jadeite retains value as a rare gem.  With the best gem quality jadeite found in Myanmar (Upper Burma), other lesser quality sources include Guatemala, Russia, Kazakhstan, Japan and California.  Jadeite’s value is judged by the combination of the intensity of green color and high degree of transparency.  At Christie’s in 1997, a jadeite necklace called the “Doubly Fortunate” set the highest price for a piece of jadeite jewelry sold at auction, selling for $9.3 million.

What makes this jadeite  the most expensive in the world?  Its Colour and the translucency of the stones,….. and  the fact that until the late 19th Century only the Chinese Emperor’s and Empress’s and a few other members of the Royal family could wear this most coveted colour. In fact it was punishable by death for anyone else to wear it!

wolfdancer:

Moussaieff Red Diamond

The Kazanjian Red Diamond

The Hancock Red

Red Diamonds -  ~$2 million per carat

Though all colored diamonds are incredibly rare, none are more so than the red diamond.  Less than 20 exist today and most weigh less than half a carat, however there are three that weigh over 5 carats with the biggest being the Moussaieff Red (5.11 carats).  Notably, the Argyle Mine in Australia produces a small number of red diamonds each year.  In 1987, the Hancock Red (0.95 carats), the first high quality red diamond at auction, sold for $926,000 per carat.  Twenty years later that record would fall when a rare 2.26 carat purplish-red diamond sold for $2.6 million, or about $1.15 million a carat, at Christie’s in Geneva.