A Rare Gem Even When It Is Found Aplenty Still Remains Rare

It is important, before buying gems, to understand what in fact a rare gem is. Diamonds are an example and they have for long been thought to be rare and this is easily gauged by the fact that one look at their prices will show how costly they are. The truth of the fact is that diamonds are hardly a true rare gem because they are found in abundance and it is only their high prices that make people think that such gems are rather rare. You only need to look at diamond marketers such as DeBeers to notice just how many of them are being stockpiled in order to meet world demand.

Sapphires, Rubies And Emeralds

On the other hand, a rare gem could also be a sapphire or ruby and emerald in particular is considered extremely rare. However, in the case of these gems too it has to be said that they are found aplenty though price remains high in spite of the abundance of such rare gems. Therefore, the true definition of the rare gem is that it is a form of gem that is only found in at most a couple of mines on this planet. Furthermore, the rough material mined must be of minimal quantities.

When a mine has been shut down or has dried up its stocks of gems then any gem that was found in that mine will become scarce and therefore will be more in demand and its price may go up as well. The International Gem Association or the IGA plays a big part in deciding which gem qualifies to be a rare gem and which does not.

The IGA will factor in how much rough material is recovered and the location as too the number of mines and whether the mines are still being used to mine rare gem or whether they have been shut down before deciding whether a particular gem qualifies as being a rare gem. A good example of a rare gem, the Alexandrite which is from Russia has for long been considered the rarest of all gems. Now-days, new mines are being opened in countries such as Sri Lanka and Brazil though these countries cannot match the quality of Russian gems and so their gems are not considered as true rare gems.

Rare gemstones are considered as being rather too costly and are also generally believed to also be semi-precious and their value can be determined in a few simple ways. You need to check the hardness of the gemstone that if it falls in the range between seven and ten will qualify the gemstone as being of higher quality and when such gemstones are scarce then they are considered as being rare.