Precious stones are expensive because of their hardness and rareness. Precious stones or gemstones as it is also known are more valuable than semi-precious stones.
Generally, there are four popular precious stones, they are also known as the big four:
- Diamond: This precious stone is known for its hardness and age. Natural diamonds ages between 1-3.5 billion years! They are composed deep in the earth’s mantle. They are made up of carbon and these precious stones are very rare. They are sold by the carat.
- Emeralds: They are known to be beautiful gemstones. They are colored stones mostly they have a distinctly rich green color. They are valued more depending on their color. Emeralds are rarer than diamonds. Another fact one should know is that it’s the softest precious stone among the four.
- Ruby: This precious stone is known for its reddish color. Its value is affected depending on its color, clarity, and cut. The most valuable rubies are the ones called “blood-red” or “pigeon red”.
- Sapphire: They are known as the blue gemstone. It is popular and valuable because of its beautiful color, firmness, brightness, and its durability.
