Neither gold nor platinum: the world’s rarest, most expensive and volatile mineral that is becoming increasingly scarce

The price of gold has been skyrocketing as economic uncertainties grip the global financial markets. Currently, the precious metal is worth over $3,300 per ounce. Now, imagine you have 926 troy-ounce bars of gold. That would be roughly 63.5 pounds and worth about $3 million. Not a bad amount of wealth to have stored away in a vault.

However, with just a carat of Jadeite, or 0.00643 ounces, you could be holding the same amount of wealth in your pocket, carefully of course. This form of the semi-precious gemstone jade is the most valuable mineral on Earth.

Jadeite: the most valuable mineral on Earth

Humans have prized jade since the neolithic era not only for its beauty but also for its durability, jadeite is even more shatter-resistant than diamonds. This heavy pyroxene mineral has been used for jewelry, ornaments and tools.

It’s distinguished from the more affordable form of jade, nephrite, by its more diverse range of colors, basically any color of the rainbow, and brightness. The most valuable color of jadeite is deep green, purer than emerald, known as “Imperial Green,” explains Gems Rock Auctions.

It is also tougher, with a hardness of 6.5-7, as it undergoes more pressure during the metamorphic process. It is formed in subduction zones on the edges of continental plates that provide high pressure but relatively low temperature.

The primary source for jewelry grade jadeite is Myanmar, which produces roughly 70% of the world supply of this mineral. It is also found in parts of California, Guatemala, Japan, Russia and across Kazakhstan according to Gem Rock Auctions.

The most expensive jadeite jewelry, the Hutton-Mdivani Necklace, was sold for $27.4 million in 2014 by Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. The necklace is “composed of 27 graduated jadeite beads of exceptional quality and color… that were unusually large in diameter,” explains the Secret Garden of Gems.

In a video posted on the site’s YouTube channel, Secret Garden of Gems shared that Hutton collected an assortment of fine jewelry, amassing “a collect that was both vast and legendary… encompassing rare and historically significant pieces.” In the case of the jadeite necklace, it is believed that it came from the Ching Dynasty imperial court in China.

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