10 Rarest Black Stones for Jewelry

The rarity of black stones varies immensely. Some are the rarest among gems, while others are the most abundant. You may even find the stones at the bottom of this list to be rather common. Here are the ten rarest black stones one may find in jewelry.

1st Rarest of Black Stones: Black Opal

Black opal is a variety of precious opal, which is famous for its play of colors, also known as ‘fire.’ As the name suggests, black opal is typically black in color, though it may also be a dark gray. This dark body tone provides a dramatic contrast to the bright play of colors, which can include hues of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.

Opal is a water-bearing form of silica. As in all opals, the play of colors in black opal comes from the diffraction of light, having to pass through tiny silica spheres that make up the stone. This fire-producing composition rarely occurs, making precious opals quite rare. Of opals, moreover, less than 10% are black opal. The black stones are consequently one of the rarest and most valuable gems. The primary source of black opal is the Lightning Ridge area of New South Wales, Australia, although the stone also occurs in other parts of the continent, as well as in Ethiopia.

2nd Rarest of Black Stones: Black Jade

Jade is popular in two forms, nephrite and jadeite. Of the more valuable jadeite, black is among the rarest and most valuable colors. Yet there is a closely related mineral so deeply confused with jadeite – and which partly consists of it – that is among the rarest gems in the world. This may become the third variety of jade, the so-called ‘omphacite jade,’ which is highly prized for its intense black color, beautiful translucence and fine texture.

In fact, the so-called ‘omphacite jadeite’ is a type of jade made up of two minerals. In addition to jadeite, the gem consists of omphacite, which is a typically green mineral. When omphacite and jadeite occur together in jadeite, they give the stone a unique green-and-black coloration. Black omphacite jadeite is a black stone with a green tint, which becomes especially apparent under direct lighting. The black color of omphacite jadeite comes from the presence of iron in the stone.

Black omphacite jade comes from only a few locations worldwide, with the most famous being the mountains of Myanmar. The black stones also occur in Guatemala and Russia, but the Burmese material is the most highly prized due to its exceptional color and quality.

3rd Rarest of Black Stones: Black Diamond

An antithesis to the white diamond, which is known primarily as a symbol of light, is the black diamond. Just like the white gem, black diamond consists of pure carbon, but impurities within the crystal give the stone its unique pigmentation, which causes the diamond to absorb light instead of reflecting it. As a result, the brilliant and lustrous diamond shines black, or nearly black, and is in fact usually opaque.

Though not as rare as some other black stones, black diamonds are extremely rare. The black stone occurs mostly in Brazil and Central Africa. See —

Tahitian pearls
From Cabmok, CC BY-SA 3.0

4th Rarest of Black Stones: Black Tahitian Pearl

Unlike other gemstones, pearls are organic gems. ‘Tahitian pearl’ is the trade name for a natural black pearl produced by a saltwater mollusk, namely, the black-lipped oyster. These pearls are typically black or dark gray in color, with overtones of blue, green, purple or pink. The color comes from the nacre, or mother-of-pearl, that the mollusk wraps around the pearl. Since the nacre from the ‘black lips’ of the Pinctada margaritifera is black, the resulting pearl is also black. These black pearls are popular for their large sizes and lustrous, iridescent surfaces.

Since these pearls come from only one species of oyster, Tahitian pearls are very rare. The black stones are consequently one of the rarest and most valuable of pearls. Tahitian pearls come primarily from French Polynesia, but other sources – including the Cook Islands, Fiji and the Solomon Islands – also produced these pearls. The trading hub lies on the island of Tahiti, hence the name ‘Tahitian pearl.’

5th Rarest of Black Stones: Black Star Sapphire

Black sapphire is a variety of the precious corundum. While the black stones are abundant, a phenomenal variety of the stone is quite rare. This is black star sapphire, a translucent or opaque dark sapphire that exhibits a six-rayed star pattern, varying in intensity depending on the viewing angle and the source of illumination. The black body tone comes from the inclusions of iron and titanium. while the star pattern comes from the reflection of light from needle-like inclusions in the stone. This phenomenon, known as ‘asterism,’ occurs in only a very small percentage of sapphires, thus making black star sapphire quite rare.

Black star sapphires come from several locations around the world – including Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Australia and the United States. This supply, however, is in steady decline.

6th Rarest of Black Stones: Melanite

Andradite is a mineral from the garnet group. While most popular in green, andradite also occurs in a titanium-bearing black variety, better known as ‘melanite.’ The black stones get their color from titanium content, by which this andradite garnet also acquired the alternate name ‘titanian garnet.’ Fine melanite does not commonly occur in large sizes.

Due to this limited occurrence of its unique composition, melanite is relatively rare. The black stones come from several countries, including Russia, Italy, the United States and Mexico.

7th Rarest of Black Stones: Black Scapolite

Black scapolite is a variety of the silicate mineral that is black, often with a tint of brown. This dark color may consist in the inclusion of iron or graphite. The black stones are rarer than other varieties of scapolite, and occurs only in small quantities. As a result, the stone is relatively rare. Sources of black scapolite include Brazil and Madagascar.

8th Rarest of Black Stones: Black Zircon

The brilliant zircon, whose luster approaches that of the diamond, also occurs in black. While the clear crystals have an adamantine luster, black zircons often exhibit a vitreous luster. The black color comes from high concentrations of impurities, such as iron. Compared to other black stones, black zircon is less accessible. Sources of zircon include Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

9th. Black Star Diopside

Black star diopside is a rare variety of diopside that exhibits a star-shaped pattern against a black background, which may have a green tint. Known as ‘asterism,’ this star-shaped phenomenon appears as a four-rayed star on the surface of the gem, as opposed to the six-rayed star of the star sapphire. The cause of the asterism is the presence of needle-like inclusions of magnetite, which reflect light in a star pattern. Black star diopside comes only from a few localities worldwide, including Russia, Italy, Finland and Madagascar. There is also the difficulty in cutting and polishing the gem to properly display the star pattern. On account of its limited availability, black star diopside is a relatively rare gem. The black stones come in particular from India, hence the alternate name ‘black star of India.’

10th. Black Beryl

Black beryl is a variety of the mineral beryl, which also includes popular gemstones such as emerald and aquamarine. The black stones obtain their color from the intense concentration of inclusions in the crystal, particularly of iron. Though not very expensive, black beryl is relatively rare compared to other black stones. No large deposit of beryl had come to light. Among its different sources are Brazil, Russia and the United States.

Rarest Yet Affordable Black Stones

Did you find the last few gemstones rather common? This is not necessarily a bad thing. Most of the time, less rare means less expensive. While the rarest of black stones, like the black opal, may prove inaccessible due to steep prices, one may find comfort in the fact that some of the rarer varieties are rather affordable.

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For all the black stones, see also —

On to Black Diamond

The author wrote this article while doing research for his book on diamonds. He learned about the scarcity of black diamonds from writing this article. His book, ‘Diamond, Its Magic and History,’ is still in progress. In the meantime, you can check his other book —

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About the Author

Jomar Pandan

Jomar ‘Deomar’ Pandan is the author of Power Birthstone. He’s on the fourth draft of a high-fantasy novel, Cybelym, and the first of a historical fiction, Gem Faerie. He hopes to release a nonfiction book about diamond soon. Follow him for updates. Or see his jewelry and designs.

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