10 Rarest Orange Stones for Jewelry

Fire, the sun, the lotus flower and the Mandarin orange all come in an orange color. It is no coincidence that one would hear of orange stones bearing their names. Interestingly, these gems rank among the rarest. Learn why in this list of the ten rarest orange stones.

Rarest of Orange Stones: Padparadscha Sapphire

The rarest of orange stones is the padparadscha sapphire. This variety of sapphire exhibits a delicate blend of pink and orange, whose combination resemble the hues of the lotus blossom, known in Sanskrit as padmaraga. Through a German corruption of the word, the lotus flower indeed gave this gem its name. Reproducing the shades of a tropical sunset, this color comes from trace amounts of chromium and iron, the result of whose mixture is difficult to find in natural sapphires. In consequence, padparadscha sapphire is the rarest among sapphires, as well as of orange stones in general. Although also found in Madagascar and Tanzania, this orange variety of the precious corundum primarily occurs in Sri Lanka, and is indeed of limited availability. On account of its unique color and limited supply, collectors highly prize the padparadscha sapphire, which is accordingly quite valuable as a gem.

2nd Rarest of Orange Stones: Orange Diamond

Natural fancy diamonds are rare. The orange stones are among the rarest. This variety of diamond gets its color from the presence of nitrogen in the crystal. Both the yellow and orange diamonds in fact obtain their color from the same element, but what makes the result different in either variety is the distribution of nitrogen, whose atoms occur singly in orange diamond where they are distributed in groups in the yellow. Occurring in very small quantities, orange diamonds come from several locations around the world. These include South Africa, Congo, Russia and Australia. In the latter, however, the Argyle mine, which served as a significant source of orange diamonds, closed in 2020, thus adding to the orange stone’s rarity. See —

Imperial topaz ring

3rd Rarest of Orange Stones: Imperial Topaz

Due to its rarity and great value, imperial topaz often went by the epithet ‘emperor of topazes.’ Among the most valuable color of imperial topaz is a vibrant orange hue, particularly one with a pinkish or reddish tint. This unique hue comes primarily from the inclusion of chromium and iron. Stones exhibiting this desirable coloration make up less than half a percent of gem-quality topazes.  The orange stones now come chiefly from the city of Ouro Preto in Brazil. In addition to this limited supply and its peculiar color, collectors and enthusiasts prize imperial topaz for its historical significance.

4th Rarest of Orange Stones: Orange Zultanite

Zultanite is a trademarked gem from the mineral diaspore. This stone is popular for its changing colors, which include orange. Zultanite can thus appear green in some lights and yellowish orange in others. A relatively new gem, zultanite became known only in the early 1970s, and did not see commercial production until 2006. Zultanite comes from only one location, the Ilbir Mountains of Turkey, which explains why this gemstone is extremely rare. Gem collectors prize zultanite both for this rarity and its unique color-changing properties.

5th Rarest of Orange Stones: Mandarin Garnet

Mandarin garnet is a bright orange variety of garnet. This gemstone comes from the spessartine species, and received its name in 1991 when a crystal of particularly pure orange spessartite came to light. Its radiant orange color, reminiscent of the skin of a mandarin orange, earned it the name ‘Mandarin garnet.’ This fiery orange color can be slightly reddish in shade, similar to that of a sunset, yet the most valuable mandarin garnet has a pure orange color, with no brown or yellow overtones.

This vivid orange comes from the presence of manganese and iron in the crystal, whose occurrence in gem quality is somewhat rare. As a specific variety of spessartine garnet in a distinct and intense orange, mandarin garnet is even rarer. Stones greater than 10 carats were especially scarce. After its discovery in Namibia, mandarin garnet later appeared in Nigeria, Madagascar and other locations, but the glowing-orange stones from Namibia are considered particularly fine.

6th Rarest of Orange Stones: Orange Spinel

As a gem-quality mineral, spinel typically occurs in red and blue, and does not commonly come in orange. However, a rare variety of spinel exhibits shades of the latter color, ranging from pale peach to vivid red-orange. This orange color comes from a mixture of iron and chromium. Of these orange stones, orange spinels of good clarity and saturation in color are even rarer, which makes them highly valuable. Spinels primarily occur in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, but Tanzania also produced unusual orange spinels.

7th Rarest of Orange Stones: Peach Apatite

While apatite is popular in blue, green and yellow, a variety of this mineral exhibits shades of peach and orange, which are much less common. On account of its rarely occurring color, peach apatite is relatively scarce. Stones of high quality and large sizes, moreover, are difficult to find, thus adding to peach apatite’s rarity and value. Among the sources of apatite are Madagascar, Brazil and Mexico.

8th Rarest of Orange Stones: Orange Sphalerite

A zinc mineral, sphalerite exhibits a range of warm colors, including orange. While dark orange stones were the most common, a pure intense orange is quite rare. Caused by a combination of impurities – particularly iron and cobalt – this peculiar color makes orange sphalerite difficult to find. Some of the most notable deposits of sphalerite are in Spain, but the stone also occurs in other countries, such as Mexico.

9th. Mexican Fire Opal

Fire opal obtained its name from its fiery appearance. This variety of opal occurs in warm colors, reminiscent of the flames. Its orange stones range in shade from a bright orange to red-orange, and are the most prized in crystal-clear gems of intensely bright color. Their orange body tone is due to the inclusion of iron.

The formation of Mexican fire opal is a peculiar phenomenon. The stone occurs in fissures and cavities of volcanic rocks where silica-rich lava trapped water within. Owing to the rarity of this phenomenon, Mexican fire opal is therefore scarce. As the name suggests, this stone comes from Mexico alone, particularly from the states of Queretaro and Hidalgo. Collectors and enthusiasts prize the Mexican fire opal for its fiery orange color, which makes this variety of opal accordingly popular.

10th. Oregon Sunstone

A variety of feldspar, sunstone exhibits a range of warm colors reminiscent of the sun, hence the name ‘sunstone.’ Among these colors is conspicuous the brilliant orange, a less common variety of which comes from Oregon, USA. Orange stones from Oregon are highly popular for their unique glittering appearance. This sparkling effect, better known as ‘schiller,’ is due in most cases to the inclusion of copper. On account of this peculiar beauty as well as its rarity, Oregon sunstone has grown in popularity among collectors and jewelry designers.

The Rarity of Orange Stones

It is interesting how an orange color defines the identity of some gems, and consequently their rarity. Mandarin garnet obtained its name through its bright orange hue. The same is true with fire opal, and even sunstone. An orange color is also what makes a padparadscha sapphire, or imperial topaz. The color gives these orange stones peculiar identity, making them very specific and therefore much rarer. On account of both their beauty and rarity, collectors and enthusiasts vie to take possession of them. Indeed, though not the most popular color among gems, orange has a way of making gemstones quite rare and consequently more valuable.

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Beyond Orange Diamond

The author wrote this article while working on a book about diamonds. Through this article he gained insight into the scarcity of orange diamonds compared to other orange stones, as well as to other colors of the precious gem. ‘Diamond, Its Magic and History’ is still in progress. In the meantime, check out his 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.