When you think about the top 10 sparkling treasures of the world, you probably picture glittering jewels that have dazzled royalty and common folk alike. Yet beyond their brilliance lies a treasure trove of myths, legends, and ancient anecdotes that give each stone a personality of its own. From emeralds that soothed emperors’ eyes to diamonds that sparked daring heists, these ten gemstones have stories as vivid as their colors.

Top 10 Sparkling Legends That Shine Through History

10 Emeralds

Emeralds have captivated humanity for millennia. The Roman author Pliny the Elder recounts a curious episode involving a flute‑player named Ismenias, who was so enamored with glittering gems that he ordered an emerald ring. When the craftsman returned a portion of the gold he’d been paid, Ismenias fumed, exclaiming, “By Hercules! He has done me but a bad turn in this, for the merit of the stone has been greatly impaired by this reduction in price.” This tale illustrates how even the value of a gem could stir strong emotions.

Even the most powerful rulers fell under emeralds’ spell. The infamous Emperor Nero allegedly fashioned an emerald into a monocular, using it to peer at gladiatorial combat. Some scholars suggest the stone served as a visual aid for his short‑sightedness, while others argue that the Romans believed emeralds possessed a calming effect on the eyes, making them a popular talisman for weary monarchs.

The Inca civilization revered a massive emerald as the heart of the goddess Umina. According to legend, anyone who touched this sacred stone would be instantly healed, and smaller emeralds were offered as votive gifts at her shrine. When Spanish conquistadors arrived, many of these priceless emeralds were shattered, as the invaders mistakenly assumed that genuine emeralds could survive a hammer’s blow.

9 Rubies

Rubies have long fascinated peoples with their deep, blood‑red hue. The ancient Indian text, the Rigveda, narrates a tale where a fearsome demon named Vala is tricked into a faux sacrifice. Once the demigods reveal their ruse, they brutally dismember Vala, scattering his blood across the earth. Wherever his blood touched the soil, rubies erupted, linking the stone’s crimson color directly to the demon’s lifeblood.

Another Hindu scripture extols rubies as the perfect offering to the divine. It proclaims, “He who worships Krishna with rubies will be reborn as a powerful emperor; if he offers a modest ruby, he will be born a king.” This belief underscores the gem’s perceived ability to elevate one’s status in the afterlife.

Curiously, ancient Greeks and Romans categorized rubies by gender. They described “male” rubies as possessing superior brilliance, while “female” rubies were considered to have a softer luster, reflecting the era’s gendered perceptions of beauty and strength.

8 Amethyst

Although modern gemologists label amethyst as a semi‑precious stone, antiquity regarded it as a treasure fit for emperors. Its vivid purple hue, a color traditionally reserved for royalty, gave it an aristocratic allure. Pliny the Elder even recorded that certain sorcerers claimed that inscribing the names of the sun and moon upon the stone, then wearing it with exotic materials like cynocephalus hair and swallow feathers, would shield the wearer from malign spells, grant access to kings, and even avert hail and locust invasions.

The most widespread legend surrounding amethyst is its reputed power to prevent intoxication. Anglican bishops are said to wear amethyst rings to commemorate a passage in Acts where Saint Peter declares, “These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!” The stone’s name itself derives from the Greek “amethustos,” meaning “not intoxicated,” reinforcing its association with sobriety.

Greek mythology further ties amethyst to the god of wine, Dionysus. To keep the deity’s frenzied revelry in check, a gift of amethyst was presented to him, symbolically curbing excess and preserving rationality amidst the chaos of wine‑filled celebrations.

7 Pearls

While pearls are technically not stones, their lustrous sheen has placed them alongside gemstones for centuries. Various mollusks produce pearls as a defensive response to parasites, encapsulating irritants within layers of nacre. The Roman historian Suetonius notes that Julius Caesar’s campaign into Britain was partly motivated by a desire to secure the region’s abundant pearl deposits, underscoring the gem’s strategic value.

Across cultures, pearls have been mythologized as the tears of deities. The Greeks believed they were born from Aphrodite’s joyful tears, while Japanese folklore attributes them to mermaids weeping beneath the sea. These ethereal origins have imbued pearls with a sense of divine melancholy.

One dramatic Japanese legend tells of Empress Jingo, who, in a desperate bid against the Korean navy, prayed with seawater in hand and was granted two “tide jewels” from a dragon palace: the Pearl of Ebb and the Pearl of Flood. When the Pearl of Ebb was hurled back into the ocean, the waters receded, leaving the Korean fleet stranded on the seabed. The Japanese then released the Pearl of Flood, causing the sea to surge and drown the trapped Korean warriors.

6 Amber

Amber is fossilized tree resin, often shimmering in golden hues but occasionally appearing black, green, red, or even white. In antiquity, it washed ashore along the Baltic coastline and became a widely traded commodity throughout Europe and beyond. Its warm glow captured the imagination of ancient peoples, leading to a variety of mythic associations.

Greek and Roman mythmakers linked amber to the tragic tale of Phaëton, who disastrously steered the sun‑chariot too close to Earth. As he plummeted, his grieving sisters wept so intensely that their tears solidified into resin, later becoming amber. This story reflects an early awareness of the resin’s origin and its connection to celestial tragedy.

Lithuanian folklore adds another layer, describing the sea goddess Jurate, who dwelt in an amber palace beneath the waves. She fell in love with a mortal sailor, and their blissful union lasted many years. When the thunder god discovered their affair, he unleashed a storm that shattered the palace into countless amber fragments, explaining why storms often scatter amber along the shore.

5 Garnet

During the Middle Ages, garnets enjoyed immense popularity across Britain, where Anglo‑Saxon artisans set them into intricate gold settings to adorn jewelry, armor, and weaponry. Legends about garnets, however, stretch back even further. Some stories claim that Noah, while navigating the flood‑filled seas in his ark, relied on a garnet‑lit lantern to illuminate his path.

The name “garnet” derives from the Latin “granatus,” meaning “seed,” a nod to the stone’s common appearance as tiny, seed‑like crystals. When deep‑red, garnets closely resemble pomegranate seeds, linking them to the myth of Persephone, who was trapped in Hades after consuming such seeds. Consequently, gifting garnets was thought to coax a lost lover back into one’s life.

Folklore also suggests a moral dimension: performing good deeds while wearing a garnet purportedly attracts positive karma, whereas ill‑intent while adorned with the stone causes misfortune to rebound upon the wearer.

4 Sapphire

Deep‑blue sapphires have bewitched humanity for ages. Some ancient accounts claim that the Ten Commandments were inscribed upon twin blocks of sapphire presented to Moses, while others believed the gem was responsible for the sky’s azure hue. Persians imagined a celestial dome of sapphire, reflecting its color back onto Earth.

Sapphires were reputed to possess a wide array of magical properties. Some healers advocated wearing the stone for its curative powers; others suggested ingesting powdered sapphire mixed with milk to cure sores. Placing a sapphire on the forehead was thought to halt nosebleeds, showcasing the gem’s perceived therapeutic versatility.

When cut in a particular way, sapphires can display a luminous star pattern, known as a “star sapphire.” Ancient mystics regarded these star‑filled gems as especially potent, believing they could ward off the evil eye and protect the wearer from jealousy‑driven harm.

3 Lapis Lazuli

Many early references to sapphire may actually describe another stunning blue stone—lapis lazuli. Historically mined only in Afghanistan’s high mountains, lapis lazuli became a coveted material across Mesopotamia and Egypt, with evidence of extraction dating back to the 7th millennium BC.

For the ancient Sumerians, lapis lazuli symbolized divine worth. The goddess Inanna was depicted wearing lapis jewelry and wielding a lapis rod, which she used to measure the length of a soul’s existence while traversing the underworld. Babylonian myths even spoke of a fantastical tree bearing lapis fruit, and the Epic of Gilgamesh famously featured a bull of heaven adorned with lapis‑covered horns.

Egyptians incorporated lapis heavily into funerary practices. The iconic mask of Tutankhamun is inlaid with the deep blue stone, and the Egyptian Book of the Dead describes the deceased’s body transformed into lapis, with verses such as, “Lord, your upper part is lapis lazuli; your hair is bestrewn with lapis lazuli; your visage is covered with gold inlaid with lapis lazuli; your eyebrows are inlaid with lapis lazuli.”

2 Opal

Opal, though delicate, has historically commanded high prices. Pliny the Elder recounts the tale of a destitute man named Nonius who fled with nothing but an opal‑set ring, valued at two million sesterces—an astonishing fortune that saved his life. Before Australia’s opal boom, these gems were exceedingly rare in Europe, adding to their mystique.

The superstitions surrounding opal are as varied as its rainbow of colors. Some believed the stone could detect poison, turning pale in its presence, while others thought opals were linked to the soul of their owner, losing their fire when the bearer died. Conversely, certain cultures labeled opals as malevolent, capable of bringing misfortune.

One particularly striking legend claims opals grant invisibility. A Christian bishop described the gem as “the guardian of the thievish race; it gifts the bearer with acutest sight; but clouds all other eyes with thickest night,” suggesting that while the wearer could see all, others would be left blind to his actions.

1 Diamond

Diamonds reign supreme as the most coveted of all gems. Their crystalline lattice refracts and reflects light with unparalleled brilliance, while their unrivaled hardness earned them a near‑divine status. In Hindu mythology, the god Indra wields a weapon called Vajrayudham, forged entirely from diamond. Initially all diamonds were mined in India, until the 18th‑century discovery of deposits in Brazil expanded the market.

Numerous legends have sprung up around these glittering stones. European folklore claims that many massive diamonds were stolen from Indian statues of deities. The infamous Hope Diamond, for example, is said to have been taken from the forehead of an Indian god, leading to whispers of a curse that doomed its early owners—one allegedly torn apart by feral dogs after the theft, with subsequent proprietors meeting similarly grisly fates.

The allure of diamonds inspired audacious schemes. One tale recounts Alexander the Great devising a clever method to pilfer diamonds from the fabled Valley of the Jewels. Knowing the gems were guarded by poisonous snakes, he tossed morsels of meat into the valley; the snakes seized the meat, and the diamonds clung to it. Birds swooped down, snatched the meat‑laden diamonds, and fled. When the birds carried the treasure away, the snakes abandoned their posts, allowing Alexander’s men to gather the glittering loot.

While diamonds sparkle with unmatched allure, some argue they’re not all that great. Critics point to their environmental impact, the ethical dilemmas of “conflict diamonds,” and the fact that their value is largely a product of clever marketing. Still, the legends endure, proving that the stories behind the stones are as captivating as their shine.

There are more than 4,000 minerals that naturally occur on Earth. Many of these are almost impossible for most people to distinguish. A rock is a rock to most people. But some stones stand out. Humans love sparkly things, and luckily, some minerals and gemstones can be both pretty and rare—two things humans prize.

This means that some gemstones can be quite pricey if you want to get your hands on them. Here are some of the rarest and most expensive rocks you can spend your money on.

Related: 10 Most Expensive And Delectable Desserts

10 Musgravite

Musgravite is one of the rarest of all the minerals that can be turned into gemstones. It was first discovered in the Musgrave Range of mountains in Australia in 1967. In its raw state, it looks like a shiny grey mineral but not really one worth setting into jewelry. Since its discovery, the mineral has been found in some hard-to-reach places like Antarctica and Greenland, and it would have remained a mere mineralogical curiosity were it not for a find in Tasmania.

There, a few crystals of Musgravite that could be cut and polished were dug up. Most of the gemstone-quality Musgravite gems that have appeared on the market appear either a greyish olive green or slightly violet color. However, one has been discovered that contained small tube-shaped inclusions that reflect color with a vivid iridescence.

How much will this drab stone set you back? Prices for the best quality Musgravites can reach $35,000 per carat.^[1]

9 Alexandrite

It is always nice to have something named after you, so the Russian crown prince Alexander must have been happy to have this mineral named after him in 1830. Alexandrite was found in the Ural Mountains, and almost immediately, something strange was noticed about it. When looked at in daylight, the stone is a vibrant green, but by candlelight, it is a deep red. This led to it being described as “emerald by day, ruby by night.” Because red and green were the colors of the Imperial Russian flag, this effect gave the stone immense popularity in Tsarist Russia.

The color change occurs because of both the way the crystal absorbs light and because of how the human eye detects red and green light. For this startling and unusual property, the price of Alexandrite was, and remains, high. For a stone that displays two clear and distinct colors, you might have to pay $70,000 per carat.^[2]

8 Benitoite

In 1907, a prospector named James M. Couch thought he had struck gold, or at least sapphire when he pulled rich blue gemstones out of the ground in the San Benito mountains of California. When he sent samples of the stones to a mineralogist, however, it was discovered that what Couch had found was a never-before-seen mineral. It was named Benitoite.

The stone was soon being mined through what was described as a “glory hole.” Because Benitoite is a fairly soft mineral, many of the gemstones were damaged by the miners as they extracted them. The rarity of Benitoite is due to the specific conditions that must exist for it to form. It only grows under high-pressure and low-temperature zones where tectonic plates meet. Benitoite is now the official gemstone of California.

A good one carat gem of Benitoite might cost $8000, but prices soon rise for larger stones because so few big stones are found.^[3]

7 Grandidierite

Grandidierite is one of the rare minerals that displays what is known as pleochroism—it appears in different colors depending on the direction you look at it. It can reveal dark green, colorless, and dark blue hues just by turning it. This occurs because of how the atoms in the crystal lattice are arranged in three dimensions. Grandidierite was discovered in Madagascar in 1902 and has since been found in a number of other places, but few gemstones turn up on the open market.

Most Gradidierite that is dug up is opaque and misty, but a few clear examples have been extracted near the site of the original discovery. It is only since 2015 that the gemstone Gradidierite has appeared on the open market in any quantity. Only 300 carats of clear Gradidierite have been produced.

The very first gemstone-quality Grandidierite was sold in 2003 and cost $50,000, though it weighed only 0.29 carats.^[4]

6 Serendibite

Serendibite was discovered in 1902 in Sri Lanka and is named for the old Arabic name of that country. At first, Serendibite looks like a poor candidate for becoming a gemstone. Some can appear a shiny black color, but others have a rough and greyish exterior. Until 2005, only three faceted Serendibite gems were known to exist. They fetched around $14,000 per carat when sold.

In 2005, a new source of Serendibite gems was discovered in Myanmar, so the price of these stones has dropped recently. But there remains a strong desire for collectors because of the range of colors these gems can have due to their complex chemical structure.

Some Serendibites are a dense black but others have been found that are dark blue, greyish, pale green, or brown.^[5]

5 Poudretteite

Many mineralogists would cry tears of joy if they discovered only the tiniest fragment of a never-before-identified mineral. That must have been the reaction when tiny crystals of Poudretteite were revealed to be new to science in 1986. But there was no hope that these beautiful pink crystals would ever be turned into gems, given their minuscule size. Then, in 2000, a remarkable stone was found.

It was not a rough crystal pulled from the Earth but an already cut and polished gem. Found in a market in Burma, the gem weighed nearly 9.5 carats. No Poudretteite this large had ever been discovered before, let alone turned into a finished gemstone. This large stone was almost flawless with a pale pink hue.

Since this discovery, several more gems of Poudretteite have been found in the same location. Some are a very attractive deep pink or purple. However, you might have to pay $5,000 per carat for one. The first large Poudretteite now sits in the Smithsonian.^[6]

4 Jadeite

The stone that is commonly called Jade is actually two minerals that look very similar. One, nephrite, has been used since prehistory to make jewelry and even tools. The other, Jadeite, is much rarer and harder. Jadeite was known in China as Imperial Jade. For the societies of Meso-America, Jadeite was more valuable than gold.

Not only is Jadeite tough, but it is also carvable into intricate forms that have made it a favorite material for artists—if their employers could afford it. Jadeite can appear in colors ranging from purple to white to blue and to a whole variety of greens from opaque to translucent. It is the green Jadeite that was most highly prized in China.

In 2014, a necklace made from 27 vivid, emerald-green jadeite beads was sold at auction for $27.4 million.^[7]

3 Diaspore

Discovering a new type of gem happens more by accident than by skill. In the 1970s, workers at a bauxite mine in Turkey found that they were digging up annoying impurities. Bauxite is the useful ore that aluminum is purified from, so the miners who found crystals mixed in with it would pick them out so that the bauxite would remain pure. Little did they know that they were handling expensive and rare gemstones.

Diaspore had been discovered in 1801, but no examples that could be faceted had ever been found. With the deposit in Turkey producing so much, however, it was possible to market diaspore and supply the jewelry market. Selling under the trade names Ottomanite, Zultanite, and Csarite, gems of green, orange, and red can be found throughout the world.^[8]

2 Taaffeite

Spinels have been prized in jewelry for hundreds of years. Because some are intensely red, they have sometimes been mistaken for rubies in the past. The Black Prince’s Ruby that sits in the British crown jewels today is actually a spinel. So it was something of a surprise to find that a new mineral had been masquerading as a spinel itself.

In 1945, Count Edward Charles Richard Taaffe bought some gemstones, including one that was said to be a spinel. He discovered it was an entirely new mineral, so it was named in his honor. This remains the only time a mineral has been identified from an already cut stone.

Since its discovery, the amount of Taaffeite on the market has remained very limited. Some stones that are flawed or pale in color can be bought for around $1,000 per carat. But if the gem is richly colored and clear, they can reach up to $15,000 per carat.^[9]

1 Melo Melo Pearls

Not all gems are the product of millions of years beneath the Earth. For thousands of years, humans have sought out and gathered pearls. In the ancient world, pearls could be just as valuable as other gems. Today, thanks to the ability to cultivate pearls in oysters, a string of pearls is within the budgetary reach of most people—but only if they are ordinary pearls.

Not all pearls come from oysters. Some marine snails also form pearls as a method of protecting themselves from irritants. The Melo melo is a very large sea snail native to south-east Asia. When something gets caught inside the shell of the Melo, it secretes layers of calcite and aragonite over it, which looks quite different from the nacre found on more common pearls. Over the years, this can form a large pearl. And if you find one, it can be worth a fortune.

While most ordinary pearls are tiny, the pearls of the Melo melo can be centimeters across. These pearls are harder than other pearls and can have a range of colors. The most sought-after pearls are a creamy orange with flamelike patterns across their surface. Because of the rarity of the melo melo pearl, the chance that any individual snail will make a pearl is scarce, as it can take decades for one pearl to be formed. Because of this and their beauty, these pearls can fetch up to $700,000 at auction.^[10]