Benitoite gemstone

Physical properties of benitoite

Characteristics of benitoite

Benitoite is a fairly rare stone. It is mined only in California, in the area of San Benito, which gave the name to this rare stone. California even made benitoite a state symbol, emphasizing its "monopoly" on this gemstone.

Although you can find benitoite in Texas and Belgium, the benitoite stones found there are not of the best quality.

Benitoite is very similar to the gemstone sapphire. Initially, they even thought that benitoite is a variety of sapphire, but studies have shown that benitoite is different from sapphire.

The color of benitoite most often ranges from light blue to dark blue. Although there are also colorless benitoites and even blue-red ones. The largest benitoite crystal is kept at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington - the weight of this stone is 7.83 carats.

How much does benitoite cost

Due to its rarity, benitoite is a very expensive stone, the price of a good stone reaches $ 1,000 per carat. However, in general, only small crystals are found, from which stones of less than one carat are obtained. Such stones are valued much lower - $ 100 per stone. However, due to the fact that the reserves of benitoite are very limited, the price of this gem is increasing.

However, benitoite is very rare to find in jewelry stores - after all, the stone is very rare, more often it is easier to find jewelry with benitoite at various online auctions and online stores.