23 Shiny Facts About Precious Stones You Should Know

Olympic Australis is the largest opal ever found. It is valued at AUD $2,500,000. It weighs around 7.6 pounds and it consists of 99% gem opal.

The El-Dorado Topaz, which weighs a whopping 31,000 carats (6.2 kg or 13.67 lbs) currently holds the crown as the largest faceted gemstone in the world. Originally discovered in 1984 in mineral-rich Minas Gerais, Brazil, the pre-cut El-Dorado crystal tipped the scales at a mind-boggling 37 kg (81.6 lbs). It belongs to the British Royal Collection.

There is a gemstone called Alexandrite, that will change colors, usually from green to red, based on whether it's viewed under natural or artificial light.

Ammolite is an opal-like gemstone that can be found in an infinite array of colors and is one of a few known biogenic gemstones. It is formed from the fossilized shells of Ammonites (a pre-historic squid-like creature).

Black onyx stones are actually never completely black. The ones you can buy in-store have instead either been treated to become much darker or are various other types of the gemstone made to look like onyx stones.

The garnet gemstone was named after the seeds of a pomegranate, a plant whose fruits contain abundant and vivid red seeds, which are similar in shape, size, and color to these garnet crystals.

Peridot was Cleopatra's favorite gemstone.

The Graff Pink Diamond is the most expensive single jewel ever sold at auction. The diamond is 24.78 carats and was sold for $46 million.

One of the largest sapphires is known as the Star of Asia, which is currently housed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It is said to once have belonged to the Maharaja of Jodhpur (India).

Crazy Lace agate is mined only in Mexico and because of this it is often called Mexican Lace Agate. This stone is found exclusively within the area known as Chihuahua, in Northern Mexico. Crazy lace agate is believed to have been created in the cretaceous period, about 65-90 million years ago.