Scientists have released an initial list of the rarest jewels and minerals in the world, that can change how diamonds are a girl's best friend, that can potentially be replaced by the extremely rare Sardinian ichnusaites.

Like Us on Facebook

These new minerals are included in the list are considered to be more precious than diamonds, rubies or emeralds according to scientists that could soon replace traditional Valentine's day gifts for more exotic stones. 

This list includes 2,550 of the rarest mineral finds that include amicite, fingerite, nevadaite and ichnusaite. These can apparently be unearthed from less than five sites around the planet, as opposed to diamonds that can be found in numerous mines in almost every continent.

These minerals are not just precious due to the few sites they are found but they become even more extremely rare as unique conditions and precise temperatures are also required to produce them. For example, these minerals can only be mixed with other rare elements and some are needed to form inside extreme geological formations such as volcanoes that can also be easily destroyed as well, as they are fragile too.

The team of scientists from Carnegie Institution who carefully prepared this new list also says that gems like rubies, sapphire, emeralds and diamonds can be extracted from different sites in the world and are sold commercially in large amounts, making them not so rare anymore.

According to co-author of the study, Robert Hazen from the Carnegie Institution of Washington's Geophysical Laboratory, if you are searching for the perfect ring that exudes the rarest gem of all, forget diamonds, as the rarest gem to date is the Sardinian ichnusaite.

Hazen adds that some of the rarest gems that are included in the list have been found in just scarce amounts, so scarce that they can only fit in a thimble.

However, researchers still believe that these 2,550 minerals in this initial list could even provide some future commercial use. When these rare minerals can be manufactured, they can also be utilized in batteries and electronics.

Hazen adds that the reason why these minerals are rare, even if they can form from the most basic ingredients found in the Earth, is that they should be cooked at extremely controlled conditions.

To date, there are 5,090 minerals that are known all around the world, where less than 100 are only found in the Earth's crust. Scientists believe that there are around 1,500 minerals left to be discovered where many commercial jewelers will take this chance to work with these newly found rare minerals.

This new study is published in the American Mineralogist journal.