Sparkling diamonds and verdant emeralds are some of the most coveted and priciest gemstones. But which precious stones are rarer: diamonds or emeralds?
In terms of total known deposits, emeralds are rarer. There are 49 emerald deposits, according to a 2019 review in the journal Minerals. In comparison, there are about 1,000 rock formations that contain diamonds, although there are only 82 operating diamond mines, according to a 2022 article in the journal Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry. But it's hard to compare numbers of diamonds with other gemstones because the industry is more established.
