FX.co ★ World’s ten most expensive materials

1st place - Antimatter

Antimatter was officially recognized as the most expensive substance in the world. If one day you wish to buy just 1 gram of antimatter, you will have to pay $62.5 trillion. Such an exorbitant price stems from the fact that it takes an incredible amount of energy to produce antimatter. According to the European Center for Nuclear Research, it takes several hundred million British pounds to create just one billionth of a gram of this substance. Antimatter is produced at the Large Hadron Collider. Mainly, it is used in medicine.

2nd place – Agarwood

Agarwood is formed in the heartwood of aquilaria trees. It grows in Asian region countries such as India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. Interestingly, the most precious part of a tree is infected with Phialophora parasitica bacteria. Thus, the plant produces fragrant resin. This kind of wood is called agarwood. It is most often used in perfumery for the production of luxury fragrances. The cost of this substance is up to $800,000 per kilogram.

3rd place – Endohedral fullerene

Endohedral fullerene is a complex chemical structure consisting of carbon atoms. These particles can encapsulate other atoms (such as nitrogen) in their cage-like structure. Such a substance is very difficult to produce, which explains its price. Endohedral fullerene costs as much as $167 million per 1 gram. This substance is used mainly in medicine for the production of anti-cancer drugs.

4th place – Californium-252

Californium is a rare artificial chemical element. It was named after the University of California where it was first synthesized. This chemical element is radioactive and thanks to this it is applied in various fields. In medicine, it is used in radiation therapy for cancer tumors. In industry, it helps in the production of various kinds of detectors. Californium’s price starts from $27 million per gram.

5th place – Red diamond

A red diamond is the rarest type of diamond in the world. It has the same mineral properties as colorless diamonds. Notably, between 1957 and 1987, the Gemological Institute of America did not receive a single sample. This says a lot about the red diamonds’ rarity. Currently, most of the red diamonds in the world market were mined at the Argyle diamond mine in Australia, which closed in 2020. Since markets are likely to see a significant reduction in supply in the next couple of years, the price of this material may rise even higher. Now a red diamond costs $6 million per gram.

6th place – Painite

Painite represents a dark opaque mineral. It was first found in 1956 in Myanmar. Due to its rarity, geologists have found no more than 30 painite crystals by 2021. Most of them have settled in private collections, museums, and laboratories. Today, the mineral is officially recognized as the rarest in the world. Notably, it is very popular in the jewelry market. Jewelry with painite is considered one of the most expensive, as the price of a painite can reach $300,000 per gram.

7th place – Diamond

The price of diamonds may vary depending on their color, clarity, carat size, and other factors. However, one can hardly argue that diamonds are among the most expensive materials in the world. The cost of these minerals starts at about $60,000 per gram and the higher the quality of the crystal, the higher its price. Today, some diamonds are worth several thousand US dollars per gram.

8th place – Grandidierite

Grandidierite is another rare mineral that was first discovered in the 1900s in southern Madagascar. The gemstone usually appears dark blue-green in color and sometimes can show three different colors depending on the viewing angle. Nowadays, the reserves of grandidierite on the island are almost completely depleted. Sri Lanka is considered the major deposit of this stone. However, there are not so many deposits as only a couple of crystals were mined during the last eight years. This explains the high cost of this jewelry material. One gram of grandidierite is worth $100,000 in the market.

9th place – Serendibite

Serendibite is also an extremely rare and silicate mineral and therefore very expensive. Today, this mineral, used in the jewelry industry, is found only in 20 places all over the world. The highest-quality crystals are mined only in Mogok (Myanmar) and Ratnapura (Sri Lanka). Against such a narrow supply, the price of serendibite is constantly growing. At the moment, this material costs around $90,000 per gram.

10th place – Red beryl

Red beryl is a gemstone one can hardly buy in the jewelry market because it almost instantly becomes part of private collections. Since the gemstone is very rare, connoisseurs of minerals pursue it. According to statistics, for every 150,000 mined diamonds in the world, there is only one red beryl. In addition, 2-carat red beryl is considered as rare as a 40-carat diamond. The price of this stone can reach $50,000 per gram amid short supply and high demand.