This is More Rare Than Diamonds

The rarest gems from the international gem society and rarest.org. In ranking order, 10th place is:

10. Tanzanite ($1,200 a carat)
9. Poudretteite ($3,000 a carat)
8. Benitoite ($3500 a carat)
7. Black Opal ($3500 a carat)
6. Taaffeite ($2500 a Carat)
5. Red Beryl ($10,000 a carat)
4. Alexandrite ($12,000 a carat)
3. Jadeite ($20,000 a carat)
2. Musgravite ($35,000 a carat)
1. Painite ($50,000 a carat)

Now out of all of these, the one that really sticks out to me is Benitoite, not only because it is incredibly beautiful, but also because it’s local. This stone is officially the state gem of California and what makes it so rare is that it’s only really found in California.

This particular gem was discovered in 1907 near the San Benito River and hasn’t been found anywhere else in the world in large enough amounts to be mined.

We did the trek from Los Angeles all the way up to Coalinga, California, and what’s super awesome about this particular city halfway between LA and San Francisco is that there is a Hydrogen refueling station for our Toyota Mirai three.

If you haven’t seen our other videos talking about the Mirai, here’s a refresher… it’s a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle which means it's an electric car powered by a battery that uses hydrogen. The hydrogen is not combusted but rather consumed by the battery which only leaves the water as a by-product. The FC stack sends electricity directly to the motor to drive the vehicle. Excess electricity or brake regen is stored in the battery to supplement the system as needed.

So it’s kind of perfect that the refueling station is literally right where we are going. The XLE Mirai gets up to EPA-estimated 402 miles per full tank which can get us pretty far. And the refueling station network continues to expand in California now, with at least 60 stations online and more planned by the end of 2023.

What was so awesome about this experience was that we fully enjoyed the nature and beauty of California in a vehicle that has zero emissions. Also, real talk this car is awesome to road trip in. It’s super smooth on the highway and because it’s electric there isn’t a ton of noise… Big shout out to Toyota for sponsoring this video.

Learn more about the Toyota Mirai: https://toyota.us/3UbITuq