The Virtue Gems are all sourced from mines on Mount Veruso, under Highgate.
It is impossible to be completely certain with the limited tomes I have available on the subject, but the Beast’s presence under that mountain and the fact that Virtue Gems cannot be found anywhere else in the world does indeed suggest a connection.
The number of Virtue Gems in existence cannot be ascertained, any more than one might count the grains of sand on a beach.
The Vaal were also the first to use virtue gems, known to them as “Tears of Maji”. Icius Perandus claims that “The Vaal were even more steeped in gem culture than our Emperor and his ‘Gemlings’. It’s an obsession as old as civilization itself.” in one of the Golden Pages. Siosa’s translation of the first Golden Page also mentions that the Vaal gathered their virtue gems at “Doryani’s Cradle” to ensure the Vaal civilization’s future. The nature and purpose of this cradle is uncertain. Given the fact that Eramir claims it was the Vaal that began the use of virtue gems and the fact that Siosa claims that “gem culture” is as old “as civilization itself”, one may assume that the Vaal were the very first civilization. Doryani also knew of the Beast and used its powers to create virtue gems.