One question we hear frequently from prospective buyers is, "What are the best values in natural gemstones in today's market?". We've given the matter some serious consideration over the last year so here are our thoughts on the matter.

Prices on gemstones go up and down depending on supply and demand, but generally they go up over time, sometimes dramatically. According to one service that has been tracking gemstone prices over the last 3 years, prices have risen an average of 20% since mid-2005. Those that have risen the fastest (around 30%) include tanzanite and Burmese ruby. Smaller increases (around 15%) have been seen in tsavorite garnet, tourmaline and zircon. Blue sapphire, spessartite garnet, spinel and peridot have seen increases around the average of 20%.

Since beauty is to some considerable degree in the eye of the beholder, we wouldn't presume to tell you what the most beautiful gemstone is for your money. But we can tell you which stones have the best gemstone characteristics based on their per carat price. And that seems to us to be a reasonable way of defining gemstone value.

Good gemstone characteristics, in our view, include superior hardness (greater than 7 on the Mohs scale), durability (absence of cleavage), very good transparency and clarity, and interesting colors. Absence of any sort of gem treatment would be would be a definite plus as well.

Since there are not that many gem varieties with a hardness greater than 7, it didn't take us too long to put together a short list of the best gemstone values. To see the complete list of our recommendations, see the full article at Best Value Gemstones.

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