How are gemstone prices determined?

Gemstone prices get set by weighing the “Four Cs”: colour, clarity, cut and carat weight, with market demand, how scarce the material is, what kind of artificial treatments have been applied and whether the geographic origin is documented.

Unlike diamonds, which have an extremely standardised pricing setup tied to the Rapaport list, coloured gemstones are priced in a more personal way, driven by the current market. Colour is the leading factor, then the lack of visible inclusions and finally, how accurately the cut was done. Unheated, meaning fully natural and completely untreated stones, always fetch a strong premium compared with their heat-treated or enhanced counterparts.