Second, the larger stone weighs more…and remember how much the price per carat just jumped?  These factors help explain why size can make a tremendous difference between an affordable stone and an out-of-reach one.

What’s a good compromise size on a budget?  I’m partial to 4mm.  Any smaller than that and it becomes difficult to truly make out the stone’s color and brilliance, but at 4mm they show up nicely.  Weight varies from stone to stone, but the weight of a 4mm stone is usually somewhere around .5 carat.  Many colored gemstones can be had in a 4mm size for anywhere between $10-40.00, and you can even get a decent ruby or sapphire for under or around $100.00.

In the 4mm range, your choice of gemstone often won’t make more than a $5-20.00 difference in the cost of your custom piece.

If you really want a precious stone on a tight budget, consider a 3mm ruby, emerald, or sapphire.  This is pretty tiny and won’t make for a flashy display…but if you have personal or sentimental reasons for wanting the stone, one can be yours for $25-40.00.

If you want a large stone at an affordable cost, don’t despair.  There are a number of very nice gems which are common enough and occur in large enough formations that your bling won’t cost you a month’s salary.  Taking an 8mm stone as an example, I can easily get my hands on nice amethyst, citrine, blue, pink, or white topaz, sometimes garnet and labradorite.

Ever look around at the prices of loose gemstones online and been completely baffled?  Ever wondered why one site has a sapphire for $50.00 and another for $50,000?  It all has to do with rarity.

Should I not have said quality, you ask?

Not really.  Quality tends to be an abstract when it comes to colored stones.  Pricing factors include availability, demand, color, size, cut, clarity, origins, and treatment.  I plan to go into some of these factors in more detail in a later article; my point for this one is simple: beautiful gemstones need not cost a fortune.

If there is a certain color you love, you may be happy to find that there is a lesser known or less traditional stone that will provide just what you are looking for.  Aquamarine is a costly stone, but many shades of aquamarine are well emulated by blue topaz.  Emeralds cost a fortune, but chrome diopside provides beautiful, rich green and great clarity at a fraction of the cost.

If it’s a particular, precious stone that is important to you, for example a birthstone, you may find that even precious gems can be affordable in smaller sizes, for instance in the 3-5mm range.  That will, given the right setting in a ring, give you the beauty and the stone you want without bankrupting you.

I love colored gems and would be happy to guide you to a choice that works within your taste and your budget; I welcome custom orders and have both a large inventory of beautiful, reasonably priced gems and some excellent sources for anything you might want me to order.

By the way….the beautiful chrome diopside ring shown in the photo above is available through my etsy shop for only $100.00!  Take a peek!

It’s listed on my etsy site at just $65.00 – snag it while you can!  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21866384