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As to the value of precious stones, only approximate prices can be indicated owing to market fluctuations, apart from other factors such as size, quality, and color. Small stones under one carat in weight have a relatively less value than larger stones. Diamonds range from $28 (£10) to $2800 (£1000) a carat, emeralds from $5.60 (£2) to $5600 (£2000) a carat, and rubies about the same price as emeralds. Star rubies may be had from about $1.80 (15/-) to $140 (£50) a carat. Sapphires realize from $2.80 (£1) to $560   (£200) per carat, and star sapphires from $2.80  (£1) to

$280 (£100) a carat. Black opals may be had from $ 1.20 (10/-) to $84 (£30) a carat, and fine opal doublets sometimes reach an appreciable price, perhaps $14 (£5) a carat, but no other form of doublet, triplet, or synthetic stone has a market value of more than about $3.50 (25/-) a carat.

The value of the commoner jewel stones decreased greatly in the difficult years between about 1924 and 1939. But since then, they have risen by leaps and bounds to high levels. Actual scarcity, owing to non-production during the war years, is the chief cause. The very low prices ruling during the pre-war years were of little benefit to anyone; they were due to the general state of the world markets, unfair competition, and uneconomical methods of trading. It was no uncommon occurrence for stones to be sold at prices which barely covered the cost of work and materials expended on their fashioning. The result was to cheapen these stones in the eyes of the public, with the inevitable result that demand began to fall. In the cutting center of Idar-Obertstein, an effort was made in 1933 to regulate the prices paid for different types of work in connection with the production of cut stones. The result was a rise in values and a general stabilization of prices. Also, towards the end of 1945, definite rates of pay and other conditions for diamond workers were more or less standardized throughout all the most important diamond cutting countries. These conditions were agreed to by representatives of both workers and employers, through their unions, so price cutting in this section of the industry has been largely forestalled.