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The gem tray

From the rock to the ring, every gem laid out.

Real stones at every stage, mined and lab-grown side by side, with the price of each one linked so you can see it for yourself.

Updated

  1. Natural ruby crystals in white marble from Luc Yen, Vietnam 01 In the ground
  2. Lab ruby boules, each a single crystal grown in a flame, split lengthwise 02 Out of the furnace
  3. A 30 carat emerald-cut lab ruby 03 Cut
  4. A created ruby solitaire ring in sterling silver 04 Set

One ruby, four moments. 01: real specimen, photo Robert M. Lavinsky, CC BY-SA 3.0. 02 to 04: Amazon listing photos.

Pick a gem Get the starter kit

Quick answers

Buying an engagement ring?

Buying a gold chain?

Buying a gift?

Where do you want to start?

Curious How gems really work How they form, get grown, treated and cut, in plain words and real photos. Start learning → Buying A 30 carat lab ruby, the real mineral Lab gems are the real mineral, priced for the cost of growing them, not for rarity. See the checked list → Browsing The lab gem catalog 749 checked lab gems, loose and set, with filters for cut, size and type. Browse the catalog → Wandering The gem museum Crown jewels, pharaohs’ treasures and gems still in their rock, in photos. Walk the museum → Dreaming The natural gem catalog Real mined diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds with lab reports: the top of the market. See the real thing → Collecting The tools jewellers use Loupe, gem torch, tweezers, boxes, scale, and settings to make your own jewellery: what each is for. Get the kit →

Pick a gem

Each one followed from rock to ring, with mined vs lab side by side.

Same mineral, a hundred times the price

100× A mined sapphire can cost a hundred times a lab one of the same mineral, and many times its size.

That gap is the whole story of the gem world: rarity, not chemistry, sets the price of a mined stone, while a lab stone costs what it takes to grow. Here are real listings, so you can check us.

Amazon prices as of . Prices and availability are accurate as of that date and time and are subject to change; the price shown on Amazon at the time of purchase applies.

The starter kit

A loupe, a UV torch, locking tweezers, gem boxes and a pocket scale: the five tools that let you see, handle, store and check every stone, plus a turntable to show it off. The full collector's kit.

LookGemOro 10x triplet loupeabout $15LookDARKBEAM filtered 365 nm UV flashlightabout $13HandleHonoson locking tweezers, 3 packabout $10StoreTeensery gem display boxes with clear lids, 10 packabout $9MeasureGemOro Platinum XP500 pocket scale, 0.01 gabout $40

Your first stones

Tools need something to look at. The cheapest real start is a mixed lot of natural cut gems from GemMartUSA, a long-running gem seller. Each lot is a random mix of cut and polished stones that can include garnet, amethyst, citrine, peridot, topaz, carnelian and green onyx. Expect small stones with visible inclusions, which is exactly what makes them good for learning: look inside them with the loupe, weigh them on the scale, shine the UV torch on them, and sort them into boxes. The blue topaz in these lots is treated, as almost all blue topaz is.

Natural, mixed lot GemMartUSA mixed gemstones, 50 carats A handful of cut stones: enough to fill a 10-pack of gem boxes. about $20 on Amazon → Natural, mixed lot GemMartUSA mixed gemstones, 100 carats Twice the stones, so you can keep the best and practise on the rest. about $35 on Amazon →

The biggest lab gems you can buy loose on Amazon

Real lab-grown stones only, biggest first, checked in stock October 11, 2026. All the big lab gems or the full catalog.

Lab ruby 52.5 ct about $60 Lab ruby 48 ct about $55 Lab ruby 30 ct about $35 Lab ruby 19 to 23 ct about $130 Lab sapphire 29 ct about $75 Lab sapphire 8.6 ct about $35 Lab emerald 11 to 15 ct about $1,050 Lab emerald 10 to 11.5 ct about $660 Lab diamond 10.5 ct about $4,400 Lab diamond 9 ct about $4,050 Moissanite 10 ct about $160 Lab sapphire rough 150 ct about $65

Learn the gem world

How lab gems are grown The machines, what they cost, how long they take. How gems are cut Six steps, ten cuts, what it costs. Where gems are mined A map of 50 mining districts. Gem treatments Heat, glass, oil, dye: what is normal. The gem museum The Hope Diamond, the Star of India, and gems still in their rock.

The whole gem world, laid out

Frequently Asked Questions

Is moissanite a fake diamond?

No. Moissanite is silicon carbide, its own stone, lab-made, harder than any gem except diamond and with more rainbow fire. It is sold as a diamond alternative, and it passes a basic thermal diamond tester, which is why jewellers use an electrical tester to tell them apart. We never call moissanite a diamond: every diamond we link to is labelled lab-grown or natural.

Are lab-grown sapphires and rubies real?

They are real corundum, the same mineral as mined sapphire and ruby, with the same hardness and chemistry. They are grown in a furnace rather than dug up, which is why they cost a small fraction of mined stones and usually show cleaner, more even colour.

What do D colour and VVS1 mean on an Amazon listing?

They are grades borrowed from the diamond scale: D is the top colourless grade, VVS1 means inclusions are very hard to see under 10x magnification. On a moissanite or melee listing they are the seller's description of a batch, not a laboratory grade of the stone you receive, unless a report from a lab like GIA or IGI is included.

Your first real gem

A 29.83 carat lab ruby, real corundum, about $35.

See it on Amazon

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