Peridot offers grate value for money.

• Peridot in small sizes is quite easy to obtain, but as the sizes increase so does the gemstones scarcity.

• This has a logarithmic effect on the price, which is not in proportion or relative to the prices of the smaller sizes. For example, if you paid $100 for a 1 ‘Carat’ Burmese Peridot you won’t be paying $400 for a 4 ‘Carat’ Burmese Peridot: You’ll probably be paying $6-700 as the prices go up according to the scarcity of the gemstone in large sizes.

• If you do your shopping wisely then the $6-700 that you could spend on a 4 ‘Carat’ Burmese Peridot could buy you nearly seven 1 ‘Carat’ Burmese Peridots, or two or three 2 ‘Carat’ Burmese Peridots.

• Another little tip is that when a gemstone hits the ‘Carat’ marker its price increases considerably, so if you buy a gemstone that’s a little below the ‘Carat’ mark, say 0.95 or 1.95 etc, you will be making a nice little saving. The reason for this is that prices increase in a steep curve, see the diagram below for the general idea.

• Be warned that the gem dealers and cutters are well aware of this little trick, and they will try to cut as closely as possible to the ‘Carat’ mark in order to get a better price. The downside to this is that the cutters will not optimize the cut to give your gemstone the best symmetry and brilliance, but instead focus on the weight keeping the amount of cutting down and the price up.