Patch 2.4.2 just threw the gem market in for a loop. Because Brilliant Glass now has a chance of giving an epic gem, the reagents required for the Jewelcrafting ability became scarce and prices shot through the roof. Uncommon gems which used to rot in players' banks or languish on the Auction Houses started disappearing into the hands of Jewelcrafters and cunning businessmen (sometimes both). Blood Garnets, as nice as they are, never sold for more than 1 Gold apiece, even after Brilliant Glass was introduced. Nowadays, on our server, they're about 10 Gold a pop.And why not? It's almost impossible to catch it on the Auction Houses now since it's pretty much an instant sale. Even prospecting has gotten some love because even destroying Fel Iron Ore has become useful for a chance to get some uncommon (and sometimes rare) gems. The chain reaction of profit continues as Jewelcrafters prospect, get uncommon gems, create Brilliant Glass, and sometimes luck out on an epic gem. The irony is, with most servers now having the alchemy lab on the Isle of Quel'danas now open for business, epic gems are starting to find their way into the market, driving prices down.
Crimson Spinels, which many guilds rarely put on sale, used to run as high as 800 to 1,000 Gold on our server. Now they have become among the most commonly bought (for badges) and sold (on the AH) gems, averaging about 300 to 400 Gold. Uncommon gems are now bought as a reagent for Brilliant Glass and almost never cut, driving prices up; while epic gems are becoming more and more available, driving prices down. If you're a Jewelcrafter, don't pass up on the chance to Brilliant Glass every 20 hours! It's a crazy time for Jewelcrafting, but it's never been more fun... or profitable.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-18-2008 @ 9:02PM
Jordrah said...
yea... thats great and all, but it means that while leveling my shaman on a new server it costs me almost 25g to put 3 green gems the shiny pants i got from ramparts :(
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5-18-2008 @ 9:22PM
lol@you said...
There are scryer and aldore vendors which sell green or white gems if you're looking for a cheaper and replaceable alternative.
5-19-2008 @ 1:38AM
Guernia said...
Not sure why you'd want to drop 25g on gemming an item you'll replace in 2 levels... but your money, I guess.
5-19-2008 @ 4:51AM
Jordrah said...
oh wow, i completely forgot about those gem vendors >.<
but... those 2-3 levels in outland are a lot longer than say 20-23 lol
5-18-2008 @ 9:34PM
Kuri said...
Fel Iron Ore, on my server, floats around 12g per stack. When it's lower, I buy out big.
Jewelcrafting has always been... a gamble. Between prospecting yourself poor for nothing, and the crazy prices on rare cut designs, it hasn't been easy.
With the latest change, I'm happily profiting from my time and effort spent.
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5-18-2008 @ 10:24PM
Gryphon Hall said...
Off-topic: What about leatherworkers? When are we going to make something as useful (and profitable) again? The last time we had something like this, it was Refined Deep Rock Salt.
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5-19-2008 @ 12:04AM
Ichigo said...
Dropped LW/skinning for Herbalism/Alch and not had a single regret.
All that LW is good for is leg enchants for meele.
5-19-2008 @ 9:01AM
Swiss said...
Uh.... You guys have something potent enough that is causing many, many hardcore raiding guilds to force their members into leather working. Even classes that cannot make one single piece of gear that they can equip are taking up leather working just for the drums. Sure, it may not be profitable, but can you think of any other profession that is being used in this manner?
5-19-2008 @ 11:32PM
Gryphon Hall said...
Egad! You're right!
Now if _only_ they let us use drums in the arena, too...
... or if possible, take away the effects that socketed gems and enchants have when doing arena.
(I'm not really serious about that.)
5-18-2008 @ 10:57PM
Ugkul said...
Has the drop rate for regular gems from mining dropped? I hardly ever get them these days.
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5-19-2008 @ 12:04AM
Slayblaze said...
I've noticed the exact same thing....no more gems drop from mining! Or if they do, it's like a one-in-a-million drop.
Really sucks
5-19-2008 @ 12:32AM
C.A. said...
Yeah, you absolutely don't get green gems from mining nodes anymore. However, when I've been doing Netherwing dailies, I get a ludicrous amount of superior gems when mining nethercite. If I do all the quests and grab most or all ore I see I end up with at least 3 blue gems.
5-19-2008 @ 4:29AM
cowy said...
I've noticed this as well. Hmm figures that Blizzard would stealth nerf mining with no word.
I wonder what they have to say about it?
5-18-2008 @ 11:10PM
Jack Spicer said...
I'm curious what the chance of getting an epic gem from Brilliant Glass is. Because if its less than a 10% chance, then it still isn't worth the 18 uncommon gems it takes to make it.
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5-20-2008 @ 2:19AM
honem said...
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=35945#contains
http://thottbot.com/i35945
Answer : about 17 % - 18%. Assuming of course those giures have been updated since the advent of 2.4.2
5-18-2008 @ 11:12PM
kuno said...
I also want to get an idea what the % chance of an epic gem is. Not much fun when you use 18 uncommon gems (that you could probably get 50g+ for on the AH) and are rewarded for your efforts by a 10g Talasite..
If its a really low % chance for an epic gem then I'm not convinced that Brilliant Glass is worth it based on current AH prices for uncommon gems
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5-18-2008 @ 11:13PM
Baluki said...
I had a whole gem bag full of uncommon gems for a long time, and when Brilliant Glass transmutes were first added, I converted nearly all my gems. Now...I wish I had waited. Sigh.
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5-18-2008 @ 11:15PM
Krisby said...
Epic Gem drop rate is pretty good. Since the patch I've had one drop off of 3 glass cooldowns. I just cant stand the cooldown. I get all these uncommons to get ride of and it take me a week to glass them all.
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5-18-2008 @ 11:23PM
Sky_Paladin said...
Compounding this is that mining no longer yields green gems, significantly reducing their availability and thus boosting their price.
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5-19-2008 @ 12:08AM
neldy said...
I'm not sure if anyone was aware of this. Something I did prior to 2.4.2 was make a alot of Brilliant Glass's and store them on a bank alt (I think I had about 20 or so in total)
Once 2.4.2 came out I opened them all up and got 4-5 epic gems ^_^
There was a theory floating around prior to 2.4.2 that the contents of the container (be it a rewards bag, brilliant glass or what ever) is decided upon opening said item. This proved that theory, by not opening them 2.4.2 and opening them once the patch hit I had a chance to gain an epic, which I did. Made a tidy little profit too!
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