Colored gemstone prices per carat vary by a factor of thousands within one species, so a single number means little without the sale behind it. This page gathers every Carat Brief price guide. Each one keeps to named auction results, producer disclosures and lab language, with the source linked next to the number.
Updated November 8, 2026.
Price Per Carat, Stone by Stone
Stone | A sourced reference point | Full guide |
|---|---|---|
Ruby | Crimson Flame, 15.04 ct, about $1.2 million per carat at Christie's Hong Kong, 2015, the auction record per carat | |
Sapphire | Regent Kashmir, $271,515 per carat at Christie's Hong Kong, 2025 | |
Emerald | Rockefeller Emerald, 18.04 ct, $305,000 per carat at Christie's New York, 2017, the auction record per carat | |
Tanzanite | Three Bonhams results above 25 ct, about $250 to $580 per carat | |
Alexandrite | Auction results and sourced benchmarks | |
Paraíba tourmaline | Auction results and sourced benchmarks |
Records are the top of the market, not a guide to what a typical stone costs. Each guide explains the gap.
Rough Prices From the Mines
Gemfields auctions the rough from its Kagem emerald mine in Zambia and its Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique, and publishes the results. Rough prices are not comparable with cut stones.
Auction Records and Single Sales
What Moves the Price
Treatment and origin, as written on a lab report, are two of the lines that move a price the most. Our lab reports and treatments guide explains how to read them.
FAQ
What is the most expensive gemstone per carat? Among the colored stones we track, the ruby auction record per carat, the Crimson Flame at about $1.2 million per carat, is the highest.
Where do your prices come from? Named auction results, producer disclosures such as Gemfields, and lab reports. We do not publish unsourced retail ranges.
Can you value my stone? No. We are an editorial publication, not appraisers. A lab report and an independent appraiser are the right starting points.
New prices, every Tuesday.
Auction results, producer sales and the lab language behind each number.
Carat Brief is editorial and is not investment advice.