- v50 information can now be added to pages in the main namespace. v0.47 information can still be found in the DF2014 namespace. See here for more details on the new versioning policy.
- Use this page to report any issues related to the migration.
23a:Gem
| This article is about an older version of DF. |
Small clusters of rough gems can be found strewn throughout the mountain. Cut gems can be used to create windows, and to encrust furniture, crafts, weapons, armor and ammunition. In addition, raw rock crystals are required to make crystal glass goods. Rough gems, cut gems and their crystal expressions can be used in the creation of legendary artifacts.
Gems have no value in rough form. First they need to be cut in a jeweler's workshop. Cut gems have a base value of 5, which is multiplied by the appropriate value modifier from the table below. Items can be decorated (encrusted) with cut gems; all such decorations have a value 10 times the gem type's value multiplier.
You can also manufacture raw glass, which is the same as a lower-value, uncut gem.
Exactly 5% of all rough gems will be cut into a single craft or large gem (with 1 craft for every 2 large gems), and the same occurs with raw glass (but with different ratios - 33% of all jobs, producing 25 crafts for every 2 large gems). These will replace a cut gem and cannot be used to encrust goods. The value of such crafts can easily reach hundreds, possibly even thousands for rare gems.
Varieties
Gems come in 21 varieties, with their own colors and value multipliers:
| Rarity | Gem name | Value (×) | Color |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synthetic | green glass | 2 | ☼♦ |
| Synthetic | clear glass | 5 | ☼♦ |
| Synthetic | crystal glass | 10 | ☼♦ |
| Ornamental | rose quartz | 3 | ☼♦ |
| Ornamental | aventurine | 3 | ☼♦ |
| Ornamental | turquoise | 2 | ☼♦ |
| Ornamental | rock crystal | 2 | ☼♦ |
| Semi-Precious | red spinel | 20 | ☼♦ |
| Semi-Precious | chrysoberyl | 20 | ☼♦ |
| Semi-Precious | aquamarine | 20 | ☼♦ |
| Semi-Precious | opal | 20 | ☼♦ |
| Precious | ruby | 40 | ☼♦ |
| Precious | emerald | 40 | ☼♦ |
| Precious | sapphire | 40 | ☼♦ |
| Precious | diamond | 40 | ☼♦ |
| Rare | red diamond | 60 | ☼♦ |
| Rare | star ruby | 60 | ☼♦ |
| Rare | green diamond | 60 | ☼♦ |
| Rare | blue diamond | 60 | ☼♦ |
| Rare | star sapphire | 60 | ☼♦ |
| Rare | clear diamond | 60 | ☼♦ |
Unlike other gems, diamonds can ignite if they come into contact with sufficient sources of heat.
Every embark region contains exactly 680 clusters of gems, distributed evenly by color. Ornamental gems appear predominantly near the cave river, semi-precious gems tend to show up around the chasm, and precious gems show up most frequently beyond the magma flow; however, there is always the chance for rarer gems to appear earlier in the mountain.
2% of the time, successfully mining out a gem cluster will instead produce a gem of the same color but of the next higher rarity, producing a message such as "A miner has found some <gem> mixed with the <gem>". This is the only way to find Rare gems.
Glass
Raw glass is treated as an uncut gem. There are three subtypes of raw glass (and, once cut, of cut glass gems):
| Gem name | Value | Color | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|
| green glass | 2× | ☼ | bag full of sand |
| clear glass | 5× | ☼ | bag full of sand + pearlash |
| crystal glass | 10× | ☼ | rough rock crystal + pearlash |
Making raw glass requires a dwarf with the glassmaking labor enabled, and just like working metal it also requires fuel (either coke or charcoal) at a normal glass furnace, or magma at a magma glass furnace. Like all gems, raw glass has no quality modifiers.
Raw gems are only one of the many things your glassmakers can make from glass. See glass for more information.