You'll soon find yourself swimming in Diablo 4 gems as you level your way through the world of Sanctuary. They drop from almost everywhere—enemies, chests, treasure goblins—and can be socketed into gear to help make your build just that little bit more powerful.
Getting your hands on them isn't the issue, but knowing the different types, what each does, and how to craft stronger versions of them is what you really need You can't just replace gems on the fly once they've been inserted into gear either, so you'll need to know how to remove them from the gear you've out leveled. Here are the different types of gems in Diablo 4 and how to craft them.
Diablo 4 Jeweler unlock
The jeweler becomes available at level 20 and can be found in most towns and hubs. You'll get a priority quest to meet the Jeweler in Kyovashad, where you'll learn the basics of crafting gems, which require lower-quality gems and gold to make. Because of this, it's worthwhile holding onto the Crude and Chipped gems that you pick up while leveling as they'll be needed to craft better versions of themselves later on.
Equally as important, the jeweler will allow you to add sockets to gear, and they'll also remove gems from gear that you no longer need. This is important because if you attempt to salvage gear that has a gem inserted, the gem will be permanently lost. Not such a big deal for cheaper gems maybe, but once you start crafting more powerful ones, you'll want to transfer them to new pieces of gear as you level. The jeweler is also where you can upgrade jewelry.
Diablo 4 gem types
Each type of gem offers three different bonuses, but only one will be active, depending on the gear you insert it into. The bonus will also increase as you craft better-quality gems.
These are the Diablo 4 gem types and what slotting them into each gear type does:
Amethyst
- Weapon: Damage Over Time
- Armor: Damage Taken Over Time Reduction
- Jewelry: Shadow Resistance
Emerald
- Weapon: Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable Enemies
- Armor: Thorns
- Jewelry: Poison Resistance
Ruby
- Weapon: Overpower Damage
- Armor: Maximum Life
- Jewelry: Fire Resistance
Topaz
- Weapon: Basic Skill Damage
- Armor: Damage Reduction while Control Impaired
- Jewelry: Lightning Resistance
Sapphire
- Weapon: Critical Strike Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies
- Armor: Damage Reduction while Fortified
- Jewelry: Cold Resistance
Diamond
- Weapon: Ultimate Skill Damage
- Armor: Barrier Generation
- Jewelry: Cold Resistance to All Elements
Skull
- Weapon: Life on Kill
- Armor: Healing Received
- Jewelry: Armor (stat)
