The brilliance of Brilliant Glass
by Zach Yonzon 
May 18th 2008 at 8:00PM
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.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Jewelcrafting, Making money
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jordrah May 18th 2008 9:02PM
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 :(
lol@you May 18th 2008 9:22PM
There are scryer and aldore vendors which sell green or white gems if you're looking for a cheaper and replaceable alternative.
Guernia May 19th 2008 1:38AM
Not sure why you'd want to drop 25g on gemming an item you'll replace in 2 levels... but your money, I guess.
Jordrah May 19th 2008 4:51AM
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
Jack Spicer May 18th 2008 11:10PM
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.
honem May 20th 2008 2:19AM
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
Kuri May 18th 2008 9:34PM
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.
kuno May 18th 2008 11:12PM
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
Baluki May 18th 2008 11:13PM
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.
Gryphon Hall May 18th 2008 10:24PM
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.
Ichigo May 19th 2008 12:04AM
Dropped LW/skinning for Herbalism/Alch and not had a single regret.
All that LW is good for is leg enchants for meele.
Swiss May 19th 2008 9:01AM
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?
Gryphon Hall May 19th 2008 11:32PM
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.)
Ugkul May 18th 2008 10:57PM
Has the drop rate for regular gems from mining dropped? I hardly ever get them these days.
Slayblaze May 19th 2008 12:04AM
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
C.A. May 19th 2008 12:32AM
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.
cowy May 19th 2008 4:29AM
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?
Krisby May 18th 2008 11:15PM
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.
Sky_Paladin May 18th 2008 11:23PM
Compounding this is that mining no longer yields green gems, significantly reducing their availability and thus boosting their price.
neldy May 19th 2008 12:08AM
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!