for me, the apparent price markup may also be increased because of some of the wholesale access i have.

where i live, once a year we have the biggest trade show for minerals, fossils, and gemstones in europe. the biggest wholesalers from around the planet are there. you choose cut, color and size, they get it for you, and from a lot of up to 1000 pieces they put 50 or so on the table and you make your picks. some jewelers travel to these trade shows to buy, or they travel to Antwerp or Cape town or Tel Aviv to buy. but most jewelers dont jump through these hoops, which means they have an additional middleman.

and, as i said, i have no clue how much work goes into making a ring and how many grams of gold are in there.

that being said, diamonds are quite overpriced anyway due to the monopoly of de beers, which is why i shifted my attention to synthetic diamonds.