Besides getting questions asking about which stones are actually gemstones, and those sort of queries, I have been asked about buying gemstone beads, and about how to price jewelry. I'm no expert, but I'll share what I can. And, given how I price my items, you might not want to take my advice. Since the cost of the gemstones directly affects the cost of jewelry, those questions are connected.
SOURCES for beads:
I purchase quite a bit from Etsy. I search for a specific stone, look at different vendors, their shipping costs, and their reviews, and choose based on that information. I also like being able to see images of the actual beads, or at least a selection from the same lot of beads as those I am purchasing.
I also have looked into Etsy shops and online vendors that were recommended in by other Esty sellers in these two discussion threads. (rather than list each vendor, I'm linking to the discussions.)
In general, beads being sourced from wholesalers in India are different than those sourced from wholesalers China. Beads from India often have smaller holes, and the size and shape of the beads on a strand may show greater variety. I always check, regardless of origin, the size of the holes, and if it isn't noted, I convo the seller.
I know a lot of people buy from Fire Mountain and Artbeads. I haven't found the beads to be very nice. They are too expensive for the quality. You also don't see the beads- just a stock photo. The best way to go with Fire Mountain is to be able to buy at their highest bulk rates, but most people don't need that many of their beads, or can afford to purchase at that quantity. However, there is a community on Etsy that functions as a co-op and coordinates bulk buying from Fire Mountain; it is called the Buy Fire Mountain Gems Co-op.
I've been told that gem and bead shows are a good source. I haven't been to any shows. Financially, I'm only able to buy beads a few strands at a time, for specific projects.
The other source I use for beads is a local store. I am lucky enough to live near a shop 
that specializes in minerals, called The Appalachian Rock Shop. Given that there isn't an art supply store with in an hour's drive, having a store that sells gemstone beads by the strand is kind of a miracle.
PRICES of gemstone beads:
Prices of gemstones are based on rarity, difficulty in mining, difficulty in exporting (politics), and capitalism. The "demand" portion of supply and demand plays a large role in the expense of certain stones.
Diamonds are a great example of how capitalism determines pricing!
After the discovery of the huge South African diamond mines in 1870, diamonds were being dug out of the ground literally by the ton. There was such a glut of supply and so little demand that the British financiers of the South African mines were in danger of losing their investment. Their solution was to create the powerful De Beers cartel that to this day controls worldwide diamond production and supply. Quality diamonds are actually not scarce at all. But De Beers controls how much supply comes on the market at any one time and that keeps prices high.
Marketing and promotion also raise the prices of gemstones. The greater the demand, the more fashionable the gemstone is considered, the higher the base price. Currently, we can see this happening with stones like tanzanite, moonstone, fire opal, sunstone, and labradorite. Gemstone beads and stones are quite pricey to begin with, so when demand increases the prices, things can get a bit wold!
Labradorite is a good example of a stone whose popularity is responsible for dramtically increased prices.
A beautiful stone, labradorite, is from Labrador, Canada. The stone comes in a range of colors- blues, greens, greys, yellows, even colorless. Labradorite is famous for it's labradorescence. Labradorescence, also called "The Schiller Effect" referese to the iridescent play of colors, or flash, seen in the stone as it moves in light. Really flashy labradorite is also called spectrolite.
Currently, finding inexpensive labradorite with good flash to purchase is a lot like trying to buy ice in hell. Even excellent vendors are selling labradorite at relatively high prices (in comparison to past prices or gemstones of similar rarity/quality/size).
A vendor from whom I sometimes purchase beads, is currently selling the same size/quality/cut of labradorite bead used in the two wrap bracelets containing labradorite I have in my shop. They are selling 2 inches of these beads for $11.50; 4 inches of the beads are $21. This vendor is doing nothing wrong; this is a typical price at which labradorite with good flash is selling. Add in that rondelle beads are typically more expensive that round beads, and faceted beads are more expensive than smooth, and the price increases.
I currently have two wrap bracelets in my etsy shop. One bracelet is a 5x (five times around) wrap and has 29 inches of the labradorite beads in the example above. The other bracelet is a 4x wrap and has 14 inches of the beads.
To tie this into pricing jewlery for sale, let's calculate the cost of the 43 inches of beads at the pricing noted above:
4 inches of beads @ $21. 43 inches of beads used. To calculate the number of 4 inch lengths I would need to purchase :
43 /4= 10.75 I would need 10.75 of the 4 inch lengths. At that vendor's pricing, 43 inches of beads would have cost $225.75.
That is just the cost of the beads, not the cost of the leather, the button, the thread, any other supplies...
So, that explains why pieces made with labradorite are sooooo pricey!
Pricing for jewelry:
I find determining prices for my pieces to be anxiety producing. If you research online or in books, how to price your jewelry and other craft items for sale (not art, mind you, art pricing is something very different), you will find that you are to add up the cost of your supplies to create the item (including the cost of having those supplies shipped to you), and the cost of your overhead (including things like shipping containers, packaging, gasoline, etc.). You are then to take this number and multiply by 3. Never in a million years have I ever multiplied the expense of an item by 3 to create a price. While it might sound good, I would never sell anything!!
Your total cost of creating the item is basically it's wholesale price. In retail, the most common method of marking an item for sale is to take the wholesale price and double it; this is called keystone pricing.
I found this article, Finding the Right Price for Your Retail Products, by Ronald Bond, to be very helpful. Here's an excerpt:
Although it is true that higher volumes will make up for lower prices to some extent, unless you can sell as much as a Kmart or Wal-Mart, you absolutely need at least a keystone markup to survive in a small retail shop. Although doubling the price may sound outrageous, it does not result in excessive profits when you consider the expenses for rent, taxes, insurance, supplies, labor, etc., that you must pay.
Sometimes you will have to sell an item at a lower markup, if you believe you cannot compete at a full keystone markup. Be careful, however, not to price too many items this way or you'll find nothing left for yourself at the end of the year. You can try to balance it out by marking some items up slightly higher to compensate for the lower markups on others. You can do this when you get a special discount or are able to buy items direct from a manufacturer. If you decide to use a markup other than the standard keystone
(50 percent), here is a quick way to calculate your selling price:
Selling price = [(cost of item) ÷ (100 - markup percentage)] × 100
For example, assume an item costs you $10 and you want to use a markup of 35 percent. The selling price would then be calculated as follows:
Selling price = [(10.00) ÷ (100 - 35)] × 100
Selling price = (10.00 ÷ 65) × 100 = $15.38
Do not multiply the cost by 35 percent and add that amount to the cost. That will produce a retail markup of 17.5 percent, not the desired 35 percent.
My wrap bracelets typically have between $20 and $35 worth of beads in them. I am clearly not using keystone pricing.
One of the learning experiences I had when I first opened my shop, was that after covering the cost of making the item and offering free shipping, I was making $3 to $6 an item, which in no way included any of my time or energy in creating the item, so I had to increase my prices. I felt so badly about needing to do so, I recalculated the pricing several times, trying to figure out how to make the items less expensive, but still make enough money to have this be worthwhile. (three children and one salary makes that an important consideration.)
I ended up editing the price of each item to reflect the exact costs of the supplies, which means similar items have different prices because the prices are based on the exact cost of the materials used. This feels the most ethical to me, and following that feeling helped me find my way through the pricing process.
