For the longest time (basically, ever since I first started playing)
I've been one of those folks who picks up any gem, chipped, flawed, or
otherwise, and squirrels it away in the stash until I've got enough of
that version to cube up to the next. When I get a surplus of "perfects",
I sell 'em to Charsi (in SP) or swap 'em for whatever comes up
interesting for trade in MP games - which usually gets sold to Charsi
anyway!

Just a few minutes ago, I did some figuring that shows me that I'm an
idiot for bothering to take them to "perfect"... Read on:

(Note that this ignores the difference in value between "gems" and
"skulls"...)

Assuming you get nothing but chipped <whatever gem> it takes the
equivalent of 81 chips to make a perfect. Y'with me so far?

Sell value of 81 chips (@ 250 each) = 20250

On the other hand, cubing those chips up one level before selling them
would give you 27 flawed gems, each worth 750, which also totals 20250.

Cube the flaws to "regular", and you get 9. Each of which can be sold
for 2500, which totals 22500 - a value increase of 2250 gold over the
"chipped" or "flawed" value.

Take those regulars and cube them up to flawless, and you get 3 gems
that are each worth 7500, for a total value of 22500.

Cube those 3 flawless gems up to perfect, and you've got one gem that
you can sell for 15000 - for a loss of 7500 in value!

The moral of the story:
If you're looking to put gold in the stash, dump your gems at "regular"
for max profit and minimum effort.

Now, if I could just find three stinkin' chipped sapphires in my SP
game...

I've got 2 IOs, 2 Hels, 2 Dols, and 11 Sols. I *WANT* a Lum to stick in
my necro's handbag to complete a Splendor runeword. (I know, relatively
lame word, but I want it specifically for the +skill, with the +MF being
a bonus) I need 3 chipped sapphires to cube the Sols into a trio of
Shaels, which I can then cube (with the three chipped rubies I've been
saving for the purpose) into another Dol - which I can then cube to Hel,
and the Hels to an Io to go with the two Ios I'm sitting on to make the
Lum I want in the first place.

But can I find a *CHIPPED* Sapphire??? HELL NO!!! I've gotten flawed
after flawed after flawed in sapphire, even got a couple of regulars,
and even a flawless, but since I started trying to cube my way up to a
Lum, *NOT ONE CHIPPED SAPPHIRE* has fallen anywhere! Chipped rubies,
chipped Topazes, chipped every-other-damn-thing-under-the-sun, but not a
single chipped sapphire to be seen in the past three weeks! *AUGH!!!*

I can't count the number of times I've run act 1 normal trying to get
one to drop. Countess run after countess run (in all three levels) gave
me LOTS of low-medium runes (including two Ios, a total of 8 Dols so far
(That's how I've got 2 Hels) and a "Ko" that I don't know what to do
with besides sell) and plenty of other gems in various grades, but not a
single CHIPPED sapphire.

Hopefully, ranting about it here will cause one or more of them to drop
next time I play... :)