To whet your appetite, here's a shot I took of an amazing document in the National Archives in London a couple of years ago. It lists all the precious jewelled rings that King Henry III of England gave away to his favoured nobles in the 1250-1260s, and tells us what kind of stones decorated them and how much they were worth. There are lots of rubies and emeralds there in the Latin, and on average the ones listed in this image cost 25 shillings and 8 pence (more than five months' wages for a carpenter at this time!).
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| Detail from the ring account account (TNA, E101/349/26) |
You can read more about Henry's jewels and what he did with them here.
You can check out more information about medieval wages here.
