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For CS2 fans, the Karambit Blue Gem is a true legend—one of the most sought-after and prized knives in the game. In this blog post, we’ll explore what makes the Karambit Blue Gem so special, break down the different patterns, and give you an idea of the jaw-dropping prices these rare beauties can command. Whether you’re a collector or just curious, this guide will get you up to speed on everything you need to know about this iconic skin. Let’s dive in!
Contents
What is a Karambit Blue Gem?
In CS2, a Blue Gem is a Case Hardened skin with a pattern that features the highest amount of blue. So, “Blue Gem” is not actually the name of this skin—the skin itself is the Karambit | Case Hardened, and the term “Blue Gem” just means that it’s a particularly blue one.
Karambit Blue Gem skins are very rare, which makes them highly valuable: one particular Karambit Blue Gem with a unique pattern is currently valued at over $1.5 million.
About Case Hardened Skins
Case Hardened skins in CS2 feature what looks like blue and yellow “stains” on the metal parts of the weapon. This finish is inspired by a real process used to harden the outer layer of metal objects, including weapon parts. The case hardening treatment involves heating the metal and then exposing its surface to a carbon-rich or nitrogen-rich environment, which allows carbon or nitrogen to diffuse into the surface layer. This strengthens the metal, but also produces a distinctive visual effect, like the one seen in Counter-Strike skins.
Case Hardened skins are available for all knives, AK-47, Five-SeveN, MAC-10, and Hydra Gloves. To find out more, check out our guide to Case Hardened skins in CS2!
Karambit Blue Gem Patterns
In CS2, each Case Hardened skin has a random pattern. While all Case Hardened skins share the same general look, they differ in the shapes and colors of the “stains” on the metal. Each skin has a pattern number from 1 to 999, also known as a pattern index or seed. It is assigned randomly when you get the skin and can’t be changed.
Some pattern numbers result in a higher than usual proportion of the color blue in Case Hardened skins, including the Karambit. And those, my friends, are Blue Gems! There are 160 patterns considered Blue Gems, and they are sorted into Tiers based on how much blue they feature.
Here’s a complete list of Karambit Blue Gem pattern numbers, sorted into Tiers:
| Tier | Pattern numbers |
|---|---|
| #1 Pattern | 387 |
| Tier 1 | 73, 269, 321, 442, 507, 776, 853, 902, 955 |
| Tier 2 | 4, 74, 82, 130, 179, 182, 273, 282, 341, 375, 377, 453, 470, 494, 510, 541, 661, 664, 670, 698, 713, 721, 798, 809, 823, 828, 838, 868, 891, 905, 917 |
| Tier 3 | 11, 20, 30, 34, 92, 112, 139, 202, 236, 256, 262, 283, 306, 310, 322, 330, 371, 398, 407, 420, 429, 463, 515, 522, 555, 575, 580, 598, 631, 632, 638, 711, 770, 782, 803, 811, 841, 844, 856, 888, 914, 916, 919, 965, 989 |
| Tier 4 | 25, 28, 32, 38, 103, 106, 116, 138, 151, 152, 177, 185, 187, 194, 244, 259, 265, 278, 284, 286, 323, 325, 334, 335, 363, 381, 401, 405, 418, 424, 426, 432, 434, 450, 468, 490, 497, 499, 509, 588, 595, 615, 622, 643, 652, 655, 689, 690, 694, 695, 708, 727, 749, 775, 791, 793, 797, 800, 839, 849, 852, 875, 879, 913, 928, 935, 942, 945, 953, 961, 974, 985 |
There are also other special Case Hardened patterns, like Gold Gems or Scars, but the Blue Gem is on every player’s wishlist, not least because of its extremely high value. And of course, Karambits are not the only skins with (valuable) Blue Gems: in 2022, an AK-47 | Case Hardened Blue Gem was sold as part of a… wait for it… $400,000 deal. A StatTrak version of the same skin is rumored to have been sold for over $1 million in early 2024 as well.
387 Pattern Blue Gem Karambit: The Most Expensive Skin in The World
Chances are, you’re here because of this one particular skin. The 387 Pattern Blue Gem Karambit, considered to be the “ultimate” Blue Gem, is likely to be the most expensive skin in the world, and it’s certainly the most valuable item in CS2. In 2021, its owner, the Chinese collector 青い王, rejected a $1.5 million offer from a potential buyer, claiming the amount was too low. Yeah.
Why is it so expensive, though? First of all, the 387 pattern is considered to be the #1 Blue Gem pattern, meaning that it has the highest proportion of the color blue on the play-side (the side of the blade you see during standard gameplay).
It’s the only 387 Pattern Blue Gem Karambit in existence, and in the world of collectible items, rarity drives the price. It’s also Factory New, which further increases its value (it’s the best and most sought-after wear condition for most skins). According to Reddit users bigsm0ke3 and amogusisntfunny1, the odds of unboxing a Factory New 387 Pattern Karambit Blue Gem (like the $1.5m one) are roughly 1 in 403 million. So as you can see, “rare” doesn’t begin to describe this skin.
Oh, and by the way, this Blue Gem is the standard version—if someone unboxed a StatTrak 387 Pattern Blue Gem Karambit, it could sell for even more. But the odds of dropping that skin from a CS2 case equal 1 in 3.6 billion, so it’s unlikely to say the least.
Karambit Blue Gem Value and Prices
Not every Karambit Blue Gem will cost millions of dollars—that only applies to the bluest 387 pattern. Other, less-blue Blue Gems have much lower prices, although they’re still among the most expensive skins in CS2. Exact prices vary a lot, depending on a combination of a few factors.
Factors That Affect The Value of a Blue Gem
The price of a Karambit Blue Gem depends on three key things:
- Pattern / Seed Number: determines how blue the blade is. Alongside the #1 387 pattern, there are around 160 other patterns that are also considered Blue Gems (listed above). These are sorted into four Tiers, with Tier 1 containing the bluest and most valuable patterns, and Tier 4 the least-valuable Blue Gems.
- Float and Wear Condition: float in CS2 refers to the wear level of the skin; lowest float = Factory New, highest float = Battle-Scarred. Broadly speaking, in the case of Karambit Blue Gems, the higher the float, the lower the value of the skin. So, Factory New Karambit Blue Gems will reach the highest prices, especially those with particularly low float (0.00XXX).
- StatTrak: StatTrak skins in CS2 feature a kill counter, and they are much rarer than standard skins—it’s accepted that the odds of dropping a StatTrak skin from a CS2 case are around 1 in 10. As usual, increased rarity means higher prices.
Prices and Examples
At the time of writing, prices for Karambit Blue Gem skins start at around $1000–$1500. In the right circumstances, this amount can get you a Tier 4, Battle-Scarred Karambit Blue Gem.
Prices quickly rise from there, though, and for example, a Field-Tested Tier 2 skin or a lower-float Tier 3 will cost around $10,000–$15,000.
Most Tier 2 Karambit Blue Gem skins will cost you well over $20k, especially if they have low float values. As we’ve seen with the 387 Blue Gem, the sky’s the limit when it comes to Blue Gem prices, but currently, the most expensive ones listed for sale across several marketplaces cost around $30k–$50k. That’s all Tier 2s—around the time of writing, there were no Tier 1 Karambit Blue Gems for sale.
How to Get a Karambit Blue Gem
If you’ve read this post from the beginning, you already know that getting your own Karambit Blue Gem won’t be easy (or cheap, most likely). Still, it’s far from impossible, and there are three ways to go about it.
Direct Purchase
So this is the “easiest” and most straightforward way of obtaining a Karambit Blue Gem: buying one directly from another user. I’m putting “easiest” in quotation marks, because it’s only easy if you have at least a few thousand dollars kicking around.
Still, some of you probably do, so if you’re getting ready to buy a Karambit Blue Gem, here are a couple of things that are worth keeping in mind:
- Use only reputable online marketplaces and do some research about the website before you make such an expensive purchase. There are many good skin markets out there, but also plenty of scams, so it’s important to make sure your transaction is safe.
- When heading to your chosen website, avoid clicking on the “Sponsored” links in the search results—users have lost a lot of money and valuable inventory items this way due to phishing scams. Type the address of the website directly or use a Bookmark if you can.
- Double-check that the pattern number of the skin corresponds with the Blue Gem patterns listed here or in other sources. Sellers will sometimes attempt to boost the value of a standard Karambit | Case Hardened by pretending that it’s a Blue Gem.
On a slightly different note, remember that CS2 skins aren’t a very reliable investment. Sure, they’re valuable assets, but their value can change considerably over time. Even the 387 Pattern Blue Gem Karambit can technically drop in value: another 387 Blue Gem can be unboxed at any moment, meaning it’ll no longer be 100% unique!
CS2 Cases
Another way to get a Blue Gem is by opening CS2 cases. This is the method of choice for most would-be Blue Gem owners, since few of us can afford to straight-up buy a $50k skin.
So, here are the CS2 cases that contain the Karambit | Case Hardened skin, and therefore offer a shot at a Karambit Blue Gem:
- CS:GO Weapon Case
- CS:GO Weapon Case 2
- CS:GO Weapon Case 3
- eSports 2013 Case
- eSports 2013 Winter Case
- eSports 2014 Summer Case
- Operation Bravo Case
- Operation Phoenix Weapon Case
- Operation Vanguard Weapon Case
- Revolver Case
- Winter Offensive Weapon Case
Prices for cases change considerably over time, so I won’t list the current Steam averages here, as they could become outdated and misleading pretty quickly. At the moment, though, The Revolver case is the cheapest on this list: the case itself costs around $2 on Steam, and the key is approximately $10–$12. The Operation Vanguard and Operation Phoenix cases are also on the cheap side ($3–$4 + $12 for the key).
At around $100, the CS:GO Weapon Case is the most expensive Karambit | Case Hardened case in CS2, but that doesn’t mean it gives you better odds for any specific item. So, if you’re going to buy cases specifically to open them with hopes of dropping a Karambit Blue Gem, choose the cheapest ones: you’ll need to open a lot of cases, so it’s better to go for quantity.
Key-Drop Cases
An even better alternative is opening cases on Key-Drop that contain the Karambit | Case Hardened skin. Most of the time, you’ll get much better odds, plus you don’t need keys to open Key-Drop cases!
In the Karambit case, for instance, 19 out of 26 items are Karambits, and the chance of dropping a Case Hardened Karambit is 1.189%. To put that into perspective, your chance of dropping any knife from a CS2 case is estimated at 0.26% (and there’s no guarantee it’ll be a Karambit, it could just as well be a $70 Gut Knife).
The Vice case is another excellent pick with a good ROI, and alongside Karambit | Case Hardened, it also contains the Karambit | Lore, AWP | The Prince, M9 Bayonet | Gamma Doppler, and tons of other awesome skins.
New cases are always appearing on Key-Drop, so click here and scroll down to see the best cases to open for a shot at the Karambit | Case Hardened skin.
Alright, that’s all we have for you today! It’s safe to say that after reading this post, you know just about everything about Blue Gem skins for the Karambit. Check out our post about every Blue Gem in CS2 here, and If you think we’ve missed anything, let us know on our socials!
