Stiletto Case Hardened Blue Gem Patterns

Having a unique skin in CS2 is quite a common thing at this stage of CS history. No matter what skin you’ve got, there are probably lots of other folks running around with a similarly-looking weapon. Well, unless yours literally costs thousands of dollars. The rarity of knife reskins is such that they are probably among the rarest drops in the game, with a drop chance significantly less than one percent. And then, there’s knife finishes. Take, for instance, Stiletto Case Hardened Blue Gem skins.

Case Hardened skin family as a whole can be quite confusing even for experienced players. Usually, the price for a skin depends on the weapon’s rarity and wear, with Factory New costing more than Battle-Scarred. But Case Hardened finish has another critical predetermined parameter that affects their appearance and price — pattern. In short, Blue Gem Stiletto (and other Blue Gems) are weapons with a pattern that has most of their surface covered in shades of blue. Those are exceedingly rare even among the ludicrously hard to get knife finishes, and so Stiletto Blue Gem price can easily reach four digits and more.

However, not all of them are created equal.

What are the Differences Between Stiletto Case Hardened Patterns?

While all CS2 skins have a pattern number varying from 1 to 999, it typically doesn’t visibly affect the weapon. Case Hardened skins are an exemption to this rule, and a pattern number can impact the price of one far more than its wear index.

The real-life process of case-hardening the metals leaves different proportions of bronze, blue, and purple colors on the surface. With the idea of imitating the visual side of this procedure, Valve added a huge group of skins that have a different look depending on the pattern. Some Case Hardened Stilettos have more bronze on their blades, others have an equal proportion of blue and dark yellow, while those with the most blue dye are regarded as the Stiletto Blue Gem blades.

The CS community recognizes four distinct Blue Gem pattern tiers depending on the amount of blue color on the skin. For instance, the tier-1 Stiletto Case Hardened Blue Gem seed includes only a few patterns that can cost thousands of dollars. The knives with the increased proportions of purple and bronze hue are cheaper (with some even having a three-digit dollar price tag) and are placed into tiers from 2 to 4.

It means that if you want to buy or sell your Stiletto knife Case Hardened Blue Gem, you should be very attentive to its pattern and tier seed. Let’s look at each of the four tiers in more detail and get a grasp of the approximate prices.

Stiletto Case Hardened Seeds

Before discussing the best Stiletto Blue Gem seed groups, let’s describe some basic differences between them. Usually, the defining factor lies in the amount of blue hue on the edge, with the following tiers having the following proportions:

1. Tier 1—95% or more of the knife’s surface is blue;
2. Tier 2—80% to 95%;
3. Tier 3—65% to 80%;
4. Tier 4—50% to 65%.

Now, let’s review what a member of each Stiletto Blue Gem pattern looks like, how much those costs, and whether they are worth your attention.

1st Tier Stiletto Case Hardened Patterns (Blue Gem)

There are only three Stiletto Blue Gem seeds in this tier, so let’s examine them all.

Although the Tier 1 seed is elite by default, the best Stiletto Blue Gem pattern you can get is probably #182. The main side of its blade is fully blue with some lighter and darker shades, which makes it look even more fancy under bright light.

Moreover, the upper edge of the handle is also blue, completing the look of a true Blue Gem. Such knives are rare guests on the skin trading platforms regardless of their wear, which pushes their value to crazy levels. During the last few years, there were only a few deals involving Field-Tested copies with prices ranging from $13,000 to $18,000.

Compared to #182, pattern #713 looks slightly worse because of the yellow stain on the knife’s tip. Of course, it drops the price to about two thousand dollars, even for the Factory New option, while a Well-Worn can cost even around 800 bucks (now we’re talking!).

We found only a single instance of the #494 pattern seeing trade in the last couple of years. The Minimal Wear item was sold for  $1,130. In terms of design and painting proportions, it looks like the intermediate stage between patterns #713 and #182, as the tip of the blade has some yellow-purple stains (which we honestly can’t help but like).

2nd Tier Patterns

As is often the case, the visual difference between the worst knife in Tier 1 and the best knife in Tier 2 is hardly noticeable. For instance, the #322nd pattern looks pretty much the same as the #713th, with only the tip of the blade being non-blue. However, the purple stain on the edge and the slight bronze hue on the handle pushed this copy into the second tier. You can get a Field-Tested one for around $1,200.

Another example from the same tier and with a similar visual impression is the #798, where the amount of bronze on the blade is comparable with the previous copy. Moreover, this Stiletto knife has pretty nice blue dye on both sides of the handle, while the price is even lower — about $800.

3rd Tier Patterns

The third Blue Gem Stiletto pattern group is pretty unique and deserves special attention. Some of the designs here look amazing and can easily leave 2nd tier seeds in the dust. For instance, the #371 index has an almost perfect blue blade with only some slight stains on the tip, while the handle is fully golden. Since the blade's color matters the most when defining the Blue Gem copy, sellers typically ask for more than $4,000 for a Minimal Wear copy. We even found a case where a Factory New #371 was once sold for 12k dollars.

Another costly specimen from the 3rd tier, the pattern #283 also has lots of blue dye on its surfaces, including the handle. Minimal Wear copies are traded for $1,100 or more, and tend to look pretty great.

You can still get some Stiletto knives for less than $800 and still get a great item. The #73 pattern is a good example, looking almost exactly like #798 pattern from the upper-tier seed.

4th Tier Patterns

In the last tier, we also have some design variation and interesting patterns that deserve your attention. The #808 pattern has more than enough blue on the edge, with some bronze gaps on the handle sides. However, its cost is on the higher side for the group — about $1,000 for the Minimal Wear knife.

Pattern #630 costs less, but looks worse than other Blue Gems. However, those who aren’t ready to pay more than $700 for a knife can go for this option.

Conclusion

As you can see, the price of every Stiletto Case Hardened Blue Gem depends on the amount of blue on the knife’s blade, and sellers often don’t pay much attention to tier seeds in that regard. If you are not a collector but are lucky to catch a Stiletto knife with enough blue hue, you should definitely determine its pattern before deciding on a price tag.