What Are These Unusual Gems?

You may have come across some “Unusual Gems” in your journey through Skyrim. These are part of the quest “No Stone Unturned”, given by Vex in the Thieves Guild. Start by picking up an unusual gem, then bring it to Vex to have it appraised. She will tell you that there are 24 of them around. If you bring them all to her, you’ll be able to trade them in for something good.

This guide will help you find all of the gems and recover the Crown of Barenziah. I’ve divided the gems into easy or hard to get, since some can just be grabbed off the shelf while others are only accessible during quests.

Easy To Reach Stones

These stones can just be taken without any combat involved.

• Whiterun Jarl’s Quarters – Go into the Jarl’s bedroom, and you’ll find the stone on his nightstand next to the bed.
• Whiterun – On Kodlak Whitemane’s bookshelf in his room in the Jorrvaskr living quarters.
• Whiterun – Enter the Hall of the Dead and go into the Whiterun Catacombs. From here, go left, then head right down the ramp. The stone will be on your left here, by a skeleton.
• Windhelm – In the house of Clan Shatter-Shield, go upstairs and enter the first bedroom on the left. The stone is on the bookshelf.
• Windhelm – Go upstairs in the Palace of the Kings to Wuunferth’s room. The stone is on a table.
• Solitude – In the Blue Palace, on Jarl Elisif’s nightstand.
• Riften – In Mistveil Keep, enter the Jarl’s chambers and grab it from the nightstand.
• Markarth – Go to the Treasury House and look in the master bedroom. It’s next to the bed on a ledge.

Stones That Require Some Effort

You may have to fight through a dungeon, or defeat draugr guarding a word wall, to get these stones.

• The Rift – In Black-Briar Lodge, look at the left end table in the master bedroom upstairs. You’ll have to fight the mercenaries guarding the place first.
• Yngvild – In the last room of this cave, next to Arondil’s final journal.
• Hob’s Fall Cave – There is a wooden bridge in here, past it there is a path to the left before the room with the arcane enchanter. Take this path down to an area with an alchemy table. The gem is on a shelf here.
• Dead Crone Rock – At the top of the last tower, there is a word wall, and an altar in front of it. The stone is on this altar.
• Rannveig’s Fast – This stone is in the prison, go in through the trapdoor in front of the chest at the word wall, or take the long way through the tunnels. It is on a table just to the right of the prison’s exit gate.
• Understone Keep Dwemer Museum – Enter by getting permission from Calcelmo, or sneak inside and avoid the guards. The stone is behind a locked gate on the left side of the museum, on a table in the right corner.
• Dainty Sload – From the entrance, take the stairs down, then take the staircase across from you up to another room. The stone is on the table in here.
• Sunderstone Gorge – On the altar in front of the word wall.
• Ansilvund – In the last room of the Ansilvund Burial Chambers, on a table.
• Stony Creek Cave – From the main corridor, follow a path on the right, before the large pool of water. It is in the wizard’s cavern, on a table near an alchemy lab.
• Pinewatch Bandit Sanctuary – From the door of the entrance to the bandit sanctuary, go up the ramp and take the passage to the left. Turn left again in this room and head upstairs, opening the wooden door. In this room with one bandit and 3 sarcophagi, unlock the door on the right, and you’ll find the stone on a bookshelf.

Most Difficult To Get

You can only access these stones if you participate in a major questline (or in the case of Proudspire Manor, cough up some gold).

• Fellglow Keep (Whiterun Hold) – You’ll go to this keep during the College of Winterhold storyline, but you are able to enter beforehand. When you enter, go up the stairs and open the first door on the right. You should see an alchemy lab and an enchanting table. The stone is on the table in between them. On your way, you’ll have to fight a few mages.
• College of Winterhold – During “Under Saarthal”, a quest in the College of Winterhold storyline, you’ll gain access to the Arch-Mage’s Quarters. Look on the shelf to the left of the Arch-Mage’s bed.
• Falkreath Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary – To get this stone, you must either join the Dark Brotherhood or take the quest to destroy it. It’s on the dresser in Astrid’s room.
• Proudspire Manor – To get this stone, you’ll have to complete the quests “The Man Who Cried Wolf”, and “Elisif’s Tribute”. Start those by speaking to Falk Firebeard in Solitude. Once those quests are complete, you can buy the deed to Proudspire Manor for 25,000 gold and get access to the stone. It is in the upstairs master bedroom on a dresser by the door.
• Thalmor Embassy – This stone is in the Reeking Cave, accessible during or after the “Diplomatic Immunity” quest in the main storyline. If you are looking during the quest, it will be in a bedroom in the second building on the embassy’s grounds. If you didn’t pick it up during the quest, it’ll be in the cave near the roadside entrance, by a dead mage in an alcove.

The Crown of Barenziah

Barenziah was the queen of Mournhold, a city in Morrowind, and the lover of Tiber Septim (aka Talos). You have the gemstones that once decorated her crown, and now you must recover the crown itself. It is in Tolvald’s Cave, a cave in the Rift to the northeast of the village of Shor’s Stone.

Fight your way through Tolvald’s Cave, Tolvald’s Gap, and finally Tolvald’s Crossing. There will be many Falmer in here, so prepare accordingly. When you make it to the end in Tolvald’s Crossing, you will have to fight the ghosts of Barenziah’s guards. Afterwards, the crown is free for the taking.

Loot this dungeon to your heart’s content, then return to Vex with the crown. She will restore it, and you will gain the passive effect “Prowler’s Profit”, which makes you more likely to find precious gems when looting various containers. The fully restored crown will go on display in the Thieves Guild cistern.