Clash of Clans - Gems Guide

Gems




Like most 'free' games which involve leveling up there is an in game currency which can be purchased with real money, and earned (slowly) within the game.

Progress can be slow without gems and the game tries to encourage you to buy gems, as it is a free game and the only way the developers will make money from the game, personally I think supercell should be more generous with gem distribution.
Progress can be slow without gems, especially by the time that upgrades take days to complete, you have already invested alot of time in the game when you realise you need to spend money or progress slowly. You start the game with 500 gems and you should try to save as many as possible for later in the game.
Builders Huts are the only useful item that can only be purchased with Gems and buying an additional builders hut is the smartest was to spend gems if you want to progress quickly. (The only time I have paid for gems is to buy an additional builders hut).
spend your gems sparingly especially if your in the early stages of the game as you will need them more later, if you can wait for something to finish upgrading or try to raid instead of buying more gold/elixir. If you don't want to buy gems then patience is key, the game requires so much time an upgrading that you just want to upgrade constantly and as quickly as possible but it is much better wait and enjoy the game or before you know it you can spend a lot of money on the game.

More info:http://clashofclanstips.blogspot.com/p/gems.html