In Balinese art convention, it is the overall effect that is important, not the quality of the materials used to achieve that effect. Thus, when we consider the stones used in Balinese keris hilts, the thing that is important is how they look, and that they conform to the required colour scheme.
A variation to this convention can occur when a particular stone is required for a particular purpose, for example, diamonds are a protection against poison, so if you can afford them, diamonds are not a real bad idea to include in your dress --- or the dress of your keris.
It is not unusual, even in very high quality hilts, to see natural gemstones combined with pastes, in order to achieve the desired effect.
From memory, I think Miguel Covarrubias mentions this.
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