Collector usually feels worth the time because the route feeds permanent progress instead of ending as a one-time detour. There are five gems, each one boosts income after it goes into the factory wall, and the full set unlocks Collector as well as the Gem Upgrader. The part that really matters is not only finding the gems. It is doing them in an order that keeps the run moving instead of turning every later route into backtracking.
The order usually feels best when the Hotel and main base lava pit come first. Gem 1 depends on Frozen Magma. Reach the Hotel, go to the upper left-side room on the fourth floor, collect Frozen Magma, and bring it back to your main base lava sell pit. Activate it there, jump in, and take the gem from the lava pool. This is also the point where the route starts paying off immediately, because the wall insert is already waiting back at the factory.
Gem 2 is the clean hidden-room pickup. Open the mine, walk to the furthest back-left corner, break the secret rock, and drop into the room below. It is one of the nicer early gems because it is direct and does not drag the run into a long late-map detour. If the save is still growing, Gem 1 and Gem 2 usually feel like the easiest pair to bank first.
Gem 3 sits in the secret rain zone near the Abandoned Factory entrance. This one feels different from the castle route because it is short wall parkour rather than a maze. Enter the rain-zone secret area, turn left, and follow the climb into the room holding the gem. It is easy to mix this one up with later secret routes, but this is the shorter mid-map detour, not the late Castle Mountain finish.
Gem 4 loops back to the Hotel, but this time the route is tied to progress instead of a single room pickup. Push the Hotel level sequence to Level 3, collect the roof key, then use it on the building opposite the Hotel. The gem sits in that building's basement after a short parkour section. This is usually the gem that starts feeling annoying if the save is underprepared, which is why it tends to land better after the economy already feels steady.
Gem 5 is the late-map Castle Mountain route. Find the well, drop into the maze, follow the path to the exit, then finish the short parkour at the end to reach the gem room. It usually feels best as the last gem because it is the longest route of the five. By then the extra travel tends to feel manageable instead of draining.
After every pickup, head back to the gem wall at your factory and slot the gem in. Each insert adds another layer of permanent income, and the full wall is what turns the whole route into Collector progress instead of five disconnected detours. Even if it takes more than one session, those inserts keep making the next run easier.