I made 3-4k a day off of non-epic gems. So, to answer your question, yes. The biggest profit makers are Scarlet Rubies, Autumn's glows and Solid Sky Sapphire. The other types sell alright, but not great. Forest Emeralds I cut and Vendor, 99% of the time.
The key is on my server I'm the only major player selling them. Demand is fairly low but consistent enough to make reliable profit from it. I don't even sell epic gems in quantity, as the market on my server is WELL beyond saturated.