Spinel is a special gemstone in many ways. For centuries it was mistaken for ruby and gained undeserved fame. Today fine red spinel is more rare than ruby but less valuable.
Due to its excellent hardness (8 on Mohs scale) and high clarity spinel is a very fine gem for jewelry of all kinds.
Spinel is never treated in any way and continues to be a great substitute for ruby and sapphire as well.
Although commonly thought of as red, spinel can be found in a range of beautiful pastel shades.
These outstanding shades of pink, purple, orange, blue, plus every combination in between make spinels some of the most desirable stones in the world.
Of particular interest is a vivid hot pink with a tinge of orange that is mined in Burma that is one of the most spectacular gemstone colors in any gem species. Spinel also comes in beautiful blues, which are sometimes called cobalt spinel, but these are rare.
Large stones (2.5cts-3+cts) are very rare and star spinels are very rare.
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