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Spinel

The Black Prince’s Ruby. The Timur Ruby. For centuries, spinel, the great imposter, masqueraded as ruby in Europe’s crown jewels.

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Stunning Color

The finest red spinel colors are pure red to slightly purplish red hues of medium to medium-dark tone.

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Cut for Brilliance

Spinel is most often cut in cushion and oval shapes; when properly proportioned it has excellent brilliance.

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Chromium

Like ruby, the color of red spinel is due to traces of chromium.

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Nature’s Perfection

Spinel belongs to the cubic crystal system and its characteristic crystal shape is an octahedron, which looks like two back-to-back pyramids.

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Perfect for Jewelry

Like ruby, spinel is found in alluvial deposits; it ranks 8 on the Mohs scale and has good toughness, making it a durable gem for jewelry.

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Collector’s Favorite

Well-formed spinel crystals are in high demand among mineral collectors.

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Photos (32) Video (2) Gallery (2)

Topics

Gemology (5) Treatment Process (4) Inclusions (2) Design (1)
XClear Selections
The oval blue topaz
A multi-colored butterfly.
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Spinel Crystal

Hunting for Spinels in Vietnam

Hunting for Spinels in Vietnam
Quench-crackled blue synthetic spinel
These thin crystals break easily
Multiphase inclusions in Star of David spinel
Rare spinel macle
50-carat Orangy Red Spinel
50-ct. Spinel from Tanzania
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All photos remain under the ©Gemological Institute of America copyright and may only be used with permission. More Copyright Information
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