Purple Spinel octahedrons (Matioli Coll.)

Item Description

Large, lustrous, lavender spinel octahedrons are dramatically clustered atop marble matrix on this very showy and rich example from Vietnam. The glassy, partially translucent octos reach 3.2 cm. These are large, high quality spinels for the locale. Specimens such as this are seldom available. The crystals in the display views are essentially pristine. You can barely tell, that the backs of the tips of the two crystals at the top are bruised. At this size, you almost never see spinel in any case. Choice and uncommon material valued at $1000.