Spinel

Item Description

Spinels chemically are close to Corundum (Sapphire & Ruby) where Corundum is aluminum oxide, and Spinel is aluminum magnesium oxide. Spinels are durable with a hardness of 8 (just below Corundum) and they are found in a wide range of color. I think a lot of people have heard of Ruby Spinels, but a large percentage of Spinels out there are not red. This is a beautiful blue-purple Spinel from Sri Lanka (similar to Tanzanite in color). It's an attractive gem with that slight metallic overtone that is often seen in non-red Spinels. The gem is slightly included and has a traditional "Oval Brilliant" cut. This is certainly a good quality Spinel with a wonderful color, and they seem to be less available on the market than they were 10 years ago.