Spinel (Ruby Spinel)

Item Description

It has become incredibly difficult to obtain fine quality Spinel specimens from Mogok these days due to political upheaval and the effect of the global pandemic in Myanmar. We have been told that there is no mining taking place at Mogok, the mineral market is completely closed down, and what little makes it way out of the country is incredibly expensive based upon reports we're getting. This is a great opportunity to pick up a fine "Ruby Spinel" specimen featuring relatively sharp, defined, lustrous faces octahedral faces and a gemmy pinkish-red color. It's essentially a "floater", as there is no real damage, nor a point of attachment, but there are some hollow areas where the piece was either etched out of marble, or had some interrupted growth as it grew into the host rock, which was later dissolved way. The piece shows vivid red fluorescence under SW UV light. For reference, this piece was mined around 2000, and the best of these specimens are simply the finest in the world for what they are. This is an example of a non-pegmatite gem mineral for which many collectors probably do have a good specimen in their collections. Valued at $1,750.
This piece comes to us from the legendary Ron Romanella (February 28, 1932 - October 24, 2022), a well-known gem and mineral dealer from New York City. He studied mineralogy at Columbia School of Mines, and he was mentored by Dr. Frederick Pough of the American Museum of Natural History, and learned about the business side from well-known mineral dealers Hugh Ford and Maurice Hammoneau. Ron himself was a mentor to other successful East Coast mineral dealers such as Larry Conklin, Herb Obodda and even employed Dave Wilber for a time. He largely transitioned out of selling minerals as his business focused more on gems for the last few decades, and his sons Michael and Jerry have been running the family business in Scottsdale for many years now. With that said, Ron was one of the great powerhouse mineral dealers in the US for many years, offering fine quality specimens and gem crystals from classic and contemporary localities. Among his top achievements, is that Ron is credited with importing the first known crystals of Tanzanite into the US in the 1960s.