Spinel (Ruby Spinel) on marble

Item Description

I want to start out by saying that it is nearly impossible to obtain fine quality Spinel specimens from Mogok these days due to political upheaval and the effect of the global pandemic in Myanmar. All of this has resulted in no mining is taking place, and the mineral market is completely closed down. The tiny amount of material that makes it way out of the country today is incredibly expensive based upon reports we're getting, so the old prices are almost certainly going to increase once production starts again. This is a great opportunity to pick up a fine "Ruby Spinel" specimen featuring a few octahedral crystals with relatively sharp, defined, lustrous faces and a gemmy pinkish-red color measuring up to 8 mm, sitting on grey marble matrix. The crystals have some contacted edges, so the piece is not damage free, but it's still a good overall example of this beautiful material. The Spinels 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. From the collection of Richard ("Rich") A. Kosnar (1946-2007), the well-known mineral dealer and collector from Colorado, and the namesake for the rare zirconium phosphate species, Kosnarite.