Spinel

Spinel is a very attractive and historically important gemstone mineral. Its
typical red color, although pinker, rivals the color of ruby. In fact, many
rubies, of notable fame belonging to crown jewel collections, were found to
actually be spinels. Perhaps the greatest mistake is the Black Prince's Ruby
set in the British Imperial State Crown. Whether these mistakes were
accidents or clever substitutions of precious rubies for the less valuable
spinels by risk taking jewelers, history is unclear. The misidentification
is meaningless in terms of the value of these gems for even spinel carries a
considerable amount of worth and these stones are priceless based on their
history, let alone their carat weight and pedigree.

Today, expensive rubies are still substituted for by spinel in much the same
way a diamond is substituted by cubic zirconia. Not to commit a fraud or
theft but to prevent one. Spinel may take the place of a ruby that would
have been displayed in public by an owner who is insecure about the rubies
safety. The spinel probably is still valuable but better to lose a $100,000
dollar spinel than a $1 million dollar ruby!

Spinel and ruby are chemically similar. Spinel is magnesium aluminum oxide
and ruby is aluminum oxide. This is probably why the two are similar in a
few properties. Not suprisingly, the red coloring agent in both gems is the
same element, chromium. Spinel and Ruby also have similar luster (refractive
index), density and hardness. Although ruby is considerably harder (9) than
spinel, spinel's hardness (7.5 - 8) still makes it one of the hardest
minerals in nature.

Varieties - Star material is very rare.

History - Two of the stones among the Crown Jewels of England are spinels,
although they were once thought to be rubies. They are the Black Prince's
Ruby and the Timur Ruby. The 361 carat Timur Ruby is the world's most famous
spinel. Spinel was recognized as a separate species as early as 1587 in
Burma.

Spinel is the great imposter of gemstone history: many famous rubies in
crown jewels around the world are actually spinel. The most famous is the
Black Prince's Ruby, a magnificent 170-carat red spinel that currently
adorns the Imperial State Crown in the British Crown Jewels after a long
history: Henry V even wore it on his battle helmet! The Timur Ruby, a
352-carat red spinel now owned by Queen Elizabeth, has the names of some of
the Mughal emperors who previously owned it engraved on its face, an
undeniable pedigree!
In Burma (Myanmar), where some of the most beautiful colors are mined,
spinel was recognized as a separate gem species as early as 1587. In other
countires the masquerade lasted for hundreds of years after that. Spinels
were most often referred to as "balas rubies" which may have referred to
color or to country of origin.

Now treasured for its own sake, spinel is a favorite of gem dealers and gem
collectors due to its brilliance, hardness and wide range of spectacular
colors. In addition to beautiful rich reds, spinel can be found in a range
of beautiful pastel shades of pink and purple. Of particular interest is a
vivid hot pink with a tinge of orange that is mined in Burma that is one of
the most spectacular gemstone colors in any gem species. Spinel also comes
in beautiful blues which are sometimes called cobalt spinel, but these are
very very rare.

Because spinels made in a laboratory are often used for imitation birthstone
rings, many people think "synthetic" when they hear the name "spinel." They
have often never even seen the real thing. In fact, the main thing holding
back greater recognition for spinel is rarity. Fine spinels are now more
rare than the rubies they used to imitate. Strangely, they are also more
affordable: in the gem world, too rare can be a drawback because so few
people even get a chance to grow to love these gem varieties.

In addition to Burma, now known as Myanmar, spinel is mined in Sri Lanka,
Tanzania, and Tadjikstan, part of the former Soviet Union.

Spinel is a durable gemstone that is perfect for all jewelry uses. It is
most often faceted in oval, round, or cushion shapes and is not currently
found in calibrated sizes due to its rarity.

The name "spinel" is derived from the Greek word for spark, in reference to
the fiery red color of spinels often used for gems. The transparent red
spinels are also called spinel-rubies or balas-rubies and were often
confused with actual rubies in ancient times. "Balas" is derived from
Balascia, the ancient name for Badakhshan, a region in central Asia situated
in the upper valley of the Kokcha river, one of the principal tributaries of
the Oxus river. Yellow spinel is called rubicelle and violet-colored
manganese-bearing spinel is called almandine.

Spinel is found as a metamorphic mineral, and also as a primary mineral in
basic rocks, because in such magmas the absence of alkalis prevents the
formation of feldspars and any aluminium oxide present will form corundum or
combine with magnesia to form spinel. This is why spinel and ruby are often
found together.

Sri Lanka produces blue spinels colored by cobalt. Such cobalt blue spinels
are highly sought after by collectors. The best pieces are an intense blue
unique in the world of gems.