If you like a variety of colors available in a gemstone you will really like spinel. There are red, violet, pink, blue, orange, and black spinels. Finding your favorite color could take you on a tour of the world. The best red, pink and orange spinels originate from the rich gem gravels of Burma’s Mogok Stone Tract. The best blue and violet spinels are found in Sri Lanka. Gem spinel is also found in Vietnam, the Pamir mountains of Tajikistan, and in Tanzania and Madagascar. Black spinel is mind in Thailand.
Throughout history, spinel has been confused with ruby because red spinel is a rich, intense red similar to that of a red traffic signal. Frequently expensive rubies are 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. Better to lose a $100,000 dollar spinel than a $1 million dollar ruby, don’t you agree?
Spinel
