Spinel - The Jewelry Gemstone

Spinel is a favorite with gem dealers and collectors because of its hardness, brilliance and wide range of colors ranging from red, pink, violet, purple, green, yellow, orange, brown and blue. For centuries red spinal was mistaken as Ruby Gemstone and gained a lot of undeserved fame. The centerpiece of the Imperial State Crown in the British Crown Jewels is a 170 caret red spinel. Queen Elizabeth owned Timur Ruby in actuality a 352 caret red spinal. Similarly the rubies said to be owned by Tamerlane, Henry VIII of England and Peter the Great of Russia are indeed spinels. The word spinel is said to have come from either the Latin word ‘spina’ that means ‘thorn’ or the Greek word 'spinther' that means ‘spark’.

Pure spinel is white in color, but impurities give it a wide range of colors out of which red is the most popular. Spinel is known by different names depending on their colors like Ruby Spinel (red), Cobalt Spinel (blue),Pleonast(black), Picotite(brown),Rubicelle (yellow to orange),Balas Ruby (pink to pale red), Almandine Spinel (violet) etc. All colors of this stone are used in fashion jewelry and is most often faceted in oval, round or cushion shapes. The stone can be cleaned with mild dish soap using a soft toothbrush. Spinels are found in Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Afghanistan, Brazil, Sweden, Australia, Madagascar, Nepal, Nigeria, Tadzhikistan, Tanzania and the United States.