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Spinel

Spinel is an exceptional colored gemstone. It has excellent hardness and durability and comes in a wide range of attractive colors. It's refractive index is fairly close to that of corundum, and historically, fine examples of blue and red spinel have been confused with blue sapphire and ruby. In fact, the "Black Prince's Ruby" in the British Crown Jewels is actually a red spinel. It is also one of the least-known and most underappreciated of the major gem varieties. However, this is quickly changing, with demand increasing dramatically every year.

Below you'll find a small selection of the spinels that we've cut and sold over the years. Hopefully these illustrate the impressive variety of colors and shape/cut combinations that are possible with spinel.

A few helpful hints about using the gallery:

  • Hover over an image to see more information about the specific gemstone

  • Hovering will also reveal additional features:

    • Heart icon - If you like a photo, be sure to let us know!

    • Download icon - Clicking will allow you to easily save the image to your computer.  This can be useful if you'd like to have these photos as a reference when communicating color, cut, or other specifics to us.

    • Share icon - Click to easily share this photo on your social feed or send via email.

  • Clicking on the image itself will bring up a full-size photo of the gemstone, along with additional information

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