There are several colors of spinel gems, and only yellow and bright green are missing.
Spinel is found in Asia, mainly in the Himalayas, from Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Burma to Vietnam.
These deposits tend to exist between heavy mountain ranges off the beaten track. A quick look at a map will show us how remote these places are.
A summary of spinel analysis by origin:
Tajikistan
Spinel here usually has a light cherry color due to the higher iron than cadmium content.
The distinctive feature is that the grains are large and clean.
While it is very rare to get more than 30 carats elsewhere, here it tends to get above 50 carats.
A few years ago I even saw more than 100 carats at a foreign jewelry show.
Almost all of the historically famous spinel mentioned in the previous article came from a place called Badahkshan. This place was also known in ancient times as “Barras Ruby”.
Burma
The spinel gems here may have been favored by God and generally have a higher chromium content than other sources.
In addition to the aforementioned Namia and Mansing, where the Jedi are found, other parts of Myanmar also produce highly saturated red spinel.It will have just a little more of a darker hue compared to Jedi, but the grains are generally smaller.
The chromium that controls the production of reddish tones is subject to fissures and other quality issues.Anything over 5 carats and of superior quality is extremely rare, with exceptionally superior quality reaching over $30,000 per carat.
Tanzania
Most spinel gems from this part of the world are scarlet-red, the most famous being its thermolite-pink spinels.
Some of the Mahenge highly saturated red spinel have a hint of orange tones in them, which gives them a neon look. The grains are larger than those from Myanmar, with the larger ones reaching over a dozen carats. They are highly sought after on the market.
However, since the 2017 local decree imposing high tariffs on mineral exports, the supply of this high-quality spinel has decreased but the demand is strong, and the price has skyrocketed up to $5,000 a carat, with high quality easily exceeding $10,000 a carat.
Vietnam
As mentioned, the Blue Siren origin also produces light pink, lavender and light blue spinel, but the grains are smaller and generally less saturated.
However it is of high quality, crystal clear, and generally suitable for viewing, and I particularly like the spinels from this origin.
Sri Lanka
Because of the generally high iron content here, there are more gray, blue, gray-blue and gray-purple spinels.
To be honest there are high quality spinels from every origin, and labs don’t generally make origin determinations on spinels.
I just summarized the characteristics of each origin based on my past experience, so that you can quickly find the right spinel for you.
Market trends and auction market:
We all know ruby is expensive. A big reason is scarcity, and the current proven reserves of spinel have even been found to be lower than ruby.Since 2003, the supply of spinel on the market has plummeted, resulting in a surge in prices.
There is a simple rule of thumb regarding spinel price: the closer the red color is to the ruby, the more expensive it is. The closer the blue is to the sapphire, the more expensive it is, followed by pink. Purple spines have risen a lot in recent years, and gray and brown tones are much cheaper.
In addition to the 2011 Al Thani collection auctioned some spinels, in recent years spinels have been on Sotheby’s, Gasteyer’s and other auctions. Finally, we come to appreciate these top brands of spinel fine jewelry.
