Photo Credit: captej2012
Burmese Natural Purple Spinel
Buy It Now Price: $498 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)
Pros:
-This stunning cushion-cut natural purple spinel gemstone from the legendary gem-fields of Mogok, Burma exhibits a tantalizing, grape Kool-Aid color.
-The gem measures 7.7 mm long by 7.1 mm wide by 5.8 mm deep and tips the scales at a healthy 2.49 carats. This gives the stone a depth to width ratio of 78%, right in the 60% to 80% sweet spot that gives many faceted colored gemstones their optimum brilliance.
-Spinel, a magnesium-aluminum oxide (MgAl2O4), is very similar in chemical composition to ruby and sapphire (Al2O3). Because of this, spinel was often mistaken for its more famous siblings throughout ancient and medieval times.
-While most spinel have gray overtones (due to high iron content) which kill their brilliance, this natural purple spinel is exceptionally lively.
–Spinel is a tremendously underrated gemstone, with exceptional hardness (8.0 on Moh’s hardness scale), density (3.6 gm/cm3) and toughness. It also comes in a shocking variety of dazzling colors, including cherry red, neon blue, bubble-gum pink and, of course, grape-jelly purple.
-This natural purple spinel has been tested by the seller with a rare earth magnet to ensure it isn’t synthetic. Natural spinel will be weakly attracted to a neodymium magnet because of their trace iron content. Synthetic spinel lack iron impurities and will not be attracted to a magnet, no matter how powerful it is.
-One of the best things about spinel is that they are rarely treated, resulting in stones that possess a pure, natural beauty. This is in stark contrast to many other well-known gems, such as emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds. These stones are often subjected to harsh commercial treatments that artificially improve their appearance, including fracture-filling, dying, laser-drilling and high-temperature heat.
-I can understand why some people are reluctant to invest in gemstones; it can be intimidating for beginners. But spinel is one of the easiest entry points into the world of gem investing you’ll ever find. If a spinel looks good and isn’t synthetic, then you are pretty much golden!
-I find purple spinel to be the most undervalued color in the entire spinel family. The delicate lilac and violet hues can be nothing short of jaw-dropping, as in this superb specimen. And yet it is available for a buy-it-now price of only $498 – a laughably cheap $200 per carat. If that price still unsettles you, the seller is open to lower offers!
Cons:
-I could quibble over the fact that the stone is only VVS clarity (very, very small inclusions) instead of being internally flawless, but that is really grasping at straws. Realistically, I have nothing bad to say about this exceptionally beautiful natural purple spinel.
Read more fascinating Antique Sage gemstone spotlight posts here.
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