Silvery Violet Spinel // Rectangular Cushion Cut // 5.93 Carats

This gorgeous spinel from Burma (Myanmar) has a beautiful silver-violet hue. This stone is transparent and well cut. Stand out from the crowd with this unique gemstone.

The origin of the word spinel comes the French word spinelle, derived from the Latin word spina, meaning “little thorn”. The red variety of these gemstones were often confused with rubies. The Black Prince Ruby within the British Royal Crown is actually a spinel. Interestingly these red gemstones are actually rarer than rubies.

Due to the tetrahedron habit of this gemstones, combined with their resistance to erosion, these stones tend to stick out like thorns from their host rock, hence their name. Like corundum and beryl, spinel comes in many colours such as black, red, blue, green, orange and purple. The red hues come from iron and chromium while blue and purple comes from cobalt and zinc.