What makes the spinel gemstones highly sought after?
If one were to look at the spinel gemstones, it is quite easy to get confused with it for being ruby. This is not an uncommon mistake, as many powerful people in the past have done the same. In fact, if you were to look at the Royal British crown jewels, two of the finest examples of the spinel gemstones are present here. The Black Prince Rub and the Timur Ruby, both of which are still known as the ruby are actually example of Spinel. Hence, from this, you can understand as to what makes this quite a big conundrum for others to be wondering more about.
Moving part the ruby resemblance, you should know that spinel gemstones do come in other colors, besides red. Although red are by far the most famous color of these gemstones, some of the other colors that you might be able to obtain of these gemstones including colors like purple and pink. Being mostly pastel shades, the Spinel examples of these colors are generally quite pleasant to look at. In fact, the vivid hot pink color is simply brilliant and has a unique luster that makes it stand out under the right light.
Spinel is mined in countries that are always famed for ruby mining. These include countries like Sri Lanka and Burma. Even here, spinel was widely confused with ruby. Both of these gemstones have similar hardness, durability, color and brilliance. Hence, this automatically makes it quite a highly desirable option to go in for. In fact, during the middle ages, Spinel was also mined in areas around Afghanistan, from where it gets the name of Balas, referring to the name of Badakshan province in Afghanistan. Other countries where spinel gemstones are mined include Tanzania and Tajikistan, which was once part of Soviet Russia.
Spinel gemstones are highly popular for their sheer brilliance and high computability. In fact, you might be able to find fine examples of these in handcrafted, one of a kind jewelry which are quite easy to spot owning to the somewhat large size. The classic shapes of these gemstones are usually oval, round or cushion, which might confuse some people to think of it as ruby. The highly saturated color makes it worth a second look, and the generally affordable price means you should be able to buy it for very little money. Hence, the next time you are out shopping for gemstones, make sure that you do consider this option. Photos courtesy of www.luciecampbell.co.uk.

