Cobalt vs Blue Spinel

[chrono]

I've been nagged offline by a couple friends so I managed to scrounge some time to take pictures of the Swala cobalt and my Barry regular blue spinel. Please excuse the very poor photography (lack of light and blurry shots).

 

[chrono]

Super low lighting.

 

[chrono]

I opened the shades a little.

 

[chrono]

It was really hard trying to keep the gem hand AND the camera hand still at the same time.

 

[chrono]

A little steadier.

 

[chrono]

A little closer.

 

[chrono]

Another low light condition.

 

[chrono]

Hand shot by the window this morning.

 

[chrono]

Showing off that silky blue colour.

 

[chrono]

Sorry for the glare.

 

[chrono]

Probably only marginally clearer.

 

[icekid]

I think your photos get to the essence of the stones, Chrono. In this case, the cobalt is clearly a more vibrant blue. Barry''s stone is pretty, but certainly has more gray!

 

[T L]

Date: 1/19/2010 9:35:48 AM
Author:Chrono
I''ve been nagged offline by a couple friends so I managed to scrounge some time to take pictures of the Swala cobalt and my Barry regular blue spinel. Please excuse the very poor photography (lack of light and blurry shots).

Chrono,
I think it''s deplorable that people could be nagging you offline for these pictures. I wonder who they could be???? Hmmmm, such bad friends.

Thank you for these pictures. The cobalt is beautiful and a deep velvety blue, but I think Barry''s spinel is great too. I definitely think it holds it''s own magic. Maybe IRL there''s more of a contrast??? Regardless, from your pictures, I love it!!

 

[chrono]

But at the same time, it is clear that Barry''s precision cutting makes the stone extremely lively and very brilliant, which is the reason I am unable to part with it despite it being unable to compare colourwise to the cobalt spinel.

 

[chrono]

Ack! TL, you jumped in while I was replying to IceKid so now my reply sounds ackward. Some friends I have, huh?

Barry''s blue spinel looks gorgeous by itself and is probably an excellent blue spinel, one of the nicest few I''ve seen. It''s only when placed next to a cobalt that the lack of saturation and grayness stand out a lot more. It''s probably an unfair comparison but it is what it is. Of course, Barry''s stone is also a lot less expensive.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Those are beautiful. They look just like sapphire to me, but that be because i am always looking at sapphires and not spinels. So pretty!

 

[Arkteia]

I think the cobalt one is much better than most sapphires I saw. Does it turn darker in evening light?

 

[chrono]

Date: 1/19/2010 11:41:20 AM
Author: crasru
I think the cobalt one is much better than most sapphires I saw. Does it turn darker in evening light?

It looks the same in early morning and late in the evening. If you refer to the very first picture (low light condition), you''ll see how dark it can get but it is still obviously very blue.

 

[winternight]

Wow, love that cobalt, although they are both very nice! Does the cobalt look greyish at all? What size it is? I''m so intrigued by cobalt spinels, since I love the darker colors for the most part.

 

[Kim Bruun]

While the cobalt is more intensely blue, the other spinel is lovely as well. The grayishness is slight, and the stone is more identifiably blue than any blue tourmaline I have seen.

 

[chrono]

Date: 1/19/2010 12:18:43 PM
Author: winternight
Wow, love that cobalt, although they are both very nice! Does the cobalt look greyish at all? What size it is? I''m so intrigued by cobalt spinels, since I love the darker colors for the most part.

The cobalt is 1.5 ct and measures just a hair above 7 x 5 mm due to a deep pavilion. If there is any gray at all in the cobalt, it is incredibly little.

 

[Arkteia]

Chrono, do all cobalt-bearing spinels come in such a beautiful color? The reason I am asking, there are some cobalt-bearing spinels sold on ebay, but I suspect that just because it is cobalt, it is not necessaritly beautiful. Wanted to ask you.

 

[packrat]

So pretty! I''m glad you have naggy friends! I''m drawn more to Barry''s..maybe I''m weird.

 

[chrono]

Date: 1/19/2010 2:24:14 PM
Author: packrat
So pretty! I''m glad you have naggy friends! I''m drawn more to Barry''s..maybe I''m weird.

You aren''t weird at all. I am drawn to the Barry spinel for cutting reasons, I suspect. His stone may not be as vivid but it is a flashier stone.

 

[chrono]

Date: 1/19/2010 2:08:07 PM
Author: crasru
Chrono, do all cobalt-bearing spinels come in such a beautiful color? The reason I am asking, there are some cobalt-bearing spinels sold on ebay, but I suspect that just because it is cobalt, it is not necessaritly beautiful. Wanted to ask you.

I don''t really know. The few that I''ve seen (all from non-eBay sources) do come in such a intense blue but also cost in the thousands of dollars. It is possible that there are cobalt spinels that are not as attractive.

 

[T L]

Date: 1/19/2010 2:32:36 PM
Author: Chrono

Date: 1/19/2010 2:08:07 PM
Author: crasru
Chrono, do all cobalt-bearing spinels come in such a beautiful color? The reason I am asking, there are some cobalt-bearing spinels sold on ebay, but I suspect that just because it is cobalt, it is not necessaritly beautiful. Wanted to ask you.

I don''t really know. The few that I''ve seen (all from non-eBay sources) do come in such a intense blue but also cost in the thousands of dollars. It is possible that there are cobalt spinels that are not as attractive.

I can answer this. Based on a spinel collector''s recommendation, I purchased a true cobalt spinel from an online site. I sent it back the next day. It was nice for a blue spinel, but not the velvety blue like Chrono''s cobalts. It was not cheap, so it went back. Iron causes the grey modifier you seen in these gems. Cobalts will contain varying amounts of both cobalt and iron, so just because it contains cobalt, this does not mean it is going to be a velvety blue as you see in Chrono''s stones.

Do not trust any cobalt spinel to truly contain cobalt unless it comes with a reputable lab cert that indicates the presence of cobalt. Ebay sells tons of "cobalt blue" spinels, and that just means they emulate the color of a true cobalt, but do not necessarily contain it. Do a search on "cobalt spinel -blue" (the dash omits the word blue in the search) in the search box on ebay, and you will see very few titles of "cobalt spinel."

 

[Arkteia]

Date: 1/19/2010 2:43:24 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 1/19/2010 2:32:36 PM
Author: Chrono

Date: 1/19/2010 2:08:07 PM
Author: crasru
Chrono, do all cobalt-bearing spinels come in such a beautiful color? The reason I am asking, there are some cobalt-bearing spinels sold on ebay, but I suspect that just because it is cobalt, it is not necessaritly beautiful. Wanted to ask you.

I don''t really know. The few that I''ve seen (all from non-eBay sources) do come in such a intense blue but also cost in the thousands of dollars. It is possible that there are cobalt spinels that are not as attractive.

I can answer this. Based on a spinel collector''s recommendation, I purchased a true cobalt spinel from an online site. I sent it back the next day. It was nice for a blue spinel, but not the velvety blue like Chrono''s cobalts. It was not cheap, so it went back. Iron causes the grey modifier you seen in these gems. Cobalts will contain varying amounts of both cobalt and iron, so just because it contains cobalt, this does not mean it is going to be a velvety blue as you see in Chrono''s stones.

Do not trust any cobalt spinel to truly contain cobalt unless it comes with a reputable lab cert that indicates the presence of cobalt. Ebay sells tons of ''cobalt blue'' spinels, and that just means they emulate the color of a true cobalt, but do not necessarily contain it. Do a search on ''cobalt spinel -blue'' (the dash omits the word blue in the search) in the search box on ebay, and you will see very few titles of ''cobalt spinel.''

Got it! I wish I could just see one IRL...As you said, they are not cheap. They seem to be also rare.

 

[T L]

Date: 1/19/2010 3:10:16 PM
Author: crasru

Date: 1/19/2010 2:43:24 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 1/19/2010 2:32:36 PM
Author: Chrono

Date: 1/19/2010 2:08:07 PM
Author: crasru
Chrono, do all cobalt-bearing spinels come in such a beautiful color? The reason I am asking, there are some cobalt-bearing spinels sold on ebay, but I suspect that just because it is cobalt, it is not necessaritly beautiful. Wanted to ask you.

I don''t really know. The few that I''ve seen (all from non-eBay sources) do come in such a intense blue but also cost in the thousands of dollars. It is possible that there are cobalt spinels that are not as attractive.

I can answer this. Based on a spinel collector''s recommendation, I purchased a true cobalt spinel from an online site. I sent it back the next day. It was nice for a blue spinel, but not the velvety blue like Chrono''s cobalts. It was not cheap, so it went back. Iron causes the grey modifier you seen in these gems. Cobalts will contain varying amounts of both cobalt and iron, so just because it contains cobalt, this does not mean it is going to be a velvety blue as you see in Chrono''s stones.

Do not trust any cobalt spinel to truly contain cobalt unless it comes with a reputable lab cert that indicates the presence of cobalt. Ebay sells tons of ''cobalt blue'' spinels, and that just means they emulate the color of a true cobalt, but do not necessarily contain it. Do a search on ''cobalt spinel -blue'' (the dash omits the word blue in the search) in the search box on ebay, and you will see very few titles of ''cobalt spinel.''

Got it! I wish I could just see one IRL...As you said, they are not cheap. They seem to be also rare.

They are very very rare, and they also only seem to be found in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), but don''t quote me on that. Some Vietnamese spinel are a very vivid blue as well, but do not contain cobalt (not to my knowledge).

 

[innerkitten]

Date: 1/19/2010 2:24:14 PM
Author: packrat
So pretty! I''m glad you have naggy friends! I''m drawn more to Barry''s..maybe I''m weird.

No, I''m drawn to Barry''s too. The cobalt one is a more intense blue but it''s just a matter of tatse as to which each person will prefer.

 

[deorwine]

Oh... wow! Thanks for taking these pics. I have never seen even a picture of a cobalt spinel before; this is beautiful!