pink/purple spinels, yay or nay?

I like anything pink and purple, so for me - that sounds like a perfect combination! The key is if YOU like it - and it sounds like you are starting to

Its all about what makes you happy - if it does, great, if it doesn't,then return it and it will find another home where someone else will love it! (yeah, I know we are talking about a stone here... but the principal is the same!) And looking forward to the photos when the camera arrives!

Thanks E. Can't return it, I've had it for a year or two.

There are lots of them out there, if you want to add one to your collection, maybe.
(EEEEkkkk, enabler, run . . .)

Written by sonomacounty » May 19th, 2012, 6:43 am:Thanks E. Can't return it, I've had it for a year or two.

There are lots of them out there, if you want to add one to your collection, maybe.
(EEEEkkkk, enabler, run . . .)

OMG!!! I'm so glad there is another one like me out there!!!! "Enablers Unite"!!! hahahaha!!

Post some pics - you know we all love our photo porn!!!

One opf the first things I was told about gems, am I'm sure everyone here has pointed this out at some time or another, is that what really matters when it comes to gems is, which colors do YOU like? There are gems that come in colors that make them far more 'valuable' than other colors, but some times I dont like the more 'valuable' colors as much....

One of the early purchases I made was a cheap parcel of Spinels. There were about 5-6 Spinles in the 1.8ct - 2.2ct range in this parcel. I paid somewhere in the range of $30-$40 for the parcel, because they were ALL very lightly tinted. They had various colors from pink, to orangish pink, to violet, to violet-pink. But again, they were very lightly colored, and they were all ovals. They are fairly well cut, mostly eye clean, etc.

I bought them mainly as an inexpensive and quick way to fill up my mostly empty gem jars in my mostly empty gem case. They were OK for early gems for a beginner, but later on I moved them from separate jars, and put them all in the same jar, then I moved them out of the main case altogether once I procured nicer specimens. But before that, when I had filled my gem case, I had several girls/women who looked at those cheap spinels and they focused on them and really liked them. More so than the nicer tinted stones I had now bought. So I gave a few of them away to the people who pointed them out and said they liked them.

So everyone has their own opinion of what looks good when it comes to gems. My aunt came over in 2007, and I showed her my collection, which included 2 fairly large Kunzites of 9-14cts. One of the Kunzites(9ct) is VERY darkly tinted pink for Kunzite. Its darker pink than 99.9% of the Kunzites I see. Its a nice medium pink, but darkly tinted for a Kunzite. The 2nd one is much lighter, and is typical of a more common colored Kunzite, and its 14cts. So she focuses in on those 2 Kunzites, and I was sure she'd like the darker one, but it turned out the one she really liked was the lighter one! So I gave it to her, and while visting her on their 38 acre organic blueberry farm near Ocala Fl this past Monday-Wednesday, she said she still had it and is going to have it mounted.

But, after droning on for too long ^^ , I'll answer your original question: I like Spinels in EVERY color, as long as the color isnt too dark or blackish. I have Spinels in pink, violet, blue, and even a bright orange one!

SC: I think I'm very late to the spinel party, but I am starting to realize that I LOVE those light colors in spinel. I started a thread on the sparks from spinels (somewhere around here) which I love. It is the only colored stone I know, apart from demantoid and sphene (there are probably others) that have that amazing dispersion. So I love them! Coincidentally, I was reading the latest issue of The Guide this morning and of all colored stones, guess which are going up in price right now? Yup, blue spinel and lavender spinel - probably from the PS group alone

Other stones that have gone up according to The Guide have been cats eye chrysoberyl, Apatite across the board (!), and Morganite from 5 - 20 carats in size. Go figure.

Anyway, how can you not love them?!! I just bought a pretty little "victorian pink" one for $85. Yes, its little, but what's not to love about the price?!

I think I know the type you mean. Indoors it's sparkly pink and then when you get it outside under the sun it becomes purple.

I don't mind the pink/purple shifters at all, provided they don't have major cut issues like huge areas of extinction, gaping windows, flat tops and the like. While I like spinels that are basically one colour, I also have a soft spot for the shifters / changers.

When I was shopping for the perfect blue spinel, I happened upon a purple / blue shifter. I played around with it for a day or two and did like it but because my intent was a pure blue, I returned the stone. Years later, I continued to think about that returned spinel and felt that tinge of regret. I checked the webpage and found it to be still available, called the vendor to confirm its unsold status. Because it sat in his inventory for nearly 5 years, I was able to negotiate excellent pricing on it on top of its original old pricing. And now, I have a beautiful purple / blue colour shift spinel that I will never part with.

The gist of the story is that you might be experiencing the same thing I did. Desireable or not, what matters is that you love it and enjoy looking at it. While I appreciate top colour, I also like some colours that not trade preferred like medium toned tsavorites.

Thanks all, very much.

I was able to negotiate excellent pricing on it on top of its original old pricing.

Ah, great. That is one of my favorite things ! Sounds like a lovely stone.