What NEON means in Paraiba and Mahenge Spinel

[reptilelover]

Recently, I heard a lot of neon in paraiba and mahenge spinel. what is this means? how is this different from sparkle?

 

[chrono]

Neon usually refers to saturation that is so strong to the point the stone appears to glow from within (as if it has it own internal light source complete with an over-sized power pack), giving it a fake look to some.

Sparkle or brilliance is the result of good faceting/cutting, where the facets turn on/off as the stone is moved around.

 

[reptilelover]

can you show me what you mean by "internal light source". picture will be great

 

[chrono]

So neon that they look fake.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Here's a real life picture of my stone at its most neon. Hope this helps!

 

[Acinom]

Mine showing their neon sides.
The level of neon becomes stronger depending on the light. The color always looks 'weird/fake' in a beautiful way though.
Neon in faceted stones make the facets disappear in some lighting.

Hope this helps.

 

[reptilelover]

is it the same as open color tourmaline?

the picture of spinel looks like a high quality ruby. does it mean a high quality ruby has a neon?

 

[chrono]

An open colour just looks bright. It pales in comparison to a neon Paraiba. It is, however, a decent substitute for those without a massive gem budget. Yes, a neon spinel could look like a neon ruby but even so, I think a neon spinel is in a class of its own.

I will see if I can find a better picture of a neon spinel. BRB.

 

[chrono]

These pictures speak for themselves. Note the name of the files for further information.

 

[Dioptase]

@Chrono
You need to change your filenames, the spinels you posted in your last message are all Burmese.
Top 3 crystals are from Man Sin
Bottom pic Left from Man Sin, right is "classic" Mogok.

 

[chrono]

Dioptase,
Thanks for the clarification. Guess I didn't read the article and caption closely enough. It goes to show that origin doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, if the stone looks fabulous in the first place.

 

[minousbijoux]

Hey reptilelover: welcome!

You are asking great questions. This thread will likely help you a lot: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-to-coloured-gemstone-buying-read-this-first.174284/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-to-coloured-gemstone-buying-read-this-first.174284/[/URL]

There are a lot of terms thrown around and it would be great if everyone used them the same way. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. But you are wise to ask.

As others have said, terms like "neon" "glow" and "radioactive" are all terms describing color of such vivid saturation that they seem to be lit up. This glow is caused by different components in different types of stones. In the most famous example of Paraiba tourmaline, it is caused by the elements of copper and manganese. In certain sapphires and spinel, it is caused by tiny inclusions that, simplistically put, cause the light to bounce around within the stone. The net effect is a stone of such vivid saturation that you can't not notice it. Acinom made a good point in that sometimes, with stones with the glow, you are less likely to notice individual facets.

Sparkle refers to the way in which light is reflected back. Terms like scintillation, sparkle, flash, fire all refer to the way in which the facets - on the crown of the stone as well as the pavillion - reflect light back. If you move a diamond near any light source, you will see broad white flashes, as well as rainbow flashes, often referred to as fire. These two kinds of reflected/refracted light make up "sparkle" also known as "scintillation." Diamonds have one of the highest refractive indexes of commonly known stones, so they have tremendous sparkle. But they have nothing that causes them to glow so that should help you to understand the difference.

Finally, certain stones, depending upon how you turn them, have different color. This is because of the chemical composition and crystal structure of the stone type. The technical term is "pleochroism." In the case of some stones, like sapphire and tourmaline, depending on which direction (or axis) you look at the stone from, it may appear a different color. For tourmaline, one axis (the long axis referred to as the c axis) is oftentimes too dark to see through and this is called closed color. "Open color" refers to the ability to see through the stone and see the color looking through each of the stone's three axes, if that makes sense. Again, it is a different concept from that of neon/glow and sparkle.

I hope that helps explain it a bit more.

 

[PieAreSquared]

Mine showing their neon sides.
The level of neon becomes stronger depending on the light. The color always looks 'weird/fake' in a beautiful way though.
Neon in faceted stones make the facets disappear in some lighting.

Hope this helps.

Acinom, every time I see that ring I nearly pass out.

 

[PieAreSquared]

Wait...RINGS You have TWO?!

 

[aussiejamie]

Minous that was fantastic information you posted! The more knowledgeable the community is the better IMO.

 

[reptilelover]

@Chrono in what term do you think neon spinel is in a class of its own?

@minousbijoux you just blew my mind

what substance cause the neon behaviour in mahenge spinel? is it Chromium?

 

[minousbijoux]

You know, I'm not sure. I believe what makes Mahenge spinels stand out from other red spinels regarding glow is a combination of the fluor they have as well as the silk - tiny rutile inclusions that help to cause glow like Kashmir blue sapphires.

 

[Cognition]

You know, I'm not sure. I believe what makes Mahenge spinels stand out from other red spinels regarding glow is a combination of the fluor they have as well as the silk - tiny rutile inclusions that help to cause glow like Kashmir blue sapphires.

Honestly, these paraiba and mahenge "bug" never got me. isn't the fluor and fine bit of silk also define the top of the line burma-type ruby? and I believe the 'neon glow' of mahenge spinel also can be found in Burmese and Vietnamese spinel

 

[minousbijoux]

You know, I'm not sure. I believe what makes Mahenge spinels stand out from other red spinels regarding glow is a combination of the fluor they have as well as the silk - tiny rutile inclusions that help to cause glow like Kashmir blue sapphires.

Honestly, these paraiba and mahenge "bug" never got me. isn't the fluor and fine bit of silk also define the top of the line burma-type ruby? and I believe the 'neon glow' of mahenge spinel also can be found in Burmese and Vietnamese spinel

Sure would appear so, from the photos posted earlier in the thread, and from photos I've seen of gorgeous Man Sin "Jedi" spinels.

 

[Cognition]

You know, I'm not sure. I believe what makes Mahenge spinels stand out from other red spinels regarding glow is a combination of the fluor they have as well as the silk - tiny rutile inclusions that help to cause glow like Kashmir blue sapphires.

Honestly, these paraiba and mahenge "bug" never got me. isn't the fluor and fine bit of silk also define the top of the line burma-type ruby? and I believe the 'neon glow' of mahenge spinel also can be found in Burmese and Vietnamese spinel

Sure would appear so, from the photos posted earlier in the thread, and from photos I've seen of gorgeous Man Sin "Jedi" spinels.

I think it will be great if someone can make a side by side comparison between top of the line ruby and neon spinel

 

[minousbijoux]

You know, I'm not sure. I believe what makes Mahenge spinels stand out from other red spinels regarding glow is a combination of the fluor they have as well as the silk - tiny rutile inclusions that help to cause glow like Kashmir blue sapphires.

Honestly, these paraiba and mahenge "bug" never got me. isn't the fluor and fine bit of silk also define the top of the line burma-type ruby? and I believe the 'neon glow' of mahenge spinel also can be found in Burmese and Vietnamese spinel

Sure would appear so, from the photos posted earlier in the thread, and from photos I've seen of gorgeous Man Sin "Jedi" spinels.

I think it will be great if someone can make a side by side comparison between top of the line ruby and neon spinel

Go for it, Cognition, its all you!

 

[lilmosun]

Very interesting question and thread. I've been struggling with the definition myself (and I own a mahenges and paraibas). Does the neon adjective referring to the bright color/tone/saturation, the glow or both?

I wouldn't call my paraiba cab neon because the color isn't bright indoors as others I own or have seen here. On the other hand, it definitely glows but its more an ethereal look than my other stones which are more "in-your-face". I am probably confusing everyone with my misuse of terms

 

[minousbijoux]

The neon and glow are terms referred to stones of vivid saturation that have the other worldly quality to them, either due to chemical elements (the case of Paraiba), certain inclusions (some spinel and sapphires) and/or probably other phenomena that I am unaware of.

In other words, the terms are interchangeable imo.

 

[T L]

These pictures speak for themselves. Note the name of the files for further information.

The bottom right pile of stones is not what I would consider neon, but the others are.

 

[Cognition]

I do not have neon spinel, and all of my top of the line rubies are inside deposit box. However, I do have several pics of descent rubies that my fiance wear everyday.





And this is my first ruby ever. I know it's a garnet like ruby, but at that time, mong hsu was yet to be discovered. So, this one is an iron riched Thai ruby. The setting is new, I bought it on my latest business trip. I know this does not look appealing, but it hold tons of memory.

 

[userangl28212003]

I have a burmese red spinel which might not be neon, but I feel glows from the inside especially in indirect sunlight. It is hard to capture on photo what i see in real life.

 

[aussiejamie]

Wow userangl, your red spinel is spectacular!!! I loooove that color and bet it is even better in person!