Advice on spinels

[Nfarrell]

Hey everyone

I was thinking of getting a spinel for a ring in a red or pink colour. Firstly I wondered how do spinels look in different lighting? I have some rubies and I love how they look good in sunlight but great in incandescent light. Do spinels have any undesirable colour shift? I also live in a northern country so the sunlight is weaker here generally.

I saw a few spinels, some were from Burma some were from tanzania. So I wondered if I could get some opinions. I don't have a very keen eye for windows or colour zoning etc.

Image 1 is #1, images 2+3 is #2, images 4+5 are #3, images 6+7 is #4 and images 8+9 are #5
Thanks in advance!

 

[Drahokam]

I am sure more experienced PS members will provide input.
I have a hot pink mahenge spinel and it seems to never go dark, almost as if it had an internal light.
I purchased a red spinel that IRL looked like a garnet, which i didn’t mind as much but half of the stone was always dark and so i ended up returning it

 

[fredflintstone]

Strong and vivid red and pink Spinel hold their color but if they have a brown modifier, they can look redder in some light and brownish in other light, these are normally less saturated stones but can be quite strong in color too. It is the blue, violet and lavender Spinel that can shift color on you from sunlight to incandescent to LED to CFL, but many times the color change is pleasant. These stones are on the more pastel color side of Spinel that shift. Normally, the more vivid the color the better Spinel will hold it color. There are certain light blue Spinels that will shift to a dark blue under CFL light, but CFL light is not as common for indoor lighting as it used to be. LED light has taken over,

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

The cutting/color on this one is my preference from your examples. With my budget I always make concessions if I find a color I really like. Windows are more of an issue than native cutting.

Pics of some of my 'red group' that hopefully visually helps show moods. Almost all spinels shift. It's half the fun and actually something I quite enjoy. It helps to buy the stones that look the best in the light sources you're under most.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Hey everyone

I was thinking of getting a spinel for a ring in a red or pink colour. Firstly I wondered how do spinels look in different lighting? I have some rubies and I love how they look good in sunlight but great in incandescent light. Do spinels have any undesirable colour shift? I also live in a northern country so the sunlight is weaker here generally.

I saw a few spinels, some were from Burma some were from tanzania. So I wondered if I could get some opinions. I don't have a very keen eye for windows or colour zoning etc.

Image 1 is #1, images 2+3 is #2, images 4+5 are #3, images 6+7 is #4 and images 8+9 are #5
Thanks in advance!

I just wanted to say welcome to the boards, and I love how you're diving right into spinel! With regard to red spinel vs ruby, and how they perform under different lighting, I remember reading a piece by Vincent Pardieu and Richard Hughes (two gem authorities) a while back. They stated the following, and I tend to agree:

"It is probably foolish to compare one gem with another, but let me try. Regarding beauty, there is no question that red spinel does not hold its color under fluorescent lighting as well as ruby. Nevertheless, in natural or incandescent light, fine red spinels simply look gorgeous."

Here is a link to the entire piece... skip to the third paragraph of "Spinel: A Modern Beauty" to read more. HTH!