Burmese Spinel

[Gloria27]

Down the Spinel rabbit hole I went, saw this gem online and I had to have it, an impulse buy and also my first spinel ever.
I had planned to set one if my Morganites as a pendant, then this happened:



It's on the small side, a little over 1ct, Mogok spinel, dark red IRL, like a spess garnet but less brown. I managed to get some glam shots. A moody stone that can black out in some lights but it has this fiery red sparkle.

I did not pay a lot for it, less than 200 dollars.
Did I do good?

It's interesting how much fluorescence it has, as much as my sapphires. I thought dark reds have a faint fluorescence due to iron content.

What do you guys think?

 

[T L]

If you paid less than $200, then yes, you most certainly did good. Darker spinels, even red ones, should be priced far less than their bright red counterparts.

 

[Gloria27]

If you paid less than $200, then yes, you most certainly did good. Darker spinels, even red ones, should be priced far less than their bright red counterparts.

The equivalent of 170 dollars, impulse buy.
I have no other spinels and usually prefer pastel coloured stones no matter the species and yet I fell for this one.


Can anyone explain why there's so much fluorescence? Is this normal for dark reds?

 

[Burmesedaze]

Yes you did well. I have a few Mogok reds of this shade too.

 

[Gloria27]

Yes you did well. I have a few Mogok reds of this shade too.

Burmesedaze, you collection is amazing, I love your spinels and rubies.
Do they usually fluorescence this much (dark red spinels)?

 

[Burmesedaze]

Burmesedaze, you collection is amazing, I love your spinels and rubies.
Do they usually fluorescence this much (dark red spinels)?

The majority of mine do fluoresce that much yes. I also have a couple of small ones that don't.

Enjoy!

 

[minousbijoux]

I think you did very well for that price. I love surprises like that!

 

[T L]

It would look nice set in yellow gold.

 

[AV_]

It might be darker, but very red - obvious in strong light. I might balk at dark reds getting called 'Pidgeon Blood' in ruby, but I have plenty of respect for the color.

 

[Gloria27]

Thank you guys for your comments, I really appreciate all the feedback.


More pictures, I tried to catch it in the worst possible light (this is artificial light), this is as dark as it gets, blacks out like a garnet:


It looks best in natural light, it was overcast today and the first picture posted in the thread shows the stone reflecting back natural light. I will try some new shots tomorrow, it looks like a different stone in natural light.

This below is the stone reflecting blue light from my monitor:

The camera makes it show a cool red, but my eyes see a true red, no purple.

And a fluorescence comparison to the lavender/purple sapphire in my avatar:

It would look nice set in yellow gold.

I was thinking the same thing, yellow gold makes a huge difference, silver metals don't do anything for it, I've put it next to both. This stone is fire, it calls for gold.

 

[arkieb1]

Yes the Burmese material does that under UV lighting. It's dark but it's still pretty!!!! A good price too.

 

[Arcadian]

Under 200? Sure thats a good price. The fluro probably will help it look gorgeous in natural sunlight situations.

 

[icy_jade]

Good price! A setting that can give it lots of light would be nice

 

[Gloria27]

Good price! A setting that can give it lots of light would be nice

I am thinking prongs for sure, a gold ring so I can look at it sparkle.

Under 200? Sure thats a good price. The fluro probably will help it look gorgeous in natural sunlight situations.

You are so right, yesterday is was just partly cloudy and looked better than today when it's totally overcast.

 

[Gloria27]

Managed to get some shots while the sun passed through the clouds, this is the best it can look:


Excuse the oil smudges, I've handled the gem with my hands, I'm not fond of metal tweezers.

 

[Coloredgemlover]

Down the Spinel rabbit hole I went, saw this gem online and I had to have it, an impulse buy and also my first spinel ever.
I had planned to set one if my Morganites as a pendant, then this happened:



It's on the small side, a little over 1ct, Mogok spinel, dark red IRL, like a spess garnet but less brown. I managed to get some glam shots. A moody stone that can black out in some lights but it has this fiery red sparkle.

I did not pay a lot for it, less than 200 dollars.
Did I do good?

It's interesting how much fluorescence it has, as much as my sapphires. I thought dark reds have a faint fluorescence due to iron content.

What do you guys think?

You did great for that stone at that price.

 

[Gloria27]

You did great for that stone at that price.

Thanks!
Got other stones(sapphire and chrysoberyl) for less money and thought that maybe I overpaid for this one, being on the dark side. So far no regrets, I actually look at it pretty ofter, can't wait to set it in a ring.