Are mahenge spinels durable enough to be sidestones in a ering? I plan on bezel setting them in 18k pink gold. I will wear and possible abuse the ring daily. Thanks.
No coloured stone should be worn 24/7 or during house-work, gardening and other such activities unless you are happy with potentially replacing the stones down the line.
I would say that spinels are suitable for e-rings but need to be worn with care.
I would go a bit further than Pandora and say that no ring should be worn 24/7 and abused (poor ring ). Diamonds can chip as well and have perfect cleavage, prongs can be damaged or snag, shanks can bend, etc.
But spinels are hardy stones and can be worn with basic care.
I have been wearing my Mahenge 24/7, and my ruby for years and they are both fine. None is bezeled. I do not abuse them, though, short of washing my hands quite often.
Crasru,
I think if you loupe your stones, you might see some nicks and micro chips here and there, but as they say, "what you don't know won't kill you," right?
I wear some stones on a daily basis and they look perfectly fine to the naked eye, but I'm too afraid to loupe them. As the others have said, no stone is safe from damage, so always exercise caution when wearing a gem. Spinels, chrysoberyls, sapphires, and diamonds of course, are some of the most durable, but I wouldn't dig ditches with them on either.
Something to keep in mind, as well, is what kind of wedding band you're planning to have. I have a friend with a spinel ring that she was wearing next to a diamond anniversary band, and the diamonds were rubbing against the spinel, causing damage.