Rough and faceted East African spinels from Columbia Gem House. Photo courtesy of Columbia Gem House.
Untreated “Jedi” East African spinels from ANZA gems. Photo courtesy of ANZA Gems.
Yes, those pink spinels you’re seeing in the photo above? One hundred percent natural, straight-outta-the-ground beauty. No treatments needed. Talk about eye candy!
The Spinel and Mabe Cortez Pearl Necklace by Kathe Mai in 14kt rose gold and sterling silver. Photo by Chloe Beaumont.
One of our Kathe Mai necklaces (shown above) features one of those hot pink spinels we love so much, responsibly sourced from Kathe’s gem company Columbia Gem House. We love how it complements the mabé Sea of Cortez pearl by naturally bringing out some of the pink overtones on the pearl.
Our Cortez Pearl and Black Spinel Swirl Ring in 14kt yellow gold by Kathe Mai. Photo by Chloe Beaumont.
Black spinel packs an even more moody punch; especially when it’s used as an accent gem around other gems or pearls, like in our ring shown above! We can’t get over how perfectly these little round black spinels swirl around the lavender Cortez pearl, framing it and adding to this pieces’ whimsy and intrigue.
Speaking of color…spinel comes in many different hues, originating from many different localities all around the world! Some of the top spinel producing countries include Myanmar, Tanzania, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Australia and Nigeria.
Our Hydrangea Ring with multicolored spinels in 14kt yellow gold designed by Isabel Dennis of KIMA. Photo by Chloe Beaumont.
Spinel comes in teals, blush pinks, cherry reds, grey, lavender and bright blue, to name a few!
Did you know that for a long time in ancient history, red spinels were mistaken for rubies? This was of course before modern day gemology, when people didn’t have the knowledge or tools to help them easily distinguish between the two gemstones.
One of the “rubies” named the Black Prince’s Ruby in the crown jewels of England is actually a giant red spinel!
Red spinel is colored by chromium, one of the same trace elements that gives ruby its color. Thankfully, both my mom and I are GIA Graduate Gemologists and can conduct all the necessary tests in our office to separate between ruby and spinel!
Little round blue Cambodian spinels from one of our gem suppliers Columbia Gem House. Photo courtesy of Columbia Gem House.
Plus, it’s the birthstone for August babies (those of you who don’t particularly like your other birthstone Peridot can breathe a sigh of relief!)
Our Luna Agate and Grey Spinel necklace by Mercurius, set in platinum. Photo by Morgan Burger.
Spinel, like the grey one shown above, ranks an 8 out of 10 on the Moh’s Hardness Scale. This means that it’s durable enough for everyday wear whether you go with a ring, necklace, or earrings.
It’s worth mentioning that all the spinels you’ll find in our jewelry are natural; there are many lab-grown spinels out there on the market that are used to imitate other natural gemstones. We’re not judging if you own one of these gems, but here at BJC we opt for the natural version- with all the colors available to us and our designers, we simply see no need to choose anything else.
Our Luna Agate and Grey Spinel necklace by Mercurius, chain included. Photo by Chloe Beaumont.
We are lucky to have curated a bunch of pieces featuring this massively underrated gemstone, and we can’t wait to add more to our collection for you!
We hope you enjoyed learning more about this gemstone and that your appreciation for it has grown!
Shop our Pieces Featuring Spinel HERE.
Garnet’s stunning varieties are so underrated in our opinion, even though awareness about these juicy gems has been expanding!
Reason #1 why garnets are underrated: some garnets have even greater color dispersion than diamonds!
Demantoid garnet, the most highly sought after type of andradite garnet, has better color dispersion aka “fire” due to its high refractive index and specific chemical composition. It simply splits white light into spectral colors more effectively! On top of that, demantoid garnet becomes even more valuable when it contains a special “horsetail inclusion” that resembles….you guessed it, a horse’s tail.
Reason #2 why garnets are underrated: garnets come in SO many different hues!
You might associate garnet with the color red, but in reality garnets come in 15 different species that produce gorgeous neon oranges, raspberry and blush pinks, vivid greens, honey brown, lemon yellow and even uber rare color change blue-to-purple.
Whether you are into raspberry-colored rhodolite (such as the garnets shown in the 3 pieces of jewelry we’ve curated above) or punchy green tsavorite that almost looks like an emerald, or more subdued pink malaya…garnet has got you covered.
Reason #3 why garnets are underrated: some garnets are color-change, meaning they can show two completely different colors under different lighting conditions!
Not all gemstones can exhibit color change, which makes the ones that do rare and special. This phenomenon is completely natural, and many of these garnets are actually a blend of multiple garnet species. Garnets can show blue-to-violet, pink-to-purple, brown-to-green, purple-to-red, and even teal-to-purple. East Africa, where one of our awesome suppliers ANZA Gems sources from, is known to produce top quality color changing garnets. Owning a color-change gemstone is like having two gems in one!
Garnet is simply a downright versatile, endlessly interesting, fun gemstone. We are convinced the more varieties you see of them, the more you'll fall in love with them!