Certified cobalt violet purple spinel.  I didn’t remember that I had the certification for this one and when I was taking the photo’s I was getting all excited saying to my wife I think this has cobalt in it.  The stone was really flashy and it reminded me of alexandrite the way it behaves in the sunlight.  Eye clean stone.  

Sri Lankan spinel gemstone. I try to price my stones below other sellers and try to make sure all customers are getting a true gemstone at a bargain price.

  There is an article on this site about blue spinel titled “The rarest of them all”.  It is located in the learn section under Additional Gemstone Information.  This stone is certified cobalt which makes it extremely rare among spinel.   No heat no treat on this gemstone.   Spinel is rarely treated or heated as it naturally comes without many inclusions and heating does nothing to increase the beauty of the stones.

   Spinel is rapidly becoming more popular.  I’ve heard many gem affectionados state it was their favourite gemstone.  It was once thought to be sapphire or ruby depending upon the color.   The imperial crown housed in the tower of London has a large red spinel which was once thought to be a red ruby.  It is named the Black Prince’s Ruby and has a recorded history dating back to 1366 AD. When cobalt is the main colorant in blue spinels they are especially rare.  For me I prefer regular blue spinels over sapphires, but Cobalt spinels are in a league again all their own!  The better price, less inclusions and lower cost make spinel the better value over sapphire.  It is also a hardness of 8 which is only slightly under sapphire so is good for everyday wearing.