Spinel Gemstone - Meaning, Value, Price, and Properties

 If you’ve ever looked at a spinel gemstone, you may well have wondered if, in fact, you were wearing a ruby gemstone. Spinel gemstones are recognized for their ruby-like deep red color. When it comes to spinel vs ruby, characterizing them above a lab is challenging even for experienced lapidaries and gemologists. 

If not a ruby gemstone, what is a spinel stone? There is no disputing that spinel gemstone is a widely misunderstood gemstone, often living in the glooms of precious gems like sapphire and ruby. When the 19th century got about a greater understanding of these minerals, spinel’s reputation mourned as long-thought rubies and sapphires were revealed as spinel varieties. 

However, this doesn’t edit from the fact that spinel gemstones are a category all their own and deserve a spotlight. 

In this guide, we’re blazing light on spinel gemstones, their preferences and values, and the qualities that cause them to stand out against the mass — even if they glimpse like a spinel gemstone in ruby’s clothing.

About Spinel Stone

One of the reasons spinel gemstones were extended thought to be sapphires and the ruby gemstone was because they were incorrectly classified as corundum, a mineral unearthed alongside spinel gemstone in abundance. 

Spinel gemstones are isometric oxides composed of iron, zinc, magnesium, and trace components like aluminum that give them their fated coloring. 

Like the many sapphire colors, spinels stones exude different colors, from light pink, lavender, and purple pastels to rich, vibrant reds, blues, oranges, and sometimes, black. Also similar to sorts of beryl (aquamarine, morganite, emerald) as well as corundum (ruby, sapphire), and topaz, pure spinel gemstone is inherently allochromatic (colorless), only achieving these beautiful blooms once revealed to other elements and contaminants such as chromium, cobalt, and iron. What makes spinel continue to grow in favor is its naturally saturated coloration. 

See, most sapphires and rubies today passed through enhancements to make their naturally light colors appear more vivid and impressive. Spinel, on the other hand, needs no such treatments to inspire its beautiful hue. 

Spinel gemstones are also widely available and sourced from mines around the world, giving them demand accessibility and reasonable price points. 

If spinel gemstones haven’t noticed your eye yet, it’s time to do a double-take. Spinel isn’t one mineral but a collection of minerals, including gahnite, hercynite, picotite, galaxite, gahnospinel, ceylonite, and pleonaste. 

It might affect you to know that the spinel is considered as the birthstone of August month, along with peridot. In Vedic astrology, the spinel gemstone is regarded as the zodiac stone falling under the zodiac signs of Aries, Scorpio, Taurus, and Sagittarius.

Spinel holds many uses and blessings and is a popular jewelry gemstone thanks to its steadfast ranking of 7.5-8 on the Mohs Hardness Scale.

Note: When you are planning to buy Premium quality Spinel gemstone then you can visit a  trusted gemstone store like Navratan - The Online Gem Bazar. 

Varieties of Spinel Gemstone

Below, we’ve recapped a shortlist of the various types of spinel gemstone and their associated stains:

Spinel Gemstone: Pure variety except for green and yellow spinel.

Picotite: A combination of magnesium and chromium, noticed in dark green to black spinel stone and brown spinel.

Galaxite: Manganese-rich assortment in dark red spinel to black spinel.

Gahnite: Zinc type in rich, dark green.

Ceylonite and Pleonaste: Enormously dark spinel varieties including magnesium and iron traces.

Hercynite: An iron sort in dark hues like black spinel, also called chromohercynite.

Gahnospinel: A solid-state synthesized species including spinel and gahnite to deliver blue and dark blue varieties.

Pleonast: Opaque spinel Gemstones in shades like dark blue, green, and black.

Ruby Spinel: a diaphanous red gemstone (spinel)

Alexandrite Spinel: Grayish blue in sunlight and violet in incandescent light.

Spinel Stone Meaning

Spinel meaning may arrive from the Latin term, spina, which solves to “thorn.” The theory is that the stone’s spine-shaped gemstones are reminiscent of a thorn discovered in nature. However, if you look closer at spinel’s piece, it’s doubtful to find spine-shaped crystals. Therefore, the term itself is more of a myth than a reality.

It’s not outside of the realm of prospect, regarding the stone’s ancient origins, and that rudimentary examination of gemstones was hypothetical rather than scientific. 

Sadly, spinel gemstone has long been named “the great imposter” once it was discovered that plenty of famous ruby gemstones were actually spinels. But thankfully, spinel gemstone is finally being accepted especially as a fine jewelry gemstone thanks to its increased luster, hardness, and intelligence.

What does spinel signify today? Spinel gemstone has many holistic uses, including magical healing properties, which we’ll grow in greater detail next.