Spinel (Ruby Spinel) ("floater")

A lovely strong red colored complete "floater" crystal of the famous Ruby Spinels from Mogok featuring textbook octahedral form, sharp faces and good luster. The crystal was difficult to photograph and really looks better in person. While the internal color is truly red, the piece does have some beautiful "wispy" inclusions of pink and orange hues that not only give the piece character, but also a unique quality that one does not often see in Spinel. A very attractive larger Spinel crystal from this historic locality in southeast Asia. Under UV light, the piece displays a strong red fluorescence.

The area around Mogok is world famous for producing the finest crystals and gems of Spinel in the world. Many of these crystals have yielded the most impressive red Ruby Spinel gems ever found. Mogok is most likely the site of the discovery of the famous Black Prince's Ruby in the Crown Jewels of the UK. The significance of the stone in the crown is that it was actually revealed to be a giant (170 carat) Spinel, and not a Ruby as had been thought for centuries. Spinels are typically found in opaque, dark crystals, but we were fortunate to pick up a parcel of not only colorful but GEMMY crystals direct from the source!

Specimen #SPINEL111909