a blue spinel crystal in the context of blue spinel facts
June 12, 2020

Blue Spinel Facts – Get To Know About One Of The Rarest Spinels

Blue spinel is one of the rare expensive variations of spinel. You will be able to learn all important blue spinel facts in this article. Composition, color variations and comparative prices will be described.

What Is Spinel?

Spinels are a group of minerals where the main formula is MgAl2O4. Depending on the different trace elements which mix with this main mineral, spinel gets a range of colors including red, pink, purple, grey and blue. You can find information on all different spinel colors here.

Important Blue Spinal Facts

Let’s go through some important blue spinel facts.

Blue spinels can get its color from the presence of iron as the trace element. There is another variation of blue spinel known as cobalt blue spinel which contains the element cobalt along with iron, which is known in the trade name of cobalt blue spinels. Cobalt blue spinels are rare and much more expensive than normal blue spinels.

With a hardness of 8, spinels are a very durable gemstone for jewelry. It has a great luster with a refractive index of 1.718. (More technical information on spinels can be obtained from here)

Color Range

When the iron content is higher in spinels, stones tend to get darker. This is commonly seen in Sri Lanka where a lot of blue spinels have a blue-grey to violet-blue.

Color change blue spinels are also another rare variety of blue spinels. These spinels demonstrate a blue color under the fluorescent light and a purple color under the incandescent light.

  • Cobalt Blue Spinel

As mentioned earlier, blue spinels with cobalt in it are called cobalt blue spinels. However, it is important to note that some sellers will claim normal blue spinels to be cobalt blue spinels. If you are purchasing a cobalt blue spinel, make sure you get a valid gemstone certificate proving the stone is a genuine cobalt blue gemstone.

Sources

The best blue spinels are sourced from Sri Lanka.

Cobalt blue spinel from Vietnam demonstrate a vibrant neon blue color where blue spinel from Sri Lanka demonstrate a range of light to dark blue colors.

Cobalt blue spinel are much more expensive than normal blue spinels and the neon blue cobalt blue spinels are extremely expensive where a 0.25 carat can get a price high as USD 2000.

Blue Spinel Prices

As with all the gems, the price for blue spinels also vary based on color, clarity, cut and the carat weight.

It is very different to give a definitive price guide as prices vary very much based on the seller as well. Therefore, I will share prices of some blue spinels which I found from various sites so that you can get a basic understanding on the price variations. ( Click the image to check the details of the stone from the seller’s website)

 

  1. Blue Spinel – 3.73 carats – $ 1,500.00
image 1 : 3.73 cts – Blue Spinel

 

2. Cobalt Blue Spinel – 0.23 carats – $ 1,800.00

image 2 : A Cobalt Blue Spinel – 0.23 cts

3. Blue Spinel – 5.11 cts – $ 6,132.00

 

image 3 : Blue Spinel – 5.11 cts

 

4. Blue Spinel – 0.75 cts – USD 89.98

(This is probably a normal spinel and the seller has name it “Cobalt Blue Spinel” due to its color. You should always request for gemstone certificate to verify that a stone is actually a cobalt blue spinel)

image 4 : A Blue Spinel – 0.75 cts

Final Thoughts 

The objective of this article was to share important information about blue spinels. information on chemical composition, color ranges and varieties were discussed.

An important area for any gemstone is determining the price. Since it is difficult to give an accurate price guide as prices depends on the seller as well, actual prices of some stones available online was shared.

 

 

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