The case for spinel
A perfect mixture that the market hasn’t caught up with
Ask a dealer which stone they would buy for themselves and a surprising number will say spinel. It has everything we look for in a fine gemstone, yet it still sits in the shadow of ruby, sapphire and emerald.
Hardness for daily wear
Spinel is 8 on the Mohs scale with good toughness, harder than emerald and most gems you will ever wear. A spinel ring is made to be worn, not kept in a safe.1
Colour that stops you
Spinel comes in almost every colour: vivid reds, neon pinks, true cobalt blues, soft lavenders and more. Its brilliance often looks livelier than a ruby of the same colour.
Usually untreated
Heating barely improves spinel, so most fine stones on the market are completely untreated. Heated spinel is “still very scarcely found”.6
Great clarity
Spinel crystals are often remarkably clean. Eye-clean stones are far easier to find than in ruby or emerald of the same colour.
Put those four together and you have a gem that is beautiful, durable, honest and clean, and yet it has not caught up in price with the “big three” of ruby, sapphire and emerald. That gap is exactly why we call it underrated. It is also closing: the trade has been talking about spinel for years, and the results show it.
“In recent years, the popularity of spinel has surged significantly, leading to a noticeable rise in demand.”
Raphael Gübelin, President of the House of Gübelin, January 202516At Phillips’ Hong Kong sales in 2024, red spinels sold for “double and triple” their estimates.17 In the U.S. trade, dealers now say the brightest pink spinels are priced even higher than the reds, and that spinel prices are rising faster than blue sapphire’s.23
Side by side
Spinel next to the big three
Spinel is not a “cheap ruby”. A top unheated Burmese ruby is still in a league of its own, but a top red spinel can sit comfortably alongside a fine Mozambique ruby, and on durability, treatment and clarity, spinel often wins. Compare for yourself:
History
Mistaken for ruby for five hundred years
For most of history, every red stone was called a ruby. Some of the most famous “rubies” in the world’s crown jewels turned out to be spinels, and they are no less magnificent for it. Scroll through the timeline:
The Black Prince’s Ruby
A great red spinel given to Edward, the Black Prince. It is now set above the Cullinan II diamond in Britain’s Imperial State Crown.3
Worn at Agincourt
Henry V is said to have worn the same stone on his helmet at the Battle of Agincourt.
Catherine the Great’s crown
The Great Imperial Crown of Russia is topped by a red spinel of about 398 carats.4
The Timur Ruby
A 352-carat spinel engraved with the names of Mughal and Persian emperors is presented to Queen Victoria.3
“Jedi” is coined
With Star Wars in cinemas, gemmologist Vincent Pardieu names the glowing pinkish reds of Burma’s Namya mine “Jedi” spinels: untouched by the “dark side”. Man Sin in Mogok later produced them too.7
Mahenge is discovered
A huge pinkish-red crystal found near Mahenge, Tanzania, reveals the source of today’s most sought-after pinks and reds.6
The Hope Spinel
Sold for £1,060 in 1917, it makes £962,500 at Bonhams, about five times its high estimate.10
$2.2 million earrings
A pair of Mahenge spinels by Harry Winston sells at Christie’s New York for almost four times the high estimate.12
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Colour explorer
The colours of spinel, ranked
Colour is everything in spinel. This is how we rank them from our years of buying. Tap a colour to see where it comes from, what to look for and why it is valued the way it is.
These tiers only hold when the colour really is right. A “cobalt blue” that leans grey, or a “vivid red” with brown in it, drops down the list quickly. That is why we judge every stone under white light, and why we are happy to show you the difference in person.
Why no price per colour? Because a number without size, clarity, cut and origin means very little. A 1 ct and a 6 ct cobalt spinel of the “same” colour live in different worlds. Ask us for current prices on specific stones.
Red spinel
The right red, and the reds to walk away from
A fine red spinel has a vivid, glowing red that can rival a ruby. But a lot of red spinel on the market is brownish or very orangish, and many buyers don’t know to look for it. Those stones are priced far lower for a reason. Drag the slider to see how the colour moves from top to “avoid”:
Pure, vivid red with a strong glow. The colour everyone is looking for.
A pure red to slightly pinkish red, medium to medium-dark in tone, with no brown and no strong orange. Under a white light it should look lit from within, not dull or “brick”. Be careful in daylight: many brownish stones turn red in the sun and look far better than they are. If you are unsure, compare it with a stone you know is fine. Side by side under white light, brown shows up immediately. We are always happy to guide you and show you the difference.
Origins
Where the finest spinels come from
Mahenge
Discovered in 2007 and, for us, the ultimate origin and the one the market values most. Famous for neon hot pinks and a luminous red you simply don’t see in ruby. Nearby Lukande has also produced fine cobalt blues.20
Mogok & Namya
Burma’s classic reds, the most ruby-like of all spinels, and the “Jedi” pinkish reds of Namya and Man Sin. Fine Burmese reds over 10 ct are genuinely rare.7
Luc Yen
Home of the famous cobalt blue spinel, coloured by traces of cobalt. Faceted stones from the primary deposits rarely exceed about 5 ct.8
Kuh-i-Lal
The historic source of the “balas rubies” of Persian and Mughal courts, and of the Hope Spinel.
Ceylon gem gravels
A long-standing source of spinel in pinks, purples, lavenders and greyish blues.
The market
Spinel at auction
The most telling thing about spinel at auction is not a single record. It is how often fine stones blow through their estimates. Hover or tap a bar for the details.
Buying well
How to choose a spinel
Everything below is how we select stones ourselves. In order of importance:
Colour
Vivid and pure. For red: no brown, no heavy orange. For pink: neon, not washed out. For blue: true cobalt, not grey or violet.
Clarity
Aim for eye-clean. Spinel often is, so there is less reason to compromise than with ruby or emerald. Typical inclusions are tiny octahedral crystals.22
Cut
A good cut makes spinel dance. Avoid deep, windowed or lumpy stones cut for weight rather than beauty.
Size
Availability drops and prices rise sharply for fine red, pink and blue stones above about 5 ct.2
For any important spinel, insist on a report from a leading laboratory: SSEF, Gübelin, GRS or AGL. It confirms the stone is natural and untreated and gives an opinion on origin, which matters a great deal for Mahenge and Burma. Synthetic spinel has existed for over a century and a cobalt-diffusion treatment for blue spinel was identified in 2015; a proper lab catches both easily.9 New to reports? Read our guide to reading a lab report.
Caring for it. Warm soapy water is always safe, and ultrasonic cleaners are usually fine for untreated spinel. Keep it away from very high heat, such as a jeweller’s torch during repairs.21
Find yours
Which spinel is for you?
Three quick questions and we’ll point you to the right colour and origin, with stones from our collection that fit.
Questions
Spinel, answered
Is spinel a real gemstone or a ruby substitute?
Spinel is its own natural gemstone species, and one of the rarest in fine quality. Some of the most famous “rubies” in history, such as the Black Prince’s Ruby, are actually spinels. It is not a substitute but a gem in its own right.
Is spinel good for an engagement ring or everyday ring?
Yes. At 8 on the Mohs scale with good toughness, spinel is one of the most wearable coloured gems. We still recommend a protective setting for any ring worn every day.
Is spinel usually treated?
Usually not. Heating does little to improve spinel, so the vast majority of fine spinels are untreated. A report from SSEF, Gübelin, GRS or AGL will confirm it for your stone.
What is the most valuable spinel colour?
Our top tier is a vivid red from any origin, Mahenge vivid pink and true cobalt blue, as long as the colour really is right. Jedi spinels are next: stunning, but they come in small sizes. Lavender, purple and grey-blue offer beautiful value.
Is Mahenge spinel better than Burmese?
Both produce superb stones. Burma gives the most ruby-like reds and the Jedi colours; Mahenge gives neon pinks and a unique luminous red, and today it is the origin the market values most.
Why are some red spinels so much cheaper?
Because they are brownish or strongly orange. Those colours are common and much less desirable, while a vivid, pure red is rare, and that is where the price is. In our experience, labs can call a stone “vivid red” even when it has 5 to 10% brown and some orange in it, so the colour on a report can be deceiving. The most important thing is how a spinel looks under a white light: if it looks good there, it looks good anywhere.
Sources
- GIA, Spinel description.
- GIA, Spinel quality factors.
- GIA, Spinel history and lore.
- Spinel of the Great Imperial Crown.
- Forbes, Spinel named new August birthstone, Aug 2016.
- SSEF, Spinel from Mahenge and its heat treatment.
- Pardieu et al., “Jedi” spinels in Mogok, Gems & Gemology, 2014.
- GIA, Blue spinel from Luc Yen, Vietnam, 2015.
- GRS, New spinel treatment involving heat and cobalt diffusion, May 2015.
- Bonhams, The Hope Spinel press release, Sept 2015.
- Lotus Gemology, Ruby, sapphire & spinel auction records.
- Roskin Gem News, Christie’s New York, Dec 2024.
- Roskin Gem News, Sotheby’s Geneva results, May 2025.
- Phillips, Lot 573, Hong Kong, Sept 2025.
- National Gemstone, 18.17 ct Mahenge red spinel result (trade report).
- JNA, A more radiant future for coloured gems in 2025, Jan 2025.
- Professional Jeweller, Phillips Hong Kong jewels auction, Mar 2024.
- Rapaport, Spinel steps into the spotlight, 2011.
- JCK, Tanzanian Mahenge pink spinel.
- Krzemnicki et al., Cobalt-blue spinel from Lukande, Tanzania, SSEF, 2023.
- GIA, Spinel care and cleaning.
- GIA, Visual guide to micro-features of spinel, 2021.
- National Jeweler, State of colored stones, June 2024.