Bought a Lavender Spinel on eBay, but what is it really?

[2Neesers]

I stumbled across a listing on eBay for a 12mm Lavender Spinel set in a sterling silver mount that came on a 14k chain for $80. An estate piece estimated to be from the 70’s or 80’s. The seller said he took the piece to his jeweler who told him it was a spinel and he assumes it is natural. I don’t typically take eBay risk, but I needed a 14k chain anyways and offered $48 thinking it would be worth that amount for the chain, and the seller accepted the offer.
I could see in the sellers photos that the stone had fire and dispersion like some lavender spinels do, but in person it is has pink and/or blue flashes all of the time. It is so fiery, but not in a way I have ever seen before. Any ideas what this stone could be? It doesn’t have fluorescence under my blacklight and I don’t see any inclusions through my loupe. I tested it with my inexpensive/unreliable diamond tester out of curiosity, and it made the bar move up one space. By comparison, my purple spinel from Mahenge makes the bar on the tester move up three spaces. Not very scientific testing, I know .
Here are a bunch of photos I took in various lighting. The color is shifty and the stone is fiery and lustrous. If anyone has an idea of what it could be, I would appreciate the info

 

[lovedogs]

Cz? Lab stone of some kind?

 

[voce]

I believe it could be a spinel, or CZ. Having acquired and seen many pieces of purple and lavender spinel the past year, the luster is similar looking to spinel. No telling if it's natural or man-made, though. It could also be a purple-colored CZ.

 

[GoldfishPie]

My vote is CZ. I had been shopping for a lavender spinel for a while and couldn't find anything anywhere near that cheap. Either they missed out on hundreds in lost value or... it's a cz.

 

[T L]

Synthetic spinel or corundum. If it looks very diamond like IRL, then a CZ. It’s hard to tell the latter from the photos.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Far from an expert but I bought a stone that was sold to me as sapphire and turned out to be spinel. I could see a very very slight inclusion, it was the only indication I had it was a natural spinel and this was further confirmed by a gemologist.

So since this is very clean and super perfect looking I think it's a cz but even so it is a pretty stone! Love that color.

 

[2Neesers]

Thanks everyone!
I am going to assume it’s a lavender CZ.
I asked the seller how he determined it was spinel. He said he purchases the pieces that are in his store from estate sales, and if he is unsure of what something is he sends it to his jeweler. He said he had never heard of spinel before this piece and he had to look up what spinel is. The fire flashes that come from the stone seem too unrealistic to me. I’m going to order a lavender CZ to compare it to, just out if curiosity.
Here’s a pic of the stone showing rainbow fire. The camera is making it look more dramatic than what I see in person, but it’s still very fiery! It’s a pretty color and an interesting stone, but it’s definitely not like any natural stone I have ever seen.

 

[Bron357]

If you can find a jeweller with a Presidum tester they can quickly ID CZ against anything else as it will test as glass if CZ.
of course if it tests as Spinel on the Presidum that doesn’t help you with it being natural or lab grown because no tester can do that.
nevertheless it is very pretty.

 

[GliderPoss]

I’m also guessing CZ but if it’s real - do come back & tell us!