Could it be a spinel?

[CharmyPoo]

I recently purchased a vintage platinum ring with what I was told to hold a spinel. I have never seen a spinel this color and wanted to pick your brain on what it might be. It has a RI of 1.72 and is singly refractive. It is a color shifter where the primary color is a teal blue - if shifts to a greenish-blue to a deeper blue and in some settings almost a purplish blue.

I haven't taken gem pics in so long that I have forgotten and can't capture any of the colors. This is the best I can do at the moment although none of these capture it's normal blue state. I will try again during the day. None of these pictures really look like how beautiful the color is ...

Any thoughts?

 

[OTL]

wow, I know spinel is a shifter, but I never know it could has 3 colors... I'd love to hear from the experts.

 

[OTL]

actually, I just checked my blue spinel, turns out I was wrong, my spinel does have 3 color shifts, under natural light it is greenish blue, under fluo light it is violet blue, looks like a tanzanite, under incandescent light it is violet purple, look like an iolite or an amethyst

 

[JaneSmith]

I'm sorry, I can't help you with any of your questions, but I must say that your ring is gorgeous! I love blue stones.

 

[JewelFreak]

Pretty ring. My first thought was tourmaline from the last pic, but wrong RI for tourm. Really unusual for a spinel but....for comparison, here is a spinel from several yrs ago at the Gem Trader:



Brad's listing said: "A very unique gem; there is more green in the bodycolor of this Spinel than we can recall ever having seen. The resulting color is an almost aqua greenish-blue that is as lovely as it is rare. The tone is just right, not overly dark like many spinels of similar hue. A stunning piece that you may never guess was Spinel simply by looking. The cutting and clarity are excellent. Rare."

Or, could it be a synthetic? I'm sure somebody more expert can help.

--- Laurie

 

[iLander]

Wow! That's awesome.

Can it be a color change sapphire?

 

[ChrisA222]

Lets hope some experts chime in. My first thought was synthetic Spinel, but that would give you an RI of 1.73. Natural Spinel is 1.718...at least that is what I was able to find when searching.

RI of Sapphire is going to be higher, like around 1.76 or so. So the RI is in line with natural Spinel...but the color..hmmm.

Chrono? Gene?

 

[minousbijoux]

Charmypoo, how did you determine RI, etc?

 

[CharmyPoo]

Charmypoo, how did you determine RI, etc?

It was professionally appraised and they said it had an RI of 1.72 and believe it is a natural spinel.

 

[CharmyPoo]

I took some new photos today that are a bit closer to the day time color. I just can't seem to capture how beautiful this stone is. I think I need a point and shoot that gets colors better.

 

[ChrisA222]

Do you see inclusions at close-up? Do you have a loupe, or a magnifying glass---where you can see if there are any internal charachteristics? Trying to rule out synthetic...I dont think you would see inclusions with a loupe if its a synthetic spinel...

 

[CharmyPoo]

Do you see inclusions at close-up? Do you have a loupe, or a magnifying glass---where you can see if there are any internal charachteristics? Trying to rule out synthetic...I dont think you would see inclusions with a loupe if its a synthetic spinel...

It's a very clean stone and the inclusions cannot be seen with a 10x loupe (I have many other stones like this - in fact, I can't even find inclusions in my VS diamonds under a loupe). However, with my mega mega macro camera .. I found some slight inclusions.

 

[Lee Little]

With that RI reading alone I would bet big money on it being a natural Spinel. After seeing the color, I would be willing to risk even more. 99.999% sure that it is Spinel based on the quick skim of the contents of this thread. Best regards, Lee

 

[Arkteia]

Charmypoo, Lee's comment is very hopeful. The stone and the ring look stunning. I do not know what you plan to do now, send to AGL or do something else, so I am not congratulating you yet, but I surely want to!

 

[minousbijoux]

Yes, I agree, and should have congratulated before on a very beautiful ring, regardless of what the stone turns out to be!

 

[Justin_Cutter]

Very nice looking stone! If it makes you feel better I have seen Spinels exhibit this kind of color change. Its very unique! Some of the pics really look like a montana sapphire but the fact that it is most probably a Spinel is even cooler!

~Justin

 

[CharmyPoo]

Thanks all for your comments and feedback. I actually really like this ring - the setting and stone are a perfect match. I am not too fussed what the stone turns out to be. The setting is gorgeous and worth the price I paid. I just need to get it repaired as the shank is wearing very thin (antique) but darn it ... that setting is simply gorgeous and such a unique design. I am a bit strange in that I love a well made and designed setting as much as I love a nice gemstone or diamond.

 

[chrono]

The setting is spectacular! Great purchase on that one. As for the stone, it could be a spinel as I've see greenish blue shifts to a darker slate blue, which sometimes shifts again to a slightly purplish blue, although I've not seen one where the greenish blue is that light. Were any other tests run on it other than to check the RI?