The two personalities of a sleepy spinel. Is this normal?

[Laurainthesky]

I got this pink spinel for $150 on ebay. It has a cert from GLC lab. I was extremely disappointed when I looked at it as I unwrapped it in poor indoor lighting. It looks lifeless and dumpy in bad lighting. When I started shining lights at it and looked at it in good lighting, it comes to life and glows a pastel pink.
In one picture, I am shining an incandescent flashlight at it. Another picture is it on a bed with bright streaming sunlight. The dumpy picture is indirect dim indoor lighting.

Is this normal for a sleepy stone, or is it because the color saturation is not great? I am in still in the return window, but it is growing on me.

 

[T L]

It’s because the color saturation dips in certain lighting. It’s not because it is sleepy. That’s why one should view spinels in indoor and outdoor lighting before purchasing.

 

[Laurainthesky]

It’s because the color saturation dips in certain lighting. It’s not because it is sleepy. That’s why one should view spinels in indoor and outdoor lighting before purchasing.

What are your thoughts to its quality? It is 2.5ct. I have two other spinels which are much smaller that have consistent color indoor and out. Is this unique to spinel? I have never had a gem do this.

 

[gingercurls]

I have had two sleepy pink spinels and each held their color in all different types of lighting. Spinels can be quite shifty and it is a good idea to view them in different types of lighting before deciding to keep or return them. Any type of gemstone, not just spinels, can have inconsistent color and vary depending on the type of lighting.

When I buy a new gemstone, there are two things that I look for. One, when I first open the package the stone must "wow" me and I want to have an instant positive reaction or butterflies feeling when I first look at it. Any stone that I have purchased that I did not react this way about when I first looked at it, I regretted keeping. Two, I want the stone, unless it is a color change stone, to consistently hold its color in different types of lighting. However, I do not think it is reasonable or realistic to expect gemstones or anything else to maintain exactly the same color in different types of lighting.

 

[T L]

What are your thoughts to its quality? It is 2.5ct. I have two other spinels which are much smaller that have consistent color indoor and out. Is this unique to spinel? I have never had a gem do this.

I agree with @gingercurls that you must love a stone to keep it. That’s $150 you can spend on something else you love more, even if it’s more expensive.

I would only keep it if the hassle of return ends up being more expensive than the actual stone.