The spinel

The spinel

Known since Antiquity, the spine has often been confused with ruby ​​because of its exceptional bright red. This did not prevent him from occupying illustrious places in adornments of many sovereigns.

THE spinel Available in colors as incredible and lively as bright red, pink, orange, purple, blue or purple with more or less pronounced shades. Philippe Tournaire likes to highlight this gem through original creations of jewelry. The spinel is for him a stone of choice, because of its brilliance and its beauty.

Identity card of an unknown gem

THE spinel is a species that are part of the family of oxides. Its hardness is 8 on the Mohs scale, which makes him a very resistant gem and appreciated in jewelry. In the raw state, this surprising gem presents itself as the diamond in the form of a double pyramid with often very well drawn contours. It also appears in the form of a flattened crystal, which sometimes limits the lapidaries which in this specific case cut the gem with a shallow cylinder head, so as to lose as little carats as possible.

The provenance of spinels

This gem regularly forms alongside sapphires and rubies (which contributes - in addition to its color - to explain the confusion it has known). It is mainly found in Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tanzania and Tajikistan. Pendant spinel in yellow gold

The color of the spinels

The spinelThe best known and most coveted being its vibrant red is available in many faces. Philippe Tournaire appreciates the intensity and the sparkle of a pinkish red spinel, which allows you to enhance a harmony of colors and make it even more festive. Some are therefore of a magic red, others are orange red or an intense rosé red and their hot tones are largely due to the presence of chrome. The more this chemical element is present during the formation of the spinelle, the more its color will be sparkling. In cooler tones, this gem can be blue, purple and purple, even going to bluish green.

It is still a short time ago, we thought that iron was the only element responsible for the blue color of the spinelle. We discovered that in reality, it is the combination of iron and cobalt that allows our admiring eyes to contemplate the intense Blues of these spinels, mainly from Madagascar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The spinelle, gemm still too little known to the general public, knows how to be enigmatic by having different colors depending on the light that lights it (daylight or electric light) and can also be star, at 4 or 6 branches. Spinelle ring in white gold.

Synthetic spinels

These gems have been synthesized since the beginning of the 20th century. It is possible to unmask a false blue spinel by looking at its inclusions and testing it with gemology instruments. The real blue spinels contain iron and cobalt while the fakes do not present any iron trace, which can help to distinguish them. There are also triplets, composed of two parts in colorless synthetic spinel, gathered by a thin layer of colored glass. Looking at this profile substitute, we can generally distinguish the 3 different layers.

The little banal story of an unknown gem

For centuries, the spinel was taken for another which looks very much like it and which grew up by its side: the ruby. It was only much later in the 19th century that the ruby ​​spinel was separated into two very distinct entities, thanks to scientific advances. The standard examples that follow show that an unknown gem at the time was however very present in many ornaments of sovereigns, without them knowing it ...

Among the famous jewels with a spinel, we find:

- The "ruby" of the black prince: A spine of 170 carats today jewel of the Crown of England. He previously adorned the helmet of King Henri V during the Battle of Azincourt in 1415.

- Timour's "ruby": An exceptional spine of 361 carats cut in cabochon belonging to date to Queen Elisabeth in England. On this incredible gem is engraved with Persian inscriptions, thus testifying to its seniority.

- The origin of the word spinelle is debated: He could come from the Greek "Spita" meaning "sparkle" or from the Latin "spina" which means "thorn". The two origins could respectively refer to the fire, the bright red color of a spinel and the specific crystals of its own. The red spinel would be a symbol of power and courage. The blue spinel would allow the one who brings him to repel negative energies.

Anyway, this unusual gem has been able to make a name for itself among the big ones, thanks to its beauty and its sparkle. Recently recognized, it deserves to be appreciated for its sparkling colors, without being always associated with the ruby. THECreator Joaillier Philippe Tournaire invites us to discover this precious gem in captivating colors. Succumb to its singular charm that makes us travel, thinking of it as a real spinelle and not a false ruby!

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