Spinel is the only gemstone in the spinel group of mineral oxides and gives this group its name.
Keyword:
Rubies
Keyword:
jewel
ICSD collection code:
39164
Layman's explanation:
The first discovery of the spinel gemstone is unknown but is thought to have been in Balascia, now Badakhshanin, in Afghanistan. This possible place of origin may by why red spinels are sometimes called balas rubies. Many red spinels are in collections of crown jewels and were called rubies, although spinels are not rubies, the difference being that spinal contains magnesium aluminum oxide while ruby is aluminum oxide. The Black Prince s Ruby, the central stone in the British Imperial State Crown, is one such spinel. Spinels are often substituted for rubies to prevent theft of the latter which are more valuable. Spinels have a high value in their own right and are also often used in jewelry. Spinels come in a variety of colors: colorless, red, green, lilac, blue, purple, brown, black, blue-green, orange, yellow and dark green. Red spinels are the most common and are pinker than rubies. Burma, Sri Lanka, Brazil and Afghanistan are among the places most noted for finding spinels.
IUPAC name:
Magnesium dialuminium oxide
Citation of a publication:
Kobutsugaku Zasshi (= Journal of
the Mineralogical Society of Japan)16
(1983) p221;Yamanaka, T
Lab name:
Common molecules
Sample provider:
Obtained from the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database
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