Spinel presents in red, pink, orange, purple, violet, blue, and blue-green. This stunning array of colours reflects the coming display of nature’s transforming fauna as summer winds toward its close. The dusk of summer is a time to live out our zest for life, foregoing the baggage and worries that hold us back in favour of fun, adventure, and whatever else ignites a flame in our spirits. Appropriately designated as the August birthstone, spinel symbolises devotion, passion, longevity, physical energy, and stamina; all qualities we covet in our lives and loves. Gifts of spinel send a clear, deeply romantic message to your paramour.
Our Spinel Butterfly Ring in Diamonds and Rubies beautifully embodies this, with a 9.03 CT crimson spinel forming the body of the butterfly as the core of this piece. The Butterfly Ring was lovingly handcrafted in Germany in 2018, and styles as a brooch as well as a ring with a cleverly designed transition.
Gazing into the deep red of the butterfly, you’ll find it easy to understand how spinel is often mistaken for other stones, notably rubies. A well-known example of this is the Black Prince’s Ruby, which adorns the British Imperial State Crown. While their beauty rivals better known precious stones, the spinel’s durability is less rivaled. Around an 8 on the MOHS hardness scale, spinel is not easily scratched. On the contrary, it may cause damage to weaker stones if they are stored loosely together in a confined space. Make sure to store your treasures with care in order to protect their natural beauty, and wrap each piece in soft cloth to prevent unsightly scuffs and scratches.
Now, to address the elephant in the room; spinel is an often misunderstood gem. Artificial spinel is extremely common, and often used as an inexpensive stand-in for rubies or sapphires. What we are discussing here is natural spinel, which is both precious and rarely found, with a stunning appearance. While lower grade rubies and sapphires may be subject to extensive enhancements to achieve that eye-catching quality, a natural spinel holds its own without such alterations.
Spinel’s acoustic beauty, structural resilience, and wide range of colours make it practically a dream stone for high jewellery. The gem can carry the standard of haute couture while keeping up with your lifestyle, unflinchingly. The stone’s high refractive index and incredible clarity ensure you’ll glitter brilliantly wherever your day takes you, and its hardness makes it ideal for virtually any type of jewellery design.
Once you are done dazzling those you encounter throughout the day, your spinel stones can be cleaned simply with soap and water, then stored in a soft cloth or container, where they cannot scratch other pieces.