natural-beads / Spinel

This stone can be red, pink, purple, orange-red or blue. The red spinel is the most beautiful and the most highly prized. The main source of the red spinel was formerly Afghanistan, Though the best mines are the Mogol in Birmania. The pink and purple stones come from India. They are reasonably priced and are similar to the tourmaline, the garnet the corundum and the amethyst. The blue spinel comes mainly from Sri Lanka and Birmania and is very similar in appearance to the Montana Sapphire, the iolite and the blue tourmaline. Spinels have been manufactured synthetically since the 1920s.