Tag Archives: spinel

The Great Masquerade

The story of the Black Prince’s Ruby and the Timur Ruby of the Crown Jewels of England both being enormous spinels is not new. The great deception was merely a case of misidentification and misunderstanding. It was always known that the two gems were “balas rubies,” i.e. rubies from Balascia: the ancient Latin name of…

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Not All Things Are What They Seem

Ruby gets the lion’s share of attention when it comes to red gems. But there is one red gemstone that has made a career out of being mistaken for ruby. The finest specimens can stand up to just about any ruby that’s ever been mined in color and clarity. It’s actually considerably rarer than ruby…

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Marc Aronstam on color-change gem stones

Gem stones are amazing things. The science and nature-loving geek in me loves to study each gem before I ever consider how it might look housed in a ring or a necklace. Particularly fascinating to me are the gems that change from one color to another depending on the type of light, from red to…

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