Spinel

Spinel comes in a range of colors from colorless to pink, grey, red (Jedi spinel is a popular red variety), purple, and the famous cobalt blue. Their crystal structure is diamond shaped like two stacked pyramids. Spinel can be found around the world but popular localities include Mogok, Burma and Vietnam. Spinels range in size from very small, just 2-5mm up to a few centimeters in length. Transparent spinel crystals are most sought after for their quality and color and are useful for faceting and jewelry. Spinel has a Mohs hardness of 7.75, making it harder than quartz but softer than topaz. Surface features can include “record keeper” type triangle growth patterns and pointed double terminations.