08/17/2026
✨ SPINEL: One of the Most Underrated Gemstones ✨
If you think a beautiful red gemstone has to be a ruby… think again. 👀
Spinel is one of the most fascinating gemstones in the jewelry world—and it has some SERIOUS history.
💎 Why we love Spinel:
• Available in gorgeous red, pink, blue, purple, orange, and even black
• Mohs hardness of 8, making it a great choice for jewelry
• Naturally brilliant and often beautifully transparent
• Red spinel can have that incredible “ruby red” color
• Some spinels can show color change, asterism, or even cat’s-eye effects
• Fine-quality spinel can be incredibly rare—especially in vivid red and cobalt blue
• Spinel is an August birthstone 💗
• Its name may come from the Latin spina, meaning “thorn,” referring to the shape of its crystals
• For centuries, people thought spinel was ruby! In fact, many famous historical “rubies” turned out to be spinel.
👑 AND THEN THERE’S THE BLACK PRINCE’S “RUBY”…
One of the most famous gemstones in the British Crown Jewels is the approximately 170-carat Black Prince’s “Ruby.”
Except…
It’s NOT a ruby. 😱
It’s actually a red spinel!
The stone has a wild history dating back to 14th-century Spain. It passed through the hands of Moorish and Spanish kings before being given to Edward, Prince of Wales—the Black Prince—in 1367 after a battle victory.
Today, this legendary spinel sits in the Imperial State Crown, directly above the famous Cullinan II diamond. 👑💎
And here's the crazy part: people didn't scientifically distinguish spinel from ruby until 1783. So for centuries, royalty was proudly wearing what they believed were rubies… that were actually spinels!
Maybe spinel isn't underrated after all… maybe it just has one of the best-kept secrets in jewelry history. 😉
Would you wear a Spinel? ❤️💙💗
