Here's a very interesting piece of deep purple-red spinel trapped in calcite matrix. We've brought this one staight from the mines of Mogok, Burma to gemwow.com for you.
Gemstone: Spinel
Birthstone/ Zodiac Stone: _
Physical description: Spinel is usually found in shades of red, pink, orange, lavender, blue, purple, brown, grey and even black. Transparent red spinels were once considered rubies due to their matching brilliance but since the discovery that rubies are corundum, red spinels are now called spinel-rubies or balas-rubies.
Symbolic description: Spinels are thought to protect the wearer from harm and to sooth sadness. It is also a stone of wealth and prosperity.
Origin: Spinel comes from such countries as Burma, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. The best quality spinels are found in Myanmar.
Purpose: As spinels come in many wonderful shades, they can be matched with many different types of attire.