Item #: Tunduru Spinel - $2 to $30/carat
Locality: Tunduru Tanzania, Africa
Spinel is the kissing cousin of Sapphire, and until the Tunduru discovery in the mid 90's, it was generally in short supply and most of the material was from Sri Lanka with some sporadic production in Burma and parts of Africa.

Sizes range from 2-10 cts, with the average being around 1-3 cts, anything over 5 cts is really pretty large. The shapes are water worn and usually best suited to cutting rectangles and ovals with an occasional square or round stone.

Spinel is still gaining acceptance among jewelers, but has long been a favorite with cutters for it's wide range of colors, hardness 7-7.5, RI of 1.72 and easy cutting. The only thing to watch for, is the darker colors can sometimes over saturate and be dark. Spinels also tend to shift colors (very seldom color change, but once and awhile) depending on the type of light. I cut them mostly in Brilliant designs with healthy crown, depending on the color saturation.

Currently Available:
1 each 3.18 carats - $31.80 lilac, best cut rect cushion - 8.3mm x 8.7mm x 4.3mm deep
1 each 2.85 carats - $28.50 lavender, best cut drop - 7mm x 10.2mm x 4mm deep
1 each 2.90 carats - $29.00 lavender, best cut rect - 6.1mm x 9.5mm x 5.1mm deep
1 each 3.70 carats - $44.40 light lavender, best cut "Brilliant Pear"- 7.7mm x 11mm x 5.2mm deep
1 each 2.40 carats - $24.00 blue, best cut "Brilliant Pear"- 6.2mm x 8mm x 4.7mm deep
1 each 2.84 carats - $28.40 blue/purple, best cut drop - 6.5mm x 10mm x 4.5mm deep
1 each 3.04 carats - $36.48 purple/blue, best cut sq. cushion - 7mm x 7.2mm x 4.5mm deep
1 each 2.60 carats - $26.00 lilac, best cut "Pounded Shield" - 6.5mm x 10mm x 4.5mm deep
1 each 2.95 carats - $17.70 blue, best cut trillion - 8mm x 8.6mm x 5.1mm deep
1 each 2.80 carats - $10.40 blue, best cut rectangle - 6mm x 7.7mm x 5.3mm deep
1 each 3.30 carats - $19.80 lilac, best cut pear - 7.4mm x 8.3mm x 5.5mm deep
1 each 2.81 carats - $28.10 light blue, best cut oval - 6.5mm x 10.3mm x 4.6mm deep
1 each 2.78 carats - $11.12 lavender, best cut rect/cush - 6.2mm x 10.5mm x 4.5mm deep
1 each 3.25 carats - $26.00 blue, best cut trillion check? - 7.6mm x 9.2mm x 4.3mm deep
1 each 3.03 carats - $36.36 light blue, best cut "Pounded Shield" - 6.8mm x 10.3mm x 4.9mm deep
1 each 3.28 carats - $39.36 blue, best cut trillion - 9.2mm x 9mm x 4.2mm deep
1 each 3.64 carats - $58.24 medium blue, best cut baggette - 5.8mm x 12mm x 5.4mm deep
1 each 2.45 carats - $12.25 purple, best cut "Brilliant Pear" - 7mm x 8.2mm x 4.5mm deep

Spinel Index

E-mail to inquire or order: jeff@faceters.com or jeff@cabbers.com