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:
$4 to $12/carat
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 2.80 carats - $10.40 blue, best cut rectangle - 6mm x 7.7mm x 5.3mm deep
1 each 2.81 carats - $28.10 light blue, best cut oval - 6.5mm x 10.3mm x 4.6mm 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

$13 to $20/carat
1 each 3.64 carats - $58.24 medium blue, best cut baggette - 5.8mm x 12mm x 5.4mm deep
1 each 4.33 carats - $60.62 medium blue, best cut cushion - 7.9mm x 10.6mm x 4.9mm deep
1 each 4.20 carats - $575.60 medium blue, best cut cushion - 8.1mm x 10.9mm x 4.8mm deep
1 each 6.12 carats - $97.92 medium pink/lavender, best cut cushion - 10.9mm x 11.4mm x 6mm deep
1 each 3.51 carats - $56.16 medium pink/lavender, best cut oval/pear - 7.3mm x 9.3mm x 6.3mm deep
1 each 3.18 carats - $58.24 medium pink/lavender, best cut cushion/oval - 7.6mm x 9mm x 4.2mm deep
1 each 5.04 carats - $70.56 lavender/grey, best cut pear - 8.3mm x 12.8mm x 6.2mm deep
1 each 6.30 carats - $88.20 medium pink/purple, best cut rectangle - 11mm x 13.5mm x 4.9mm deep

$21 to $29/carat
1 each 6.54 carats - $156.80 light lavender, best cut pear/cushion - 9.2mm x 11mm x 7.2mm deep
1 each 4.49 carats - $89.80 lavender, best cut pear - 8.3mm x 10.7mm x 7mm deep
1 each 5.10 carats - $150.30 purple/pink, best cut cushion/oval - 8.8mm x 9.7mm x 5.7mm deep
1 each 6.18 carats - $148.32 sapphire blue, best cut pear - 8.6mm x 14mm x 7mm deep
1 each 4.04 carats - $105.60 light lavender, best cut pear/cushion - 7.5mm x 10mm x 6mm deep
1 each 4.28 carats - $102.76 medium purple/red, best cut trillion - 8.6mm x 8.5mm x 6.6mm deep
1 each 3.58 carats - $100.24 sapphire blue , best cut cushion - 7.5mm x 9.6mm x 5.7mm deep
1 each 4.26 carats - $119.28 light/medium blue, best cut pear/cushion - 7mm x 12mm x 6mm deep
1 each 4.02 carats - $96.48 blue, best cut cushion - 7.9mm x 10mm x 6.1mm deep
1 each 3.70 carats - $96.20 light blue, best cut pear - 7.5mm x 10.3mm x 5.3mm deep
1 each 4.06 carats - $105.26 pink/lavender, best cut oval - 8mm x 11mm x 6mm deep
1 each 5.92 carats - $153.92 purple, best cut rectangle - 8mm x 13.5mm x 5.5mm deep

$30/carat and up...
1 each 7.18 carats - $215.40 light lavender, best cut pear - 10.3mm x 13mm x 7mm deep
1 each 5.40 carats - $162.00 pink/lavender, best cut cushion - 10mm x 12.1mm x 5.3mm deep
1 each 5.78 carats - $231.20 purple/lavender, best cut cushion/oval - 7.6mm x 11.4mm x 7.7mm deep
1 each 9.73 carats - $778.40 medium pink/red (like a Rhodolite), best cut rectangle - 11mm x 16mm x 6mm deep

Spinel Index

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