1.35 Ct. Spinel from Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

This item is a 1.35 carat oval shape pinkish purple spinel, with precise dimensions of 7.38 by 6.57 by 3.67 millimeters, delivered in a mixed brilliant faceting style. The pavilion and crown proportions yield a measured depth on the order of 52.6 percent of the average diameter, a proportion that supports a balanced light return for this weight and shape. Clarity evaluates as eye clean at standard viewing distances, indicating no inclusions visible to the unaided eye and allowing uninterrupted internal reflection. Color reads as a medium intensity pinkish purple, with saturation sufficient to present strong color face up while retaining brightness through the facets. The polish is graded excellent, which creates crisp facet junctions and maximizes specular reflection. There is no thermal or chemical enhancement reported, and the material is documented as originating from Ceylon Sri Lanka. The Natural Gemstone Company presents this specimen as an unenhanced natural spinel, prepared for collectors and connoisseurs who prioritize natural color and cutting integrity.

The mixed brilliant cut employed here combines a faceted crown with a pavilion arrangement that emphasizes both broad flash and scintillation. The crown facets disperse light into the observer plane while the pavilion facet geometry is tuned to return light through the table without undue leakage to the girdle. The result is a pattern of small, controlled flashes across the table and crown, driven by the uniform refractive behavior of isotropic spinel. The excellent polish permits high specular reflection from facet planes, producing crisp mirrorlike highlights rather than the softened reflections you often see in stones with suboptimal finish. The oval outline and proportional table size help maintain color consistency across the face, and the eye clean clarity permits deep, undistorted reflections from pavilion facets. For setters and designers the mixed brilliant style in this size and depth produces lively on axis brilliance and lively off axis scintillation, which reads as a combination of broad color and pinpoint flashes under movement.

Optically spinel is a cubic mineral, and this specimen exhibits the characteristic isotropic behavior, which eliminates birefringent doubling and yields uniform facet reflections. Typical refractive index values for spinel range approximately from 1.712 to 1.718, and dispersion is modest, around 0.018, producing restrained spectral fire compared with highly dispersive gems. Specific gravity for spinel typically lies near 3.58 to 3.61, and hardness on the Mohs scale is an enduring eight, making the stone well suited to everyday wear. When compared to corundum, meaning sapphire and ruby, corundum registers a slightly higher refractive index near 1.762 to 1.770 which can translate to marginally greater brilliance for well cut material, however corundum is uniaxial and can show pleochroism and weak birefringence, which alters color and reflection with viewing angle. By contrast the isotropic spinel here maintains consistent color and crisp facet reflections without color shifting. Against garnets, which in many species show higher dispersion and therefore more pronounced fire, this spinel will display less spectral flash but more precise mirror reflections and a cleaner window through the table to the pavilion. Compared to tourmaline and other lower refractive index gems, this spinel will appear brighter and more luminous per unit of facet surface, because its higher refractive index enhances internal reflection efficiency. Diamond remains in a different optical class, with much higher dispersion and a different light performance profile, but for colored gemstone applications this spinel offers a controlled balance of color and brilliance that many buyers prefer.

From a practical gemological and design perspective this Ceylon spinel offers compelling advantages. The medium color intensity is versatile for a range of metal colors and setting styles, and the pinkish purple hue reads attractively in both warm and cool metal tones, while the excellent polish and mixed brilliant faceting maximize light return in jewelry. The absence of enhancement increases its rarity and collectability, and the Sri Lankan provenance places it within a well known trade origin for high quality spinel varieties. For optimal presentation we recommend settings that permit direct light entry to the pavilion and that avoid overly deep channeling that could obstruct facet reflections. Prong settings or bezel designs with an open culet view will maintain the crisp scintillation and broad flashes that this cut produces. The Natural Gemstone Company is prepared to advise on mounting options and to provide additional photographs under different lighting to demonstrate on axis brilliance and off axis scintillation, for buyers who require comprehensive visual and technical information prior to commissioning a setting or purchase.