1.61 Ct. Spinel from Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

There is a story that begins long before any hand held a tool, deep within the ancient soils of Ceylon, Sri Lanka, where heat and pressure and time conspired to create mineral treasures. This cushion shaped purple spinel began its life as a hidden promise in those storied terrains, a crystalline heart waiting to be revealed. We acquired this particular gem with care and respect for its origin, a transparent 1.61 carat stone that measures 7.32 by 6.96 by 4.00 millimeters. Its journey from the mine to our workshop is a pathway through tradition, where local miners, guided by generations of knowledge, recovered a crystal with a harmonious balance of color and clarity. The story of Ceylon is woven into the stone, a history of islands and monsoon rains that nurtured the conditions for spinel to form, and that history remains visible in the calm, medium intense purple that makes this gem so arresting.

When the rough reached the hands of a master cutter, the decision to fashion a mixed brilliant cushion was deliberate, a choice made to honor both the stone and the light it holds. The mixed brilliant cut allows a lively interplay of large facets and smaller pavilion facets, producing flashes of brightness and a soft, satiny glow that accentuates the purple tones. With a clarity grade of very slightly included evaluated at eye level, the gem is essentially clean to the casual observer, with inclusions that whisper of its natural birth rather than interfere with its beauty. Every facet was placed with intention, and the polish achieved is excellent, creating a surface that draws the eye with crisp reflections and deep internal scintillation. Importantly, this spinel has received no enhancement, so the color you admire is entirely natural, unharnessed by heat or treatment, a genuine tribute to the land of Ceylon and to the careful hands that shaped it.

As a gem professional at The Natural Gemstone Company I can speak to how this spinel will keep revealing new facets of its personality as it is worn. The medium intense color intensity offers a versatile purple that reads as regal under evening light and as fresh and modern in daylight. Spinel is known for its robust durability, a resilience that makes it well suited to everyday jewelry, and over the years the excellent polish will continue to throw back light from its clean facets, preserving the gem s lively presence. The very slightly included clarity gives a subtle depth, a three dimensionality that can catch a sunbeam and show delicate internal glows, without detracting from the gem s brilliance. In time the stone may acquire tiny surface wear that attests to a life lived, yet its core beauty will remain unchanged, because there is no artificial treatment to fade, and because spinel s chemical stability resists the common changes that can dull less sturdy gems.

Imagine this cushion purple spinel becoming part of a personal story, set into a ring that is chosen for a milestone, or held within a pendant given to mark a new chapter. The soft cushion silhouette flatters many settings, and the 7.32 by 6.96 by 4.00 millimeter proportions are ideal for a design that balances presence with wearability. Whether set in a simple bezel to protect the girdle, or embraced by a halo that plays with light and scale, this gem will continue to captivate over the years, passing from one admirer to another with its luminous purple voice intact. At The Natural Gemstone Company we stand by the provenance and quality of this spinel, and we welcome a conversation about bespoke settings, certification, or care recommendations to help ensure that your connection to this stone deepens with time. This is more than a gem, it is a living fragment of Ceylon, ready to begin a new chapter on your hand, close to your heart, and in your life for many seasons to come.