Reviews
COBALTOAN-SPINEL SPECIMENS
Cobalt-bearing spinel, or blue spinel, is a bright to deep blue variety of spinel.
Spinel is a metamorphic magnesium-aluminum oxide, and is known for deep reddish-pink octahedral crystals. Before minerals could be indentified through chemical tests, spinels were considered rubies. Also like corundums, spinel takes well to lab growth: light blue lab-grown spinel is often an inexpensive alternative for aquamarine.
Spinel is colored by impurities, and the blues in cobaltoan spinel come from a higher ratio of cobalt to iron impurities. The most gemstone-quality specimens come from the Lục Yên District of Yên Bái Province in northern Vietnam.
Spinel is a metamorphic magnesium-aluminum oxide, and is known for deep reddish-pink octahedral crystals. Before minerals could be indentified through chemical tests, spinels were considered rubies. Also like corundums, spinel takes well to lab growth: light blue lab-grown spinel is often an inexpensive alternative for aquamarine.
Spinel is colored by impurities, and the blues in cobaltoan spinel come from a higher ratio of cobalt to iron impurities. The most gemstone-quality specimens come from the Lục Yên District of Yên Bái Province in northern Vietnam.
