Spinel Gemstone Beads

Frequently asked questions

• Is your spinel treated?

  No, in nearly all cases. Spinel is one of the very few colored stones in the bead trade that is almost never treated — no heat, no oil, no dye, no fill, no diffusion at trade scale. The colors are the colors the rough came out of the ground with. Narrow exceptions exist — coated or "mystic" finish spinel, synthetic spinel — and treatment status, when present, should be disclosed. Ask before buying if a strand doesn't specify.
• Is black spinel real?

  Yes — black spinel is a natural opaque iron-rich variety of the spinel mineral. It's distinct from black onyx (which is dyed agate at Mohs 7) and from black tourmaline (schorl, which is opaque but rougher in polish). Black spinel's defining traits are sharp faceting, consistent deep color, and Mohs 8 durability.
• Why is black spinel sometimes called the "black diamond alternative"?

  Black spinel takes a sharp brilliant facet and holds a high polish, producing a faceted-black aesthetic that visually approximates black diamond at trade pricing. It is not a substitute in any technical sense — black diamond is Mohs 10, the hardest natural gemstone — but the visual register is similar enough that designers spec'ing fine-jewelry pavé and accent rows often choose black spinel as the working-budget answer.
• What's the story about spinel and the "Black Prince's Ruby"?

  The 170-carat red gemstone set in the British Imperial State Crown — historically called the "Black Prince's Ruby" since the 14th century — is in fact a red spinel from what is now Tajikistan. The same applies to the "Timur Ruby" and to several other historic "rubies" in royal collections. The mineral was only formally distinguished from ruby (corundum) in the 18th century. The anecdote is the canonical reason spinel is described as the most-misidentified gem in jewelry history.
• What is multi-spinel?

  Multi-spinel (or multi-color spinel) is a strand format where each bead is a different naturally colored spinel — typically a mix of pink, lavender, gray, cobalt, and pale blue from mixed source material, often from Vietnamese, Sri Lankan, and Tanzanian sources. The colors are natural; the variation is the buying decision. Each strand reads slightly different, which is the appeal.