SPINEL
Some spinel colors are more rare and valuable than others. In general, red spinel is the most desirable, followed by fine cobalt-blue spinel, then by vibrant hot pink and vivid orange stones. Violet and bluish purple to purple, or lavender, stones tend to be less attractive, and less in demand than other, rarer colors.
Red spinel ranges from orangy red to purplish red, with pure red to slightly purplish red hues of medium to medium-dark tone considered the finest of all. A top-quality 5-ct. red spinel might sell for around a tenth the price of an equivalent-quality ruby, and pink spinel often sells for less than pink sapphire.
Spinel has been making a name for itself over the last couple of decades, and demand for fine stones well exceeds supply. In fact, spinel is in great demand among gemologists and gem connoisseurs. This has, to some degree, closed the spinel vs. ruby-and-sapphire price gap.
Blue spinel hues range from violet blue through very slightly greenish blue.
Most stones have low saturation, and the blue hues take on a distinctly grayish look. The best and most highly valued blue spinel colors parallel blue sapphire, with intense violet-blue to pure blue colors that are neither too dark nor too light.
