Spinel is a lustrous orange-red gem. Until only 150 years ago, spinel was thought to be a ruby. Now classified as an individual mineral of magnesium aluminum oxide, spinel can look so much like rubies that many well-known gemstones assumed to be rubies are actually spinels. There are two, in fact, in the English crown jewels.
Synthetic spinels have been widely used since the 1920s, but experts can recognize them because they do not have double refraction. Although spinel appears in a variety of colors, brilliant red is the most popular.
Perhaps red spinel should surpass the diamond to be the first gemstone associated with love. It helps us set our egos aside and become devoted to another person. Like all fiery red stones, it encourages great passion.
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