Spinel (fine crystals) on marble

Item Description

The Spinel crystals from Mahenge are among the best examples of the species to be found in the last 20+ years in terms of size, color and quality. Many people are familiar with the pink to red Spinels from Mogok in Myanmar, and while both localities feature crystals with that saturated rose hue, they are rarely found on matrix like they are at Mahenge. This large thumbnail sized piece was found in 2010 and features a handful of fine quality, sharp, well-formed, euhedral octahedral crystals of strong pinkish-purple colored Spinel measuring up to 1.0 cm on edge sitting on grey-white marble matrix. The piece displays well from several angles. The crystals are gemmy when backlit, but they have the added bonus of displaying a slightly "silky" quality, similar to the silk that one would see in a Ruby or Sapphire crystal. This ethereal "smokiness" inside the crystals combined with the excellent color and size makes it some of the best quality matrix crystals of Spinel you will find. No significant damage that I can see with the naked eye, but there are some tiny areas of interrupted growth where the Spinel crystals grew up against the marble, or were detached from the host rock when the piece was removed from the pocket. For a final touch, the Spinels show an intense cherry-red fluorescence under UV light.