Spinel - image 1

Spinel

Help improve this record

No owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.

Sign in to contribute
The Luc Yen mine in Yenbai Province, Vietnam, works a deposit rich in various gem minerals, one of which is the magnesium aluminium oxide Spinel. Although this is a miniature, the Spinel crystals are certainly not! Forming as a partly intergrown group in a white marble, the largest prism measures 2.3 cm long and displays magnificent twinning marked by deep re-entrant angled faces. The Spinel crystals are translucent cranberry-plum mauve with a waxy lustre and slightly rounded edges all over. Placed under LWUV the Spinel fluoresces orange red against the fluorescent white marble. If investigating its UV characteristics, be sure to let your LWUV lamp warm-up for a couple of minutes. At first this specimen did not appear to fluoresce, but given two minutes it was motoring, to use a technical expression! A stunning Spinel in Marble from Luc Yen, Vietnam.

Product details

SpeciesSpinel
SizeMiniature
Dimensions4.4 x 4.3 x 3.0 cm
Added on12/02/2024
LocalityVietnam, Yên Bái Province, Luc Yen Mine
Current owner
Unknown Owner
Acquired
Jul 2026
Price paid
$4,500.00
Previous owners
DateCollectorAcquisition price
—Crystal ClassicsNot disclosed

Learn more

Spinel
Mineral guide
Learn about Spinel
, color range from ruby red to cobalt blue, sharp octahedral form, hardness 8, rare gemmy crystals on marble, prized by collectors for rarity and luster.
Spinel
Regional guide
Spinel from Luc Yen Mine, Vietnam
Luc Yen spinel, Vietnam — marble-hosted red to cobalt-blue crystals; paragenesis with calcite and clinohumite, making this locality prized by collectors.
Locality guide
Luc Yen Mine
Luc Yen Mine, Vietnam — a gem locality producing ruby, spinel, pargasite and tourmaline in marble, known for vivid color contrasts and cobalt-blue spinel.