0.96 ct. Violet-Blue Vietnamese Spinel
Color: Medium Light Violet-Blue
Clarity: Eye Clean
Origin: Luc Yen, Vietnam
Cut: Rectangular Step
Treatments: None
Measurements: 7.9 x 4.7 mm
With the slightly increased production of the last couple of years and the surge in demand, the price of the best Vietnamese Spinel has been on a serious upswing. It seems that first with the Mahenge stones and now with the distintive Luc Yen stones, Spinel has finally gotten much of the notice that it deserves. And with this superb color, what other gem material could this realistically be? And once you have settled on Spinel, where else but Vietnam could give us a color close to this? The combination of a very saturated hue with a relatively light tone gives the stone an icy look that is quite lovely. Moreover the cutting is great (pleasing proportions as well) and the stone is completely clean and these are very, very difficult to find this nice. This stone also has the advantage of weighing just below a carat - if it were just 0.04 ct. heavier, the price would be 50% more per carat!