The ruby of the black prince. Timur Ruby. For centuries, spinel, a great deceiver, disguised himself as a ruby in European crown jewels.
The rediscovery of the queen.
Its name is derived from the Greek word spinos, which means spark. It creates several color variants. It has been known and rare in history. This is evidenced by the numerous, relatively large pieces, which are set in various gems. In the English crown, the spinel is referred to as Timur’s ruby, which has been known for up to 600 years. Two names are engraved on it – Timur’s son Mir-Shakhrud and the next ruler Abbas Safawi. Abbas donated this spinel to the great Mogul Jahankgir, who had the names cut off the stone. Engraved other Persian inscriptions meant the names of the owners of the Mogul dynasty from 1612 to 1739. Spinel was a precious stone and according to Pliny the Elder removed dizziness and provided the necessary protection.
At present, interest in this stone is returning. It dazzles with its luster and very pleasant colors. It fits into women’s jewelry that is wise yet delicate and sensitive.
The red stone generally had a beneficial effect on headaches. In the Oriente, he wore himself in front of the blinding glow of the sun.
Despite its excellent properties (hardness, color, gloss, brilliance, rarity) and affordability, Spinel has not yet been one of the “very clever” gemstones. It remained mainly in the shadow of the ruby, with which it has many features in common. This concerns its chemical composition, color, as well as the conditions of formation and often the common occurrence in the deposits.
The exchange for ruby has been discovered in many historical jewelry, e.g. in royal crowns. However, at present, the qualities of spinel are more pronounced – color, gloss and clarity – and it is coming to the forefront of the interest of jewelers and collectors. Occurs in red, pink, blue, green, brown. It is also produced synthetically and its production is very well processed, but it is practically not used. Synthetic spinel is more often used to imitate other gemstones, e.g. tourmaline, chrysoberyl, ruby, aquamarine, zirconium and amethyst. Natural zircons are found e.g. in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Tanzania, Madagascar, etc.
