Founder & Head of Sourcing
Elliot founded The House of Spinel to bring natural, untreated spinel to collectors who value it on its own terms. He sources at first hand — Luc Yen in Vietnam, Mogok in Burma and Tanzania's Mahenge — hand-selecting loose stones and commissioning an independent certificate for each. He writes on where spinel comes from, why fine colour is rare, and how the market prices it.
A factual, balanced guide to responsibly sourced spinel: artisanal mining realities, provenance and traceability, a neutral note on Burmese material and sanctions, and the questions every buyer should ask a dealer.
From the balas rubies of Kuh-i-Lal and the Silk Road to the Crown-Jewels mix-up, the 1783 split from ruby, the 2007 Mahenge discovery and birthstone status in 2016 — spinel's thousand-year story.
Yellow and golden spinel is one of the scarcest colours the species yields: iron-coloured, rarely saturated, almost always untreated. A collector guide to its character, sources, grading and 2026 value.
A dealer's guide to Vietnamese spinel from Luc Yen: world-class untreated cobalt-blue, neon pink and lavender, plus the rare salmon-orange we call the An Phu Sunset, with honest buying advice.
Green spinel is one of the rarest colours in the family, coloured mainly by iron with a lift of chromium or vanadium. A collector-focused guide to its character, sources, gahnite cousins and 2026 value.
Pakistan's Hunza Valley yields bright, untreated pink spinel and rare fine reds from high Karakoram marble. How Hunza material presents, what it costs in 2026, and where it sits in the origin picture.
Fake spinel takes two forms: outright imitations like glass, cubic zirconia, synthetic spinel and doublets, and quiet misrepresentations. Learn the red flags, run simple checks yourself, and see why an independent lab report is your ultimate protection.
A dealer's roadmap to starting a spinel collection in 2026: where to begin on a budget, which colours to chase, how to buy by colour and cut, and how to document, store and pace every acquisition.
What makes a spinel expensive: colour, size, clarity, untreated status and origin. A dealer-level look at 2026 per-carat tiers and the stone types that command the very highest prices.
A dealer's 2026 spinel price guide — per-carat ranges by colour and quality, the four value drivers, and why fine red spinel sells for roughly a tenth of a comparable ruby.
A dealer-and-gemologist spinel buying guide to the 4Cs, treatment, certification and 2026 prices by colour, so you can judge value and buy natural spinel with a collector's eye.
Blue spinel spans steely, iron-coloured denim blues and the rare, electric cobalt blue collectors prize. This 2026 guide explains how to tell them apart, where they come from, how they are graded, and what they cost.
Red spinel is the flagship colour - the chromium red once mistaken for ruby in the crown jewels. Here is what fine red spinel costs in 2026, where it comes from, and how to buy it well.
Teal spinel is a rare, untreated blue-green gem coloured by iron and a trace of cobalt. Our 2026 collector's guide covers grey-teal versus vivid, sources, value, and how it differs from teal sapphire and tourmaline.
Black spinel is the natural, untreated, iron-rich member of the spinel family: an opaque jet-black gem that is Mohs 8, free of cleavage, affordable, and ideal for men's jewellery and faceted beadwork.
Coloured by trace cobalt rather than iron, cobalt spinel is the most coveted blue in the species — a natural, almost-never-treated neon that rewards the patient collector. Here is what it is, where it comes from, and what it costs as of 2026.
Most 'white spinel' is synthetic. This guide separates rare natural colourless spinel from the flame-fusion lookalike, weighs it against diamond, and explains how to verify, value and wear an untreated white gem.
Mahenge spinel is the neon pink Tanzanian gemstone that revived the spinel market in 2007. Here is what makes it glow, what it costs in 2026, and how to buy with confidence.
Mogok in Myanmar is the benchmark source for red and pink spinel. This 2026 guide covers its signature colours, why Burmese material commands a premium, value tiers, and provenance diligence.
Ceylon spinel is Sri Lanka's iron-coloured pastel family — lavender, violet, denim blue and grey. Untreated, exceptionally clean, and affordable, it is the connoisseur's ideal entry point into serious spinel collecting.
A spinel certificate is the single most important document behind any serious stone. Here is what each gem lab report actually proves — and why you should never buy a fine spinel blind.
Thinking about spinel investment in 2026? Here is an honest, balanced view of where fine natural spinel value is heading, what drives it, and the real risks every collector should weigh before buying.
Spinel is a Type II gem, so buyers expect eye-clean stones. Here is how clarity, cut precision and shape each drive a natural spinel's beauty and its real market value.
From soft pastel to neon Mahenge, pink spinel is the connoisseur's accessible entry into fine, untreated colour — here is how to judge and buy it in 2026.
Spinel origin matters less than most buyers think. Colour, clarity, cut and carat drive value; a Mogok, Mahenge or Luc Yen premium is only a modest top-up on an already fine stone.
Grey spinel is one of very few natural gems in a true neutral. Our 2026 collector's guide covers its steely and cobalt-grey tones, prices near $300-500 per carat, why it is rising in men's jewellery, and how to buy it well.
Two of the world's most famous rubies, the Black Prince and Timur, are actually spinels. Here is how the centuries-long ruby mix-up happened, and why it makes spinel a collector's bargain.
The Black Prince’s Ruby, the Timur Ruby, the Côte de Bretagne and the Samarian Spinel were all famous “rubies” that are in fact natural spinels — the great crown stones of history.
A specialist's guide to purple spinel - from lavender to deep violet, its iron-driven colour, its link to colour-change stones, and what it is worth to collectors in 2026.
A collector's guide to orange spinel: what causes its flame colour, where it is mined, how rare it truly is, and what fine mandarin and reddish stones are worth in 2026.
Spinel's meaning is revitalisation, hope and renewed energy. Discover the gem's name origin in Latin spina and Greek spinther, its royal history, August birthstone status and colour-by-colour symbolism — folklore kept honest by gemmology.
Kuh-i-Lal in the Pamir Mountains is the ancient Balas ruby source: Silk Road pink-red spinel that crowned kings and, misidentified as ruby, still glows in the British and Iranian regalia today.
Spinel is a connoisseur's stone that mostly lives online. Here is how to buy spinel online safely in 2026 — the certificate, returns, provenance, payment and imagery to check before you pay.
Jedi spinel is a trade term, not a lab grade, for the most saturated glowing pink-red spinel with no grey or brown modifier - chiefly from Man Sin and Mahenge. Here is what it really means.
How natural spinel colour is graded across hue, tone and saturation, why grey and brown modifiers cut value, and how dealers and labs describe the number-one driver of a spinel's price.
How spinel carat weight and physical size shape price: why per-carat prices leap as clean size rises, typical size ranges by colour, and a practical millimetre-to-carat guide for collectors.
Lavender spinel is a soft, iron-coloured pastel purple gem from Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Tanzania. This 2026 guide covers colour, sources, value and how it beats lavender sapphire.
Nine common spinel buying mistakes and how to fix them, from judging colour in warm light and skipping a lab report to overpaying for origin, chasing size over colour, and wrongly assuming treatment.
Fine spinel prices have generally climbed since the 2007 Mahenge discovery, with reds, hot pinks and cobalt blues leading and grey staying accessible — observed 2026 trends by colour, not investment advice.
What natural spinel actually recovers on resale, which stones hold value, the real selling channels, and why buying quality and keeping paperwork protects what you can realise. Honest, not hype.
A spinel appraisal states monetary value for insurance; a gemmological report identifies the stone but sets no price. Learn how to appraise, insure, document and update the value of a rare untreated spinel.
Madagascar is a young but important spinel source, producing natural, untreated pink, red, grey, blue and lavender stones. Discover its character, 2026 value, and how it compares with Burma and Vietnam.
Afghan spinel from Badakhshan is the original 'balas ruby' — soft pink-red, marble-hosted gems from the Pamir with Silk Road and crown-jewel heritage. A guide to their look, rarity and value.
Brown, champagne and mushroom spinel are iron-coloured warm neutrals: understated, affordable and one-of-one. How they differ from grey and orange, who they suit, plus real 2026 value and care.
Georgian, Victorian and Art Deco jewellery is full of spinel sold as balas ruby. How to spot it, care for antique settings, and judge the collectibility and value of these overlooked period stones.